2025-2026 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
LECTURE: “JUANA ROMANI: FORGOTTEN NO MORE”
Sarah Cartwright, Chief Curator at Ringling Museum
Monday, October 27, 2025
Selby Library – 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
$25 Member Donation - $30 Guest Donation
In this season's lecture, Dr. Cartwright will discuss the Ringling Museum's exhibition
"Juana Romani: Forgotten No More" on view in Gallery 20.
Born in Italy in 1867, Romani moved to Paris at age 10
and eventually became a successful painter.
However, she was nearly forgotten by the time of her death in 1923.
Dr. Cartwight will provide details about Romani's life and work
and will shed light on why her painting,
"Woman on a Red Background," was a desirable addition
to the Museum's collection of European art.
“TOUR OF ITALY” DINNER AT CAFÉ AMICI
​
1371 Main Street – Downtown Sarasota
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 - 5-8 PM
$98 Member - $112 Guest – Cash Bar for ALL drinks
Limited to 65 participants…so register early!
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Come, dine with us and enjoy a four-course dinner
highlighting the regional cuisine of Italy,
created by Massimo Nigri, co-owner of Café Amici.
Antipasto from Puglia
Baked Mozzarella Lucullus
Primo Piatto from Umbria
Rigatoni alla Norcina
(pasta with cream of black truffle and sausage)
Secondo Piatto
Veal Saltimbocca alla Romano from Lazio
OR
Calamari Malafemmina from Sicily
(squid with black olives, capers and cherry tomatoes)
Dolce from Campania
Sorbetto al Limone
WEDNESDAY FILM EVENTS AT LAKEWOOD RANCH CINEMA
ITALIAN MASTERPIECES
Discussions led by Joe and Brenda Morra
Doors open at 10 AM - Film starts at 10:30 AM
Cost for each film: $25 Member - $30 Guest
Price-fixed lunch – Cassariano's Italian Eatery
January 14, 2026
February 11, 2026
March 11, 2026
“Human Capital” is a riveting modern day morality tale
of class, greed and desire. A fatal hit-and-run accident
changes the lives of two families: one from the lavishly elite -
the other from the struggling middle class.
“IL Capitale Umano” involves hedge fund manipulation,
banking deception and the possibility of financial ruin.
“Umberto D,” a Neorealist masterpiece directed by Vittorio De Sica,
tells the story of an elderly pensioner striving to survive
in Italy’s postwar economic period.
Alone, except for his dog, Flike, Umberto struggles
to maintain his dignity in a city where the forces of modernization
seem more important than human kindness.
Umberto’s simple quest to satisfy his basic needs -
food, shelter and companionship – is one of the most
heartbreaking stories ever filmed and a classic of world cinema.
Loren and Mastroianni star in “Marriage Italian Style,” one
of the funniest Italian romantic comedies in international film.
Join your SICE friends for a screening of this
bawdy classic that received nominations in 1966 for
Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress.
“Matrimonio a la Italiana” followed on the heels of
“Ieri, Oggi e Domani” and provided the perfect counterpoint
to “Divorce Italian Style.”
ANNUAL OPERA EVENT
Wednesday, February 4, 2026 – 9 AM-11:30 AM
Sarasota Opera House Courtyard
$30 Member - $35 Guest
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Once again, SICE is excited to welcome Maestro DeRenzi
and other members of the Sarasota Opera artistic staff.
Maestro will speak on Verdi’s “IL Trovatore.”
The morning begins with coffee and homemade desserts
and concludes with a finale by the Sarasota Opera singers!
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SYMPOSIUM: ITALIAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND THE IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 – 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Selby Library - Geldbart Auditorium
$25 Member Donation - $30 Guest Donation
We’ve come a long way since our ancestors
left Italy and crossed the Atlantic for America
not knowing what they would find.
Contemporary Italian Americans, many of them women,
continue to preserve our heritage and immigrant stories
through oral histories.
Dr. Joseph Scelsa, founder and president of the Italian American
Museum in NYC, will give an overview of recent developments
in Italian migration and the assimilation of Italian Americans.
One SICE member, an Italian American woman,
will present her personal immigration story.
Then, the audience will be invited to share theirs!
“SUMMERTIME”: A GIFT TO ALL SICE MEMBERS
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Lakewood Ranch Cinema – 10:30 AM – 12:30 AM
(Doors open at 10 AM)
FREE for SICE Members - $25 Guest
(Registration is required.)
Price-fixed lunch - Cassariano's Italian Eatery
To show our appreciation for your many years of loyal support
SICE is providing a free screening of “Summertime” with
Katherine Hepburn and Rosanno Brazzi to all SICE members.
Join your SICE friends and travel to Venice via the
beauty of Technicolor cinematography.
Share an American spinster’s dream of romance as it becomes
a bittersweet reality when on vacation she meets
a handsome…but…married Italian man.
Hepburn’s sensitive portrayal of the lonely heroine and
the lavish portrait of La Serenissima’s incomparable beauty
make “Summertime” an endearing and memorable film.
SICE’s FAREWELL LUNCHEON
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Venue – TBD
$50 Member - $65 Guest
Come and join your SICE friends for one final get-together.
Enjoy a delicious lunch as you reminisce about all
the good times you have had at SICE’s exciting and interesting
events during its twenty-four year history.
Early registration is encouraged.
For further information, see our Website: https://SICESRQ.com