By Dominique Tassell
Two Stanthorpe locals were awarded the “Ordine Della Stella D’Italia” or Order of the Star of Italy by the Italian Government last week.
Southern Down Mayor Vic Pennisi and Franco Arcidiacono received their awards at an event in Brisbane and were then re-presented with them at a dinner at the International Club on Saturday.
Franco said the award is usually given to coincide with Italy’s Republic Day, celebrated on 2 June.
Franco has been heavily involved in the community for many years, leaving a lasting mark.
His book, Echoes of Italian Voices, written with his wife, Morwenna, gave a voice to the Italian community in the region by sharing their stories.
“The book filled the void of existing voices in Stanthorpe,” Franco said.
He took a year of work to research the community and spoke to 150 families in Stanthorpe for the book, convincing 132 of them to tell their stories.
The book also features the cultural groups set up in Stanthorpe by the Italian community, including the International Club and Associazione Internazionale Trevisani nel Mondo.
He also started up the Italian language program at Stanthorpe State High School in 1995, the first of its kind in Australia. It is still running today.
Franco also helped start the Italian Australian Welfare Association, an accredited aged care provider for those within the Stanthorpe and the Granite Belt region.
Franco also started up the Società Dante Alighieri in Stanthorpe 25 years ago, named for Italian poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri.
The society aimed in part to help kids speak Italian in the community instead of waiting to go overseas.
Franco said receiving the award was a shock to him.
He said it’s an incredibly prestigious award, and he “wouldn’t have dreamt of getting something like that”.
He joked that he received a national excellence award for teaching, and thought that was the pinnacle.
“The knighting came out of the blue,” he said.
Franco said he considers his years of teaching as the most productive in his life and is proud to have followed in his parents’ footsteps by becoming a teacher.
You can find copies of Echoes of Italian Voices at Vincenzo’s, the Visitor Information Centre in town, and at Stanthorpe Library
Mayor Pennisi said the award was “an unexpected and incredible milestone” and he was truly honoured to receive it.
“I feel very underqualified and consequently truly humbled,” he said. “I trust that I can continue to do justice to the work of the Order, which includes preservation and promotion of national prestige abroad, promoting friendly relations and co-operation with other countries and ties with Italy.”
He stated that Franco is “a very worthy recipient, and respected member of the Southern Downs community who has made an extraordinary contribution to the integration of Italians and the Italian culture on the Granite Belt”.
