Santino Spinelli

Santino Spinelli (born 21 July 1964) is an Italian musician, composer and teacher.

Biography

Spinelli, known professionally as Alexian,[1] is the youngest of six children, the only brother among five sisters. He was born in Pietrasanta, in the province of Lucca, on July 21, 1964, the son of Gennaro and Giulia Spinelli. However, it was in Lanciano, in the province of Chieti, where he began his early studies. He attended the State Trade Institute P. De Giorgio and earned two degrees from the University of Bologna, the first in Foreign Languages and Literature and the second in Musicology. He has been Professor of the Romani Language and Culture at the University of Chieti since 2008.

Spinelli is the founder and president of the cultural association Thèm Romano (Romani World). In 2001 he was elected sole representative for Italy at the parliament of the International Romani Union (IRU), a nongovernmental organization based in Latvia and active in the field of Roma people's rights. In 2002 Spinelli taught the Romani language and culture at the University of Trieste,[2][3] and later at the Polytechnic University of Turin. In 2003 the IRU Parliament appointed him Ambassador of Romani Culture and Art throughout the world, and in 2007 he was appointed Vice President of the IRU. He is the national president of the federation FederArteRom and UCRI spokesman.[4][5]

Spinelli’s poem "Auschwitz" is engraved on a memorial to the Sinti and Roma people killed during the Nazi period. The memorial is near the Bundestag in Berlin. He had a similar memorial built in Lanciano, in the piazzale Edith Stein. It was sculpted from Majella stone by sculptor Tonino Santeusanio.

In 2010 he published the "Carovana Romanì" for accordion, ensemble and orchestra[4] through Ut Orpheus of Bologna. The collection contains scores composed by Spinelli that were performed at the seat of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and the Council of the European Union in Brussels.[6] On June 2, 2012 he sang the Murdevele (the "Lord's Prayer" in the Romani language) in Milan for Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the World Meeting of Families.[7] On 26 October 2015, with the Alexian Group, he performed several of his compositions, including Murdevele, for Pope Francis.

On April 18, 2016 Mayor Ing. Gianfranco Lopane of Taranto conferred honorary citizenship on Spinelli.[8] On May 2018 he was awarded the Silver Medal and the Diploma of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George on the occasion of the tricentenary of the Ecclesiastical Bull of Pope Clement XI. On February 4, 2020, President Mattarella awarded him the honor of Commander of the Order Merit of the Italian Republic.[9][10][11][12]

Publications
  • "Carovana Romanì" (orchestral score) - Ut Orpheus, Bologna, 2010[13]
  • Rom, Genti Libere - with a preface by Moni Ovadia, Dalai Editore, Milano, 2012[14]
  • Rom, Questi Sconosciuti - with a preface by Moni Ovadia, Mimesis Edizioni, Milano, 2016[15]


See also

References
  1. "Concert du groupe ROM". iicmarsiglia.esteri.it.
  2. "Gypsy culture gets academic acceptance". the Guardian. April 10, 2002.
  3. "medioevo sociale: Intervista al prof.Santino Spinelli della Università di trieste". September 18, 2010.
  4. "Santino Spinelli "Alexian", cantore degli "zingari": "Sui rom si lucra da anni" |". Blitz quotidiano. December 13, 2014.
  5. "Rom e pregiudizi, gli stereotipi si sconfiggono con la conoscenza – Intervista a Santino Spinelli – Prima Parte". February 26, 2019.
  6. http://www.osr.regione.abruzzo.it/do/index?docid=7835
  7. Bresso, Comune di. "VII INCONTRO MONDIALE DELLE FAMIGLIE". www.bresso.net.
  8. http://www.pugliapositiva.it/page.php?id_art=501&id_cat=13&id_sottocat1=0&id_sottocat2=0&t=conferita-la-cittadinanza-onoraria-a-santino-spinelli-di-etnia-roman- Honorary Citizenship
  9. https://www.quirinale.it/onorificenze/ricerca/insegna/60 Register of Commanders at No. 1307 Serire IV.
  10. Marzo 2020, 02. "Santino "Alexian" Spinelli commendatore della repubblica". Il Centro.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "Santino Spinelli commendatore Repubblica - Abruzzo". Agenzia ANSA. March 2, 2020.
  12. TG24, Sky. "Santino Spinelli commendatore Repubblica". www.ansa.it.
  13. https://www.utorpheus.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=carovana%20romani
  14. "Rom genti libere".
  15. "Rom questi sconosciuti". mimesisedizioni.it.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.