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Book Presentation: “The Legend of Busby” by Vittoria Pasquini

Busby_website

Thursday, 20 February 2025, 6:00 – 8:00 PM.

 

The Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney is pleased to host the presentation of The Legend of Busby, a touching memoir written by Vittoria Pasquini, a retired academic who taught at ANU, Sydney Uni and UTS.

 

“ Introduction and Q&A with Vittoria Pasquini (author) and Gino Moliterno (translator), moderated by Anne Rutherford”.

 

 

The book tells the story of a special house, a “sandcastle” on the hill of Bronte, overlooking Sydney’s sea. Through the imagined gaze of the house itself, the author retraces the most significant moments of her life and the lives of the people who lived there. These pages reveal the pain of losing her husband   but also the strength of a woman who found new hope in family bonds, friendships and her commitment to others.

Among the memories shared, the house becomes a silent witness to events ranging from the most dramatic, such as the challenges of a family marked by grief, to the joys shared with friends, and acts of solidarity toward those most vulnerable.

The story intertwines with memories of her family home in Italy and the author’s experiences in distant places like Kenya, the United States, and Algeria, offering a glimpse into a life filled with challenges, but also extraordinary beauty.

After the loss of her son Valerio, Vittoria founded the Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association, which keeps the memory of her son alive through concrete acts of help for the most fragile, including refugees.

Sales from the book will go to the Association.

Anne Rutherford is a film critic and Adjunct Associate Professor (Cinema Studies) in the Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University. Her recent critical work has appeared in The Monthly, Australian Book Review, Meanjin and Movie: A Journal of Film Criticism. She is currently the catalogue editor for Cinema Reborn film festival. In 1985, she joined a bilingual community theatre group affiliated with FILEF (Federation of Italian Workers and Families) and has been an Italophile ever since.

This presentation will be a unique opportunity to hear the stories that animate the book directly from the author’s voice and reflect on the strength of memory, family bonds, and solidarity.

The presentation will be in English.

CLICK HERE.

  • Organized by: Istituto Italiano di Cultura - Sydney