Spirituality and Creativity to Proclaim the Beauty of Life - Interview with Salvatore Domolo - by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Spirituality and Creativity to Proclaim the Beauty of Life

Interview with Salvatore Domolo

by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Today I have the pleasure and honor of introducing you to a very special person: Salvatore Domolo.

Salvatore is a very humble man who, had I met him, would have qualified at best as a Floral Designer and at most as the author of a few books.

By carefully reading his biography and doing other research on the net, I discovered that there is much more to this man: a depth of thought, a very high level of knowledge and awareness, and an inner richness that, often and paradoxically, are the result of the sufferings experienced, of the trials passed, and the consequent lessons learned.

There is still much to say about him, but I want Salvatore himself to reveal himself by making us participants in his spiritual life and not, and, above all, in his extraordinary creativity.

 

 

MTDD: Salvatore, welcome to my Blog and Virtual Cultural Salon, and thank you for agreeing to participate in this interview.

SD: Thank you Maria Teresa for inviting me and for the esteem you have towards me.

 

MTDD: I am in love with your creations and paintings on glass, but before we begin exploring this wonderful activity of yours, I would like you to introduce yourself to our readers by starting to tell us about your childhood.

SD: I was born in a small town on Lake Orta and I lived my childhood and adolescence in the family home, in this fairy-tale place full of natural stimuli. The domestic vegetable garden, the garden, and above all the woods adjacent to the large nineteenth-century house contributed to my inner formation, arousing a profound interiority that from my childhood has been transformed into creativity. At the age of 8, watching a florist setting up floral arrangements for a wedding, the desire to create floral arrangements exploded in me. From that moment on, every occasion was good to express my inner garden with flowers and leaves.

 

MTDD: I know that when you were very young, at the age of 14 you entered the seminary.

Did you continue to cultivate your passion there too?

SD: Yes, I continued to cultivate this passion of mine by setting up floral decorations for special occasions. Once I became a priest, I even strengthened it by making it a spiritual tool.

 

MTDD: How did you live your years as a priest?

SD: I was an uncomfortable and revolutionary priest. At 38, I graduated in Communication Sciences, writing a thesis on the anthropology of floral language. This thesis allowed me to summarize my three great passions: nature, the evangelical message of freedom, and floral art as a tool to announce the beauty of life.

 

MTDD: Are there other sectors or ways in which you were able to use these great passions of yours and your studies?

SD: Certainly. The studies I undertook, the passion for flowers, my free vision, sought after and suffered in the inner depths, allowed me to carry out conferences, spiritual encounters, and simple dialogues on the fundamental theme of the Wood, the Tree, and the Flower as the main archetypes to know yourself and enter into solidarity with the whole.

 

MTDD: Very beautiful, poetic, and equally profound this thought of yours which also reveals a path of personal growth crowned by the achievement of greater Awareness.

Would you like to tell us about it?

SD: The Awareness of the 2 ethical principles – self-knowledge and solidarity with everything – allowed me to finally free myself, after 15 years of profound interior research, from the priestly ministry, abandoning the Catholic Church to embark on a mystical path, completely free from religious schemes.

This new life allowed me, albeit with great effort and suffering, to rework great interior themes, thus allowing me to strengthen and transmit the awareness of natural archetypes (Wood, Tree, Flower), to enrich her floral creative experience by becoming a Floral Designer and to help the people I meet to find within themselves the golden thread of their creativity.

 

MTDD: What were the biggest difficulties, the biggest obstacles to overcome during your journey?

SD: First of all, the perception of being completely alone while facing the great inner transformation, distancing myself from the great pre-established religious and social systems. To make the choices I lived, I had to distance myself, and even when I would be talking to people I felt that they could not understand the internal journey that is so arduous.

Another great difficulty was separating religion from spirituality, being a priest from my inner depth; I even had to get to an atheist experience to be able to remove all the rubble that lurked in the unconscious, suffocating the soul.

The greatest difficulty was the liberation from the infinite spiritual proposals that fill our time: I read everything and I relied on gurus, shamans, practices of all kinds to then understand that all these formulas are new "drugs" that do not allow us to simply listen to our own heart. By getting rid of all these "Harpies" that try to take over our free will and soul it is possible to achieve the simplicity of life. Here, emptying ourselves of all these idols was and is the greatest difficulty.

Another great challenge is accepting that you always have to start everything from scratch. Life is a continuous transformation in the present and basically what has been, no longer exists… It is not easy to have that enormous freedom that allows you to abandon the past. We probably age precisely because we can't get rid of this aspect, we can't let go of the dead cells.

 

MTDD: Where did your inner rebirth take place: at home with your parents in a familiar environment or elsewhere?

SD: No. I experienced this new inner synthesis in Tenerife where I wrote my second book with the provocative and evocative title "in nomine patris". In this publication of mine, written almost like a river in flood, I recounted my life by reworking a profound and healthy critique of religions and the political-social pyramid concept.

