Italian-Montrealers rise up against city plan to rename Guido Nincheri Park

Family and fans of GuidoNincheri, a celebrated artistand well-known member of the Italian-Canadian community, are fighting back against city plans to change the name ofa park named in his honour as part ofMontreal's 375th anniversary celebrations.

Nincheri, who is best known for his religious frescos and stained glass windows in churches around North America, had the park named after him during Montreal's 350th anniversary celebrations in 1992, when he was honoured as 'The Michelangelo of Montreal.'

GuidoNincheriPark islocated at Rachel Street and Pie IX Boulevard, across from his old art studio, which is now part of the Dufresne-NincheriMuseum.

The city wants to rename the park"Parc de la Ville de Quebec" next spring.

City officials say renaming theDufresneMuseum to includeNincheri'sname a few years ago wasa fair compromise.

But Many Italian-Montrealerssee the move asevidence that the city does not graspthe extent ofNincheri'simpact on the city, on itsartistic community, and onthe story of Italian-Canadians.

"I won't say it's 'a slap in the face' but it's almost a sign that the city doesn't actually understand the contributions of this man,"Nincheri'sgrandson, RogerBocciniNincherisaid.

Half a museum 'isn't good enough'

Local playwright SteveGalluccio, whose work includes MamboItalianoand The St. Leonard Chronicles, has been tweeting back and forth withCoderrethis week over the issue.

Coderrereminded Galluccio that Nincheri's name is now part of the museum.

Gallucciotold CBC News that"naming half a museum isn't good enough."

Losing GuidoNincheriPark is not only a blow tothe Italian community, but isalso loss for Quebec culture and Canadian culture.

"[Coderrehas] a chance to correct it. GiveNincherianother park, or a street," he said.

Taking action to honour Nincheri's memory

Members of the Italian community tookaction this week as news of the renamingbegan to circulate.

The Montreal Young Italian-Canadian Association (MYICA) created a petition to fight the park's renaming.

MYICA's president, Nicholas LaMonaca, said most of those who've signed so far are from outside the Italian community.

Friday, MYICA emailedinterim Opposition leader Luc Ferrandezwith the hopehe will do something about it atcity hall.

Ferrandez replied that the parkis in city councillor Franois Croteau's borough of RosemontLa Petite-Patrie, and he would letCroteau know.

Oversight by the Coderre administration?

Opinionsare divided on whether Mayor Denis Coderre is to blame for the name changeor if it wasan oversight by his administration.

"It's nothing personal against the mayor. A lot of Italians love our mayor," said Mathew Foulidis, co-author of the cookbook From Nonna, With Love.

"The whole anniversary next year is supposed to be paying tribute to our city and we're going to name a park in homage to 'Parc de la Ville de Quebec'? It seems contradictory," Foulidis said.

According to Coderre, this name change has been in the works for two years and he's not sure why people are upset about it now.

"If there's someone close to the Italian community, it's me," Coderre said during a news conference Wednesday.

Tony Sciascia, the former president of the Italian Canadian Congress, said he plans to reach out to Coderreabout the name change, hoping they can find amutually respectful solution.

"If they are just changing the name, that's not acceptable," Sciascia said.

If the current location of Guido Nincheri Park has to change names, maybe another park, like Parc de la Petite Italie in Little Italy, could be renamed to honour Nincheri.

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Nincheribrings'prestige to Quebec'

Community groups seeking to preserve and promote Italian heritage in Montreal take a harsher tone when discussing any erasure of Nincheri's name.

The president of Casa D'Italia, AngelaMinicucci,says the name change is "outrageous."

"He set the bar very high for art,"Minicuccisaid.

"Early turn of the century Italians came and brought high quality work and knowledge [to Canada]."

Giovanna Giordano, fromIl Comites, a group representingItalians abroad, said she is also outraged and wants to see Nincheri'smemory preserved because he"gave so much to Canada."

Shesaid honouring Nincheri would give prestige to Quebec because he was so prolific.

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KeepingNincheri'smemory alive

According to playwright Steve Galluccio, Montreal has a bad habit of erasing parts of its history when it changes the names of streets and buildings without any public consultation.

He suggested the city adopt a less destructive way of honouring new figures by adding names rather than subtracting them.

"Here they completely erase someone's name off a building, a monument, and we don't have a say,"Gallucciosaid. "That's what bugs me most."

Who was GuidoNincheri?

Nincheri studied art and fresco painting in Florence before immigrating to Boston in 1913then settling in Montreal.

He worked in a stained glass studio and went on to leave his mark on places like Saint-Lon de Westmount Church and the Church of the Madonna della Difesa in Little Italy.

He also worked throughoutQuebec, Canada and the northeastern U.S., creating about 220 works.

He was very well known from the 1930s to the 1950s, butfell into obscurity duringQuebec's Quiet Revolution, when people turned away from religion and religious art, according to his grandson.

Nincheri's story is heavily intertwined with the Catholic Church, andin 1933, the Pope honoured him withthe Order ofSaint-Sylvester.

But itwas a politically challenging time for Italian-Canadians, particularly ones receiving honours from Italy.

Then-Italian prime ministerBenito Mussolini was at his apex and had united church and state. He even made the Vatican its own city-state.

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History would remember Mussolini as a fascist dictator, but Boccini Nincheri said he was very popular with Italian clergyin the early1930sfor his support of the Vatican.

In honour of what Mussolini had done for them, the clergy in Montreal demanded that Nincheripaint himinto a fresco on the ceiling ofthe Church of the Madonna della Difesa on Henri-Julien Street in Little Italy.

The artist didn't want to, but eventually complied something which led the Canadian government to arrest him as a fascist years later.

Nincheri only agreed to include Mussoliniafterthe church threatened to tear up his contract if he didn't, and the founder of Italian fascism is still up there riding his horse to this day.

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Interned during WWII

In1942, Nicheri was working in Baie-Comeau when the RCMP came for him.

They took him to an internment camp in Petawawa, Ontario,whereItalian-Canadian men with links to,or who were suspectedoffascistallegiances, were held alongside Canadians of German and Japanese heritage.

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According to Boccini Nincheri, his grandfather was kept prisoner for three months before the family could prove that Mussolini was not inhis original watercolour for the Madonna della Difesa fresco.

"That time was very hard from a psychological point of view," Boccini Nincheri said.

"In the camp he was well treated, but on the trip to the camp, by train, he was vilified. But he never said anything. He never talked about it [with us]."

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