WELCOME
This website was born thanks to a chance meeting between Giovanni Omodeo and John Amos who, besides having the same first name in common, they also realised they had many things in common to name a few, a love for local history and customs, dialects, literature and, last but not least, contemplating the mysteries of the Universe !
With the help and constructive suggestions of his friends, Giovanni wrote a series of interesting articles and dialogues with 'Dante', and complied dictionaries about Valenza, its dialect, idioms, history, personalities and much, much more.
John acted as a catalyst in the long process of preparing and publishing the Giovanni's articles besides translating the dictionaries into English.
For both it has been such a wonderful experience so much so that the next time Charles Dickens visits Italy, he will certainly come to Valenza with Dante Alighieri to meet both of them.
Giovanni Omodeo
Giovanni Omodeo, a goldsmith by profession, was born in Valenza in 1936, in front of the ‘spianà’, where the ‘Costanzo Ciano’ (now ‘Don Minzoni’) school stands.
As a child he experienced the reality of war, witnessing the tragic events that involved the city, (some never documented).
Leaving school early, however, did not mean giving up reading the classics, taking an interest in ornithology, sport, fauna, the history of the city and the people who lived there. His passion for dialect (in the past he collaborated with Nino Verità on the drafting and realisation of the ‘Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Valenzano Dialect’), led him to write various works, including short stories, many of them linked to episodes he had experienced, in which he addresses the spirit of Dante Alighieri (whom he only sees), keeping him informed on various topics through short written passages. These include the meeting, which turned out to be fruitful, with a British tourist (John Leslie Amos), who met by chance in the ‘Gìr dal Sücot’ and asked Giovanni for some local information.
Today, Giovanni can be described as a memory hunter; a witness to the presence of a past time in the present.
John Leslie Amos
John Leslie Amos was born in Maidstone, Great Britain, the son of a Forlì mother and a British father. After his professional training, at the age of twenty-eight he moved to Italy, opening a studio first in Milan and then, at the end of the 1980s, in Valenza.
John is married to a Valencian whose father was from Lomelina and mother from Casale Monferrato and they have three children, Alison, Paul and Vivian who live in Italy.
Now retired, he devotes his time to baroque music, Valencian history and dialect, good Italian food and the good company of friends.
TEAM
The dialettovalenzano team also includes
Carla Raselli who lends her knowledge and voice to the Podcast series and
Simona Cerri who provides her 'know-how' to the graphic presentations.