Thanks to the profound experience gained and through a careful analysis, I have described, having reached full awareness of it, the "macho" scheme that hides behind this suffocating experience of religions and in particular of the Catholic religion.

 

MTDD: While you were working on your book, did you experiment with other techniques to express your creativity even more fully, or did you concentrate on writing?

SD: While I was tackling the drafting of this book of mine, I recovered a creative experience that I had lived in my youth: painting on glass. However, it was only in 2017, in a period of deep family suffering, that I reached the full awareness that I had to surrender to life and immerse myself in the path of creativity through glass painting.

From that moment on, everyday life was transformed into a total dedication to painting and I discovered that this work became a dance with my Soul.

 

MTDD: Extraordinary conclusion that you have reached! Would you like to elaborate on this thought of yours?

SD: Gladly. Thanks to this inner journey I finally reached the full awareness that "the birds of the sky do not sow and do not reap because God provides them with food" (Gospel of Matthew – Chapter 6, Verse 26) This led me to a drastic decision: that of living in the pleasantness of painting without worrying about tomorrow ...

My life has thus been transformed into a garden of delights that allows me to continue to renew myself internally while enjoying the creative beauty, as well as having accepted the task of bringing LIGHT simply by creating symbolic lanterns.

 

MTDD: Hence, a Floral Designer but also and above all a Bearer of Light. Thank you, Salvatore, for having participated in this interview and above all for sharing with us so many interesting points on what your path to personal growth and development has been and also to a total inner rebirth.

How can readers who wish to contact you, buy your publications, or even order your beautiful glass creations enriched by your beautiful paintings, do so?

I can be contacted by email: Sdomolo@hotmail.com

Or on Facebook and Instagram as Salvatore Domolo

Or by calling 389 8811968

Heartfelt thanks Maria Teresa for this beautiful conversation. I believe we all seek one thing: the Light. I hope these simple words remind us of our goal; we are trees looking for the Sun and as happens in the woods, we also try to help us find the best path to let ourselves be warmed and illuminated by the eternal Light, This Light loves, does not judge, is not interested in the results, but simply wants to shine through each one of us.

Thanks to you and to those who will read these words with the hope of finding a ray of their inner Light.

Spiritualità e Creatività per annunciare la Bellezza della Vita - Intervista a Salvatore Domolo - di Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Spiritualità e Creatività per annunciare la Bellezza della Vita

Intervista a Salvatore Domolo

di Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Oggi ho il piacere e l’onore di presentarvi un personaggio molto particolare: Salvatore Domolo.

Salvatore è un uomo molto umile che, se l’avessi incontrato, si sarebbe qualificato al massimo  come un Floral Designer e tutt’al più come l’autore di alcuni libri.

Leggendo attentamente la sua biografia e facendo altre ricerche in rete, ho scoperto che c’è molto di più dietro quest’uomo: una profondità di pensiero, un livello di conoscenza e di consapevolezza molto elevato ed una ricchezza interiore che, spesso e paradossalmente, sono proprio il risultato delle sofferenze vissute, delle prove superate e delle conseguenti lezioni imparate.

Tanto ci sarebbe ancora da dire su di lui, ma voglio che sia Salvatore stesso a rivelarsi rendendoci partecipi della sua Vita spirituale e non e, soprattutto, della sua straordinaria creatività.

 

MTDD: Salvatore, benvenuto su questo mio Blog e Salotto Culturale Virtuale e grazie per aver accettato di partecipare a questa intervista.

SD: Grazie Maria Teresa per avermi invitato e per la stima che nutri nei miei confronti.

 

MTDD: Io sono innamorata delle tue creazione e pitture su vetro, ma prima di arrivare a esaminare questa tua stupenda attività vorrei che tu ti presentassi ai nostri lettori iniziando a parlarci proprio della tua infanzia.

SD: Sono nato in un piccolo paese del lago d'Orta ed ho vissuto nella casa di famiglia la mia infanzia ed adolescenza, in questo luogo fiabesco ricco di stimoli naturali. L'orto domestico, il giardino e soprattutto i boschi adiacenti alla grande casa ottocentesca, hanno contribuito alla mia formazione interiore, suscitando una profonda interiorità che fin dalla mia fanciullezza si è trasformata in creatività. All'età di 8 anni, guardando un fiorista mentre allestiva l'addobbo floreale per un matrimonio, è esploso in me il desiderio di realizzare composizioni floreali. Da quel momento ogni occasione è stata buona per esprimere, con i fiori e le foglie, il mio giardino interiore.

 

MTDD: So che da giovanissimo, all’età di 14 anni sei entrato in Seminario.

Hai continuato a coltivare questa tua passione anche lì?

