We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and colleague Gabriele Scardellato, longtime Chairholder of the Elia Chair.
He leaves behind a rich, diverse, and invaluable body of work that has left its mark on scholars in his field. He was kind, witty, and an utter pleasure to work with. We send our sincere condolences to his family.
To read the family's obituary and/or leave a comment or donation, click here.
We are grateful to members of the Elia family for their note of remembrance in memory of Gabriele:
Gabriele Scardellato made many valuable contributions during his time as Chairholder of the Mariano A. Elia Chair in Italian-Canadian Studies at York University.
He was passionate about his academic work and assisted in publishing books of interest not only to Italian-Canadians but also to the community at large: Lawrence Grassi: From Piedmont to the Rocky Mountains is a biography of an Italian immigrant considered a mountain hero in the Canadian Rockies. In Ritual, celebrated photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo brought to life the yearly Good Friday Parade in Toronto, one of the largest outside of Italy.
Gabriele, on behalf of the Chair, supported a 3-day event on a topic dear to all Italians: food! Forty delegates from around the world participated in Italian Foodways Worldwide, as did top Italian-Canadian chefs who guided a culinary journey of Italy. He co-edited a book on the event, with scholarly papers ranging from menus and feasts in Toronto from the Fascist period, to Italian foodways in Britain during the Second World War. His words told the story so well: “In their global dispersal, both before and after unification, Italians may have carried with them only a memory of a cuisine but, wherever they settled, enclaves or Little Italys were established and efforts to recreate the memory began."
Gabriele was instrumental in the making of "Noelle's Journey," a film that centred on Noelle Elia's remembrances of her grandfather, Mariano Elia and of Franco Grosso, another Italian immigrant. Two men from Calabria, who in different ways found success in their adopted land. Gabriele worked with Noelle to facilitate the move of Grosso's popcorn cart into the Museum of History in Ottawa.
“Noelle's Journey” is a film that has importance beyond these two men because the topic of immigration has become ever more timely. For many who saw the film, the history of discrimination against Italians that he documented was surprising, even shocking, and Gabriele was passionate in making sure we remembered it. Thanks to Gabriele the message was heard by all who viewed the film and was, for us, a powerful message. -- Valerie Elia, Paul Elia, Noelle Elia and Rochelle Zorzi
