Western To Host Panel Discussion About Italian American History in Wyoming

Western Wyoming Community College (Western) is hosting ‘Italians in Wyoming’ which will include a presentation and a roundtable discussion on the topic of Italians in Wyoming. The event will be held at Western on Tuesday, October 24 at 6:30 PM. A light reception provided by the Tyrolean Trentini of Wyoming Club will follow the presentation in the Western Atrium.

Rock Springs filmmaker, Mark Pedri, and scholars, Matteo Pretelli (University of Naples "L'Orientale") and Laura E. Ruberto (Berkeley City College), will talk about their research and work relating to the Italian presence in Wyoming. This will include scenes from Pedri’s documentary, “Dear Sirs”, about his grandfather’s experience as a POW in Europe, Pretelli’s new research project on Italian and other immigrant groups in Rock Springs during WWII, and Ruberto’s research on the Camp Douglas Internment Camp murals painted by Italian POWs. The panelists will share excerpts from their work, in addition to a conversation about each of their connections and interest in Italians in Wyoming. 

Following the event, Matteo Pretelli will be spending a week in Rock Springs researching Rock Springs during WWII. If anyone has any testimonies, memoirs, or family archives that they would like to contribute it towards his research, please reach out by emailing matteopretelli75@gmail.com.

The event is sponsored by the Arlene and Louise Wesswick Foundation, Burning Torch Productions, and the Tyrolean Trentini of Wyoming Club. For more information about the event and RSVP details can be found at BurningTorchProductions.com/wyomingitalians or by contacting Jon Harwood at jharwood@westernwyoming.edu or call 307-382-1702. To see all of Western’s events visit: westernwyoming.edu/calendar.