SD: Sì, ho continuato a coltivare questa mia passione allestendo gli addobbi floreali per le grandi occasioni. Una volta diventato prete l’ho persino potenziata facendola diventare uno strumento spirituale.

 

MTDD: Come hai vissuto i tuoi anni da sacerdote?

SD: Sono stato un prete scomodo e rivoluzionario. A 38 anni mi sono laureato in Scienze della Comunicazione, realizzando una tesi sull’antropologia del linguaggio floreale. Questa tesi mi ha permesso di sintetizzare le mie tre grandi passioni: la natura, il messaggio evangelico di libertà e l'arte floreale come strumento per annunciare la bellezza della vita.

 

MTDD: Ci sono altri settori o modi in cui hai potuto utilizzare queste tue grandi passioni ed i tuoi studi?

SD: Certamente. Gli studi intrapresi, la passione per i fiori, la mia visione libera, ricercata e sofferta nelle profondità interiori, mi hanno permesso di realizzare conferenze, incontri spirituali e semplici dialoghi sul tema fondamentale del Bosco, dell’Albero e del Fiore come archetipi fondamentali per conoscere se stessi ed entrare in solidarietà con il tutto.

 

MTDD: Molto bello, poetico ed altrettanto profondo questo tuo pensiero che rivela anche un percorso di crescita personale coronato dal raggiungimento di una maggiore Consapevolezza.

Vorresti parlarcene?

SD:  La Consapevolezza dei 2 principi etici – la conoscenza di se stessi e la solidarietà con il tutto – mi hanno consentito di liberarmi definitivamente, dopo 15 anni di ricerca interiore profonda, dal ministero sacerdotale, abbandonando la Chiesa cattolica per intraprendere un percorso mistico, completamente libero dagli schemi religiosi.

Questa nuova vita mi ha permesso, pur con grande fatica e sofferenza, di rielaborare grandi temi interiori, consentendomi così di potenziare e trasmettere la consapevolezza degli archetipi naturali (Bosco, Albero, Fiore), di arricchire la mia esperienza creativa floreale diventando Floral Designer e di aiutare le persone che incontro a ritrovare dentro se stesse il filo d'oro della loro creatività.

 

MTDD: Quali sono state le maggiori difficoltà, i più grandi ostacoli da sormontare durante questo tuo percorso?

SD: Innanzitutto la percezione di essere completamente solo mentre affrontavo la grande trasformazione interiore, prendendo le distanze dai grandi sistemi precostituiti, religiosi e sociali. Per realizzare le scelte vissute, ho dovuto prendere le distanze e anche quando dialogavo con le persone percepivo che non riuscivano a comprendere il percorso interiore così arduo.

Un'altra grande difficoltà fu separare la religione dalla spiritualità, l'essere prete dalla mia profondità interiore; ho dovuto persino arrivare ad una esperienza atea per riuscire a rimuovere tutte le macerie che si annidavano nell’inconscio, soffocando l’anima.

La difficoltà più grande è stata la liberazione dalle infinite proposte spirituali che riempiono il nostro tempo: ho letto di tutto e mi sono affidato a guru, sciamani, pratiche di ogni genere per poi comprendere che tutte queste formule sono nuove “droghe" che non permettono di ascoltare semplicemente il proprio cuore. Liberandosi di tutte queste “Arpie" che tentano di impadronirsi del libero arbitrio e dell'anima è  possibile raggiungere la semplicità della vita. Ecco, svuotarsi di tutti questi idoli è stata ed è la difficoltà più grande.

Un'altra grande difficoltà è accettare di dover sempre incominciare tutto da zero. La vita è una continua trasformazione nel presente e fondamentalmente ciò che è stato non esiste più… Non è facile avere quella enorme libertà che permette di abbandonare il passato. Probabilmente invecchiamo proprio perché non riusciamo a liberarci di questo aspetto, non riusciamo a lasciar andare le cellule ormai morte.

 

MTDD: Dove è avvenuta questa tua rinascita interiore: a casa dai tuoi in un ambiente a te familiare o altrove?

SD: No. Questa mia nuova sintesi interiore l’ho vissuta a Tenerife dove ho realizzato la stesura del mio secondo libro dal titolo provocatorio ed evocativo “in nomine patris”. In questa mia pubblicazione, scritta quasi come un fiume in piena, ho raccontato la mia vita rielaborando una profonda e sana critica alle religioni e alla concezione politico-sociale piramidale.

Grazie alla profonda esperienza maturata e con una attenta analisi, ho descritto, avendone raggiunto la piena consapevolezza, lo schema “machista” che si nasconde dietro questa asfissiante esperienza delle religioni e in modo particolare della religione cattolica.

 

MTDD: Mentre lavoravi alla stesura di questo tuo libro hai sperimentato altre tecniche per esprimere questa tua creatività in maniera ancor più piena o ti sei concentrato sulla scrittura?

