As a result of a vote taken at the General Dinner Meeting on March 9th, the following candidates were accepted as members:

Otello Ascani
Andrew Baldi
Marcello Bonacchi
Richard Eugene Borghello
John Batista Damonte
Elio D’Urzo
Barbara Jean Finnigan (Jiunti)
Gian Paolo Martire
Frank Tito Mirabella
Dan J. Modena, Attorney
Felice Picerno
Thomas Edward Shaughnessy, MD
(Social, Raboli/Bianchi)

Mother’s Day Dinner will be on Sunday, May 9th at 5 PM. As usual for this event, Mothers and Wives of club members and children under 6 are free. Tickets are $25 for adults, $16 for children from 13 to 18 and $8 for children from 6 to 12. Please use the attached coupon to make your reservation. Note that this event is only for PIASC members and their immediate families, and no guests should be invited.

The “Scoppio del Carro” (Cart of Fire) is one of the lesser known Italian customs which is celebrated in Florence during Holy Week. At noon on Easter Sunday, crowds gather in the Piazza del Duomo to witness the explosion of a cart full of fireworks in observance of this religious feast.
The ancient tradition comes from the legend of Pazzino dei Pazzi who was awarded with pieces of flint from the Holy Sepulcher for his work in the First Crusades. This flint was then used by the bishop on Holy Saturday to light the candle. The Pazzi family carried on the legacy by building an elaborate cart which was three stories high to be pulled through the city by white oxen.