Montreal’s Italian roots
Il Stadio Olimpico?
By Sam Solomon
An edited version was published in Hour (Montreal, QC) on July 20, 2006
The Museum of Fine Arts’ Il Modo Italiano exhibition comes at a time when all things Italian are in vogue in Montreal.
The fervour of the July 9 Italian World Cup victory, the Jazz Festival’s special Italian showcase, and last month’s Grand Prix—with its attendant Ferraris and Lamborghinis and très chic, haute culture tourists—have raised the profile of Montreal’s Italian community. And Il Modo Italiano is here to show us what Italy has taught the world over the last hundred-odd years.
The influence of Italian art and culture on Montreal is universally recognized to be significant and extensive. According to the 2001 census, Italians represent the third-largest ethnic group in the city and its suburbs, behind Canadian and French.
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Italian culture is omnipresent in Montreal. It’s apparent in our restaurants, from the 99-cent pizza joints sprinkled throughout the city to the swanky establishments and hip bistros on the Main. It’s in our festivals—Montreal’s Italian Week, from August 6-13 features comedy, music, fashion, food, and bocce, and Quintus, the Montreal Italian Film Festival, will hold its third edition this October. We even have our own Little Italy.
And the Italian influence on Montreal can also be seen in our city’s architecture, says Ian Chodikoff, the editor of Canadian Architect magazine.
“The world over has been influenced—its art and design from the last century—by the Italians,” said Chodikoff. “People like Gio Ponti, Pier Luigi Nervi, and Giovanni Michelucci, and, in later years, Carlo Scarpa, had an influence in terms of showing rocks and materials in juxtaposition.”
Ponti is relatively well known in North America for his 1971 work on the Denver Art Museum.
The Italian architectural influence is particularly strong in Montreal, says Chodikoff.