SD: Mentre affrontavo la stesura di questo mio libro ho recuperato un’esperienza creativa che avevo vissuta nella giovinezza: la pittura su vetro. Tuttavia, è stato solo nel 2017, in un periodo di profonda sofferenza familiare, che ho raggiunto la piena consapevolezza che dovevo arrendermi alla vita e immergermi nella strada della creatività attraverso la pittura su vetro.

La quotidianità si è trasformata, da quel momento in poi, in totale dedizione alla pittura ed ho scoperto che questo lavoro diventava la danza con la mia Anima.

 

MTDD: Straordinaria conclusione quella a cui sei pervenuto! Vorresti elaborare questo tuo pensiero?

SD: Volentieri. Grazie a questo percorso interiore ho raggiunto la piena consapevolezza finalmente che “gli uccelli del cielo non seminano e non mietono perché Dio provvede loro il cibo” (Vangelo di Matteo – Capitolo 6, versetto 26) Questo mi ha fatto approdare ad una drastica decisione: quella di vivere nella piacevolezza della pittura senza preoccuparmi del domani…

La mia vita si è trasformata così in un giardino di delizie che mi permette di continuare a trasformarmi interiormente, mentre godo della bellezza creativa, oltre ad aver accolto il compito di portare LUCE semplicemente creando lanterne simboliche.

 

MTDD: Floral Designer, dunque, ma anche e soprattutto un Portatore di Luce. Grazie, Salvatore, per aver partecipato a questa intervista e soprattutto per aver condiviso con noi tanti punti interessanti su quello che è stato il tuo percorso di crescita e sviluppo personale ed anche di una totale rinascita interiore.

Se ci fossero dei lettori che volessero contattarti, acquistare le tue pubblicazioni o anche ordinare le tue splendide creazioni in vetro arricchite dalle tue stupende pitture in che modo potranno farlo?

Posso essere contattato tramite email: Sdomolo@hotmail.com

Oppure su Facebook e Instagram Salvatore Domolo

Oppure chiamando al 389 8811968

Grazie di Cuore Maria Teresa per questa bella conversazione. Credo che tutti noi cerchiamo una sola cosa: la Luce. Spero che queste semplici parole ci ricordino questo nostro obiettivo; siamo alberi che cercano il Sole e come avviene nel bosco, tentiamo anche noi di aiutarci a trovare il sentiero migliore per lasciarci riscaldare e illuminare dalla Luce eterna, Questa Luce ama, non giudica, non è interessata ai risultati, ma semplicemente vuole brillare attraverso ognuno di noi.

Grazie a te e a coloro che leggeranno queste parole con la speranza di trovare un raggio della loro Luce interiore.

Spiritualität und Kreativität, um die Schönheit des Lebens zu verkünden - Interview mit Salvatore Domolo - von Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Spiritualität und Kreativität, um die Schönheit des Lebens zu verkünden

Interview mit Salvatore Domolo

von Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Heute habe ich das Vergnügen und die Ehre, Euch einen ganz besonderen Charakter vorzustellen: Salvatore Domolo.

Salvatore ist ein sehr bescheidener Mann, der, wenn ich ihn kennengelernt hätte, höchstens als Blumendesigner und Autor einiger Bücher qualifiziert gewesen wäre.

Durch das sorgfältige Lesen seiner Biografie und andere Recherchen im Netz habe ich entdeckt, dass hinter diesem Mann viel mehr steckt: eine Tiefe des Denkens, ein sehr hohes Maß an Wissen und Bewusstsein und ein innerer Reichtum, der oft und paradoxerweise genau das Ergebnis der erlittenen Leiden, der bestandenen Prüfungen und der daraus gezogenen Lektionen ist.

Es gibt noch viel über ihn zu sagen, aber ich möchte, dass er sich selbst offenbart, indem er uns an seinem geistlichen und nicht geistlichen Leben und vor allem an seiner außergewöhnlichen Kreativität teilnimmt.

 

 

MTDD: Salvatore, willkommen zu meinem Blog und meinem virtuellen Kultursalon und vielen Dank, dass Du Dich bereit erklärt hast, an diesem Interview teilzunehmen.

SD: Danke Maria Teresa für die Einladung und die Wertschätzung, die Du mir entgegenbringst.

 

MTDD: Ich bin in Deine Kreationen und Glasbielder verliebt, aber bevor ich diese wundervolle Aktivität von Dir untersuche, möchte ich, dass Du Dich unseren Lesern vorstellst, indem Du beginnst, uns von Deiner Kindheit zu erzählen.

SD: Ich bin in einer kleinen Stadt am Ortasee geboren und habe meine Kindheit und Jugend im Elternhaus verbracht, an diesem märchenhaften Ort voller natürlicher Reize. Der heimische Gemüsegarten, der Garten und vor allem der Wald neben dem großen Haus aus dem 19. Jahrhundert trugen zu meiner inneren Bildung bei und erweckten eine tiefe Innerlichkeit, die von meiner Kindheit an in Kreativität umgewandelt wurde. Im Alter von 8 Jahren, als ich einem Floristen dabei zusah, wie er Blumenarrangements für eine Hochzeit herstellte, explodierte in mir der Wunsch, Blumenarrangements zu kreieren. Von diesem Moment an war jede Gelegenheit gut, meinen inneren Garten mit Blumen und Blättern auszudrücken.

 

MTDD: Ich weiß, dass Du, als Du noch sehr jung warst, mit 14 Jahren ins Priesterseminar einträtest.

Hast Du Deine Leidenschaft auch dort weiter gepflegt?

SD: Ja, diese Leidenschaft habe ich weiter gepflegt, indem ich Blumenschmuck für besondere Anlässe aufstellte. Als ich Priester wurde, stärkte ich es sogar, indem ich es zu einem geistlichen Werkzeug machte.

 

MTDD: Wie hast Du Deine Jahre als Priester verbracht?

SD: Ich war ein unbequemer und revolutionärer Priester. Im Alter von 38 Jahren schloss ich mit einer Diplomarbeit über die Anthropologie der Blumensprache mein Studium der Kommunikationswissenschaften ab. Diese Diplomarbeit ermöglichte mir meine drei großen Leidenschaften zu synthetisieren: die Natur, die evangelische Botschaft der Freiheit und die Blumenkunst als Werkzeug, um die Schönheit des Lebens zu verkünden.

 

MTDD: Gibt es andere Bereiche oder Möglichkeiten, diese großen Leidenschaften von Dir und Deinem Studium zu nutzen?

SD: Auf jeden Fall. Die durchgeführten Studien, die Leidenschaft für Blumen, mein freier Blick, der im Innersten gesucht und gelitten wurde, ermöglichten mir, Konferenzen, spirituelle Begegnungen und einfache Dialoge über das grundlegende Thema Holz, Baum und Blume als grundlegende Archetypen durchzuführen, denn erkenne dich selbst und verbinde dich mit allem.

 

MTDD: Sehr schön, poetisch und ebenso tiefgründig dieser Gedanke von Dir, der auch einen Weg des persönlichen Wachstums offenbart, der von der Erlangung eines größeren Bewusstseins gekrönt wird.

Möchtest Du uns davon erzählen?

SD: Das Bewusstsein der 2 ethischen Prinzipien – Selbsterkenntnis und Solidarität mit allem – hat es mir ermöglicht, mich nach 15 Jahren tiefer innerer Forschung endlich vom priesterlichen Dienst zu befreien, die katholische Kirche aufzugeben und einen mystischen Weg einzuschlagen, vollständig frei von religiösen Schemata.

Dieses neue Leben hat es mir, wenn auch mit viel Mühe und Leid, ermöglicht, großartige Innenthemen zu überarbeiten, wodurch ich das Bewusstsein für natürliche Archetypen (Holz, Baum, Blume) stärken und weitergeben kann, um meine florale kreative Erfahrung zu bereichern, indem ich ein Florales Designer werde und um den Menschen, die ich treffe, zu helfen, den goldenen Faden ihrer Kreativität in sich selbst zu finden.

 

MTDD: Was waren die größten Schwierigkeiten, die größten Hindernisse, die Du während Deiner Reise überwinden musstest?

SD: Zuallererst die Wahrnehmung, ganz allein zu sein, während ich der großen inneren Transformation gegenüberstehe, mich von den großen vorgefertigten religiösen und sozialen Systemen zu distanzieren. Um die Entscheidungen zu treffen, die ich lebte, musste ich mich selbst distanzieren und wenn ich mit Leuten sprach, hatte ich das Gefühl, dass sie den so schwierigen inneren Weg nicht verstehen konnten.

Eine andere große Schwierigkeit bestand darin, Religion von Spiritualität zu trennen, ein Priester aus meiner Tiefe zu sein; Ich musste sogar eine atheistische Erfahrung machen, um all den Schutt beseitigen zu können, der im Unbewussten lauerte und die Seele erstickte.

Die größte Schwierigkeit war die Befreiung von den unendlichen spirituellen Vorschlägen, die unsere Zeit füllen: Ich habe alles gelesen und mich auf Gurus, Schamanen, Praktiken aller Art verlassen, um dann zu verstehen, dass all diese Formeln neue "Drogen" sind, die es nicht erlauben, einfach ins eigene Herz zuzuhören, durch die Beseitigung all dieser "Harpyien", die versuchen, den freien Willen und die Seele zu übernehmen, ist es möglich, die Einfachheit des Lebens zu erreichen. Hier war und ist es die größte Schwierigkeit, uns von all diesen Idolen zu entleeren.

Eine weitere große Schwierigkeit besteht darin zu akzeptieren, dass man immer alles von vorne beginnen muss. Das Leben ist eine kontinuierliche Transformation in der Gegenwart und im Grunde existiert das, was war, nicht mehr ... Es ist nicht einfach, diese enorme Freiheit zu haben, die es einem ermöglicht, die Vergangenheit aufzugeben. Wahrscheinlich altern wir gerade, weil wir diesen Aspekt nicht loswerden; wir können tote Zellen nicht loslassen.

 

MTDD: Wo fand Deine innere Wiedergeburt statt: zu Hause bei Deinen Eltern in einer vertrauten Umgebung oder anderswo?

SD: Nein. Diese neue innere Synthese habe ich auf Teneriffa erlebt, wo ich mein zweites Buch mit dem provokanten und stimmungsvollen Titel "in nomine patris" geschrieben habe. In dieser meiner Veröffentlichung, die fast wie ein Fluss in Flut geschrieben ist, habe ich mein Leben erzählt, indem ich eine tiefgreifende und gesunde Kritik an Religionen und dem pyramidalen gesellschaftspolitischen Konzept überarbeitet habe.

Dank meiner profunden Erfahrung und einer sorgfältigen Analyse habe ich, zu vollem Bewusstsein, das "Macho"-Schema beschrieben, das sich hinter dieser erstickenden Erfahrung der Religionen und insbesondere der katholischen Religion verbirgt.

 

MTDD: Hast Du während der Arbeit an Deinem Buch mit anderen Techniken experimentiert, um Deiner Kreativität noch mehr Ausdruck zu verleihen, oder Dich auf das Schreiben konzentriert?

SD: Während ich mich mit der Ausarbeitung dieses Buches beschäftigte, fand ich eine kreative Erfahrung wieder, die ich in meiner Jugend erlebt hatte: das Malen auf Glas. Doch erst 2017, in einer Zeit tiefen familiären Leidens, erreichte ich das volle Bewusstsein, dass ich mich dem Leben hingeben und in den Weg der Kreativität durch die Glasmalerei eintauchen musste.

Von diesem Moment an verwandelte ich mich der Alltag in eine totale Hingabe an die Malerei und entdeckte, dass diese Arbeit zu einem Tanz mit meiner Seele wurde.

 

MTDD: Was für eine Außerordentliche Schlussfolgerung, die Du gezogen hast! Möchtest Du diesen Gedanken von Dir ausführen?

SD: Gerne. Dank dieser inneren Reise erreichte ich schließlich das volle Bewusstsein, dass "die Vögel des Himmels nicht säen und nicht ernten, weil Gott sie mit Nahrung versorgt" (Matthäus-Evangelium - Kapitel 6, Vers 26) Dies führte mich zu einer drastischen Entscheidung: in der Annehmlichkeit der Malerei zu leben, ohne mich um morgen sorgen zu müssen ...

Mein Leben hat sich so in einen Garten der Freuden verwandelt, der es mir erlaubt, mich innerlich weiter zu verwandeln, während ich die schöpferische Schönheit geniesse und die Aufgabe angenommen habe, LICHT zu bringen, einfach indem ich symbolische Laternen kreiere.

 

MTDD: Also Floral Designer aber auch und vor allem ein Lichtträger. Vielen Dank, Salvatore, dass Du an diesem Interview teilgenommen hast und vor allem, dass Du uns so viele interessante Punkte auf Deinem Weg des persönlichen Wachstums und der persönlichen Entwicklung und auch einer totalen inneren Wiedergeburt mitgeteilt hast.

Wenn es Leser gäbe, die mit Dir in Kontakt treten, Deine Publikationen kaufen oder sogar Deine wunderbaren Glaskreationen, bereichert durch Deine schönen Gemälde, bestellen möchten, wie werden sie das tun?

Ich kann per E-Mail kontaktiert werden: Sdomolo@hotmail.com

Oder auf Facebook und Instagram als Salvatore Domolo

Oder telefonisch unter 389 8811968

Herzlichen Dank Maria Teresa für dieses schöne Gespräch. Ich glaube, wir alle suchen eines: das Licht. Ich hoffe, diese einfachen Worte erinnern uns an unser Ziel; wir sind Bäume auf der Suche nach der Sonne und wie im Wald versuchen auch wir uns zu helfen, den besten Weg zu finden, um uns vom ewigen Licht erwärmen und erleuchten zu lassen. Dieses Licht liebt, urteilt nicht, ist nicht an Ergebnissen interessiert, will aber einfach durch jeden unserer durchscheinen.

Vielen Dank an Dich und an diejenigen, die diese Worte in der Hoffnung lesen, einen Strahl ihres inneren Lichts zu finden.

 

Italian-American Writers Community: Being an Amazing Leader - Interview with Tiziano Thomas Dossena - by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

Italian-American Writers Community:

Being an Amazing Leader

Interview with Tiziano Thomas Dossena

by Maria Teresa De Donato

 

One of the most exciting experiences I had so far in the United States is becoming part of the Italian-American Writers Community.

Today I am very happy and honored to host Tiziano Thomas Dossena, who has been very active since he moved to the States, thus becoming one of the main pillars of our Italian-American Community.

Tiziano has a very impressive biography for he has kept himself quite busy over the years. However, instead of listing all his accomplishments – literary and otherwise – I would rather prefer to let him talk about them.

 

MTDD: Hi Tiziano and welcome to my Virtual and Cultural Salon. It’s a pleasure meeting with you today.

TD: I am honored to meet you today and to be interviewed by you.

 

MTDD: Tiziano, Why don’t you start by introducing yourself to our readers and explaining how and why you ended up moving to the United States?

TD: I came to the United States in 1968 with my parents. My father was a renowned artist and wanted to take a chance in America. He did well, but Italy ‘called him’ and he returned to the motherland in 1976. I wrote a first book on his work (The World as an Impression, the Landscapes of Emilio Giuseppe Dossena) this year and a full biography will be published by the end of the year…By 1977, I had completed 2 Bachelors and one Associate and wanted to go to Medical school, so I left for Italy. It was a great experience, but I never completed my studies in Medicine. I had gotten married in 1979 with my college sweetheart and had an import/export agency to run. It was too intense and the traveling took a toll since I had to attend to various medical and dental conventions all over the world. So, when my father passed in 1987, since my mother-in-law lived in New York, I returned with my wife and my first child William to USA. It was my second emigration from Italy…

 

MTDD: You hold several degrees in different fields. Have you always been involved in the Publishing industry or you previously held other positions in more technical fields to make a living?

TD: Well, I have a B.A in Italian, a B.S in Liberal Studies, and a B.A in Environmental Science. It may sound confusing, but there is logic to it. The Italian and Liberal Studies gave me the basis for my publishing activities, while the Environmental Science degree, enhanced by an Associate in Mathematics, an Associate in Environmental Technology and two certificates in Building Technology gave me the tools to perform well as a building engineer for over 30 years… I worked in a research center for the NYNEX Company, which then became Verizon, for over 16 years, then 11 years with UBS bank at the largest open trading center in the world, and finally the last two years at Madison Square Garden. Having the financial security of that job gave me the opportunity to run L’Idea Magazine for the past 31 years without any constrains or pressure related to the economic aspect. That also allowed me to become an editor without any major concerns about income and focusing instead on the preciousness and validity of the books I wrote, edited, and published.

 

MTDD: Your life is strictly connected to Art in general and especially to writing, music, and sculpture. Over the years, you have received many awards, nominations, and prizes.

Tell us about them.

TD: It all started with a third prize for sculpture at the “Biennale di Boniprati in 1978”.  I confess, though, that I have not produced any more statues since those years… Additional awards and nominations were won on in the following years, for poetry, journalism, and fiction. Among those worth noting, the first prize for essays at the “De Finibus Terrae” contest; the second prize for poetry at “Voci Nostre;” the first prize for fiction “Coppa del Mare” at the “Premio Città di Modica;” the second prize for poetry at “Noi e gli Altri;” the Gold Medal for Journalism at “Premio Emigrazione;” the second prize with a silver medal at the “Premio Europa” for fiction. Most recently, in 2012, I was awarded the Globo Tricolore Award for outstanding work in the publishing industry and my journalistic work; this award is considered the Italian Oscar of the publishing industry. I also won the Sons of Italy Literary Award in 2019 for my lifetime literary work, and I was recently inducted by the Marquis Who’s Who in the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. I feel very lucky to be recognized in so many ways, but I confess that the most emotional day for me was when, in 2012, I was asked to read poems on the commemoration of 9/11 in my city, Yonkers.

 

MTDD: 1990 was a very important year for you.  You became the Editorial Director and also the Publisher of L’Idea Magazine (Brooklyn, New York), and founder and Editor-in-Chief of OperaMyLove and OperaAmorMio magazines. 

What prompted you to start these activities?

TD: My interest in the Arts in general goes back to my experience with my father’s work and the friends of our family: writers, artists, opera singers, playwrights, etcetera.   When I came back to USA in 1987, Leonardo Campanile, who was the editor-in-Chief of L’Idea contacted me because he knew I had experience writing (I had published many poems, short stories, and technical articles in various magazines and I also had translated a couple of scientific books to round off my income). He just wanted a little help with the magazine. I started writing front page articles for him and in a short while I was asked to become the Editorial Director, a title that I still retain. That position gives me the privilege to decide on the content of the magazine.

Opera always fascinated me. I founded the two opera magazines initially as blogs, but they grew so fast and became full-fledge online magazines. The opera magazines were then absorbed in the Idea Graphics Group, which I and Leonardo Campanile formed a few years ago. The Group also includes two Imprints (Idea Press and Idea Publications) and obviously L’Idea Magazine. Also, one more imprint for Music scores is in the process of being born.

 

MTDD: Has your Italian heritage impacted your literary work and social involvement, and if yes, how and to what extent?

TD: I believe my being Italian influenced my literary choices throughout my whole life. I am part of the Sons of Italy Organization, wherein besides cultural activities related to Italy we provide scholarships for students of the Italian language. I financed, edited, and published anthologies of Italian American Writers. In our publishing company we produce musical scores of Italian composers, and our emphasis is always on Italian Americans and Italians, whether as writers or as subjects. So, I can safely say that my Italian heritage is the focus of all my literary activities as author, editor, and publisher.

I also write exclusively about Italy, Italians, and Italian Americans. For example, I am the author of a book of short stories in Italian (Caro Fantozzi, Scriptum Press, 2009), a bilingual (Italian and English) book of poetry (Sunny Days and Sleepless Nights, Idea Press, 2016), the bilingual book on art mentioned previously, four bilingual books on the libretti of the operas of the Italian composer Niccolò van Westerhout, (Doña Flor, Fortunio, Colomba, and Cimbelino), a bilingual book of essays on Niccolò van Westerhout (Doña Flor, an opera by Niccolò van Westerhout, Idea Publications, 2010), and three anthologies  (A feast of Narrative, an Anthology of Short Stories by Italian American Writers, Vol.1,Vol. 2, Vol. 3; Idea press 2020). In a few days my book in Italian on Federico Tosti, a prolific poet in Roman dialect, will be available, and by the end of the year two more books by me (the biography of my father in Italian and its version in English) will also be published.

There are also the books that I edit, all of them by Italians or Italian Americans. One more item I would like to add is the fact that my bilingual books can find an excellent use in the classrooms for students of Italian, especially the poetry one.

 

MTDD: The Italian-American Community in the US has always played a fundamental role in the evolution of the history of this country. What is your personal view on the matter, given all that happened over the last couple of years?

TD: It is very sad that the cancel culture does not have ‘culture’ in itself. All you need is someone making an accusation, even if unfounded as in the case of Christopher Columbus, and the people want an historical character to be erased from the public places, history books and our memories. By going along with that reasoning, we won’t have any historical characters to look up to. In a court, you have to be proven guilty before being sentenced, but with Columbus, it didn’t work like that. He was used as a scapegoat for all the horrible actions that the conquistadors and the following Europeans have committed against the natives and found guilty without a trial. The people just wanted blood and some of his statues went down. It was a lynching of the character. Some Italian Americans stated that there are better role models for our community and that we should let that go, but they are missing a point. He was for a long time a symbol of courage and sense of adventure for the Italian American community and removing it without due process is unfair. You cannot rewrite history. We are not going to ‘cancel’ Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy because they were womanizers, are we? Are we judging historical characters on their achievements or otherwise?

Other than the cancel culture on Columbus, I believe our community should put more emphasis on attempting to correct the blunders of history, such as replacing Graham Bell with Meucci as the inventor of the telephone, for example.

We have a large number of Italian Americans, even presently, who have been the roots and strength of our American society and have been successful in so many fields. Let’s talk about them, let’s brag a little bit; we deserve it.

 

MTDD: Along with your commitment to the literary work, you have been very busy socially on several fronts, collaborating or at least being a member of a variety of organizations.

Could you tell us more about your involvement in these kinds of activities?

TD: In 1998-2004, I was a member and the Recording Secretary of the local Com.It.Es. (Committee of Italians Abroad), a representative body of the Italian community, directly elected by compatriots residing in New York and Connecticut. I have been member of the Lions, IAWA, the Sons of Italy, the New York Academy of Science, a few Italian Academies, the Circolo Culturale di Mola and the organizations connected to my day job, such as ASHRAE and RSES. I have organized food pantries collections, charity events, cultural presentations, and many other activities. Sincerely, though, I have now, since retirement from my engineering job, focused on my literary and publishing activities, finally completing projects that I hold dear and that previously could not be finalized because of the excessive time requirements.

 

MTDD: Tiziano, it has been such a pleasure meeting with you today. Thank you for taking part in this interview.

Is there any other information about you and your activities you would like to share with our readers, starting with telling them how they can get in touch with you or buy your publications?

TD:  Thank you for having me. I take this opportunity to remind our Italian and Italian American writers that I am available to consult on possible publication of their manuscripts and that people can reach me at editoreusa@gmail.com.

If a writer, instead, wants to contribute to our magazines L’Idea or OperaMyLove, they can contact me at lideaeditor@gmail.com

Furthermore, all my books are available on Amazon or they can be bought directly from the publisher (ideapress-usa.com). Signed copies can be bought from me, naturally, using one of the email addresses above.

I send my best wishes for success and serenity in life to all your readers.