Benvenuti! The Italian Cultural Center - Il Punto connects diverse communities in the greater Seattle area and beyond through a common passion for Italian arts and culture. We organize events and offer Italian language instruction in a friendly, fun environment that builds on strong bonds between Italian expatriates, the Italian-American community and all enthusiasts of Italy. 

Il Punto is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax ID 47-2538399. Our programs are open to everyone, but members receive discounts. Please consider becoming a member,  volunteering, and donating to support our programs.  Contact us for more information. Ci vediamo presto! 

The Italian Cultural Center - Il Punto is operated and managed by its member-elected Board of Directors. Directors are confirmed at the annual business meeting of the members held on a specified date during the last quarter of each year. Any remaining open board positions are supplemented by Board election throughout the year.

President Alessandra Arosio - Alessandra is originally from a town near Milan and moved to Seattle in 2011. She graduated from Universita’ Cattolica in Foreign Languages, with a major in German but soon discovered a passion for the English language and computers, so she started working as a translator in a software company. She later joined Microsoft and spent a few years in Dublin learning about Irish culture and making friends of all nationalities. After a decade spent in Italy, she decided to start a new chapter and move to the USA with her husband Lucio and daughter Anna. She currently works as a Marketing Manager and is based in Redmond. Alessandra has been a volunteer of Il Punto since its inception and moderates Italian Conversation classes. She is passionate about cooking, food history and travelling.  Alessandra joined the Board in 2023 serving a two-year term.

Treasurer Giovanni LaManna - Giovanni is a retired geologist who has lived in Seattle for 40 years. He was born in Syracuse NY and is the grandson of immigrants from Molise and Campania. In the past, Giovanni has been an officer in the local chapter of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists and a member of the board of directors of the Northwest Geological Society. He enjoys Italian language and culture, geology, doing volunteer work, and spending time with friends and his wife Ann. Giovanni was a volunteer for Il Punto's Italian Language Program in 2021. He joined the board in January 2022 to serve a three-year term as Treasurer.

Secretary Giorgio Sardo - Giorgio was born in the city of Turin, where he enjoyed his childhood, went through classical studies, practiced swimming and water polo, and performed in a hard rock band. After graduating with a Master of Computer Science from the Polytechnic of Turin in 2007, he moved to the UK and later to Seattle in 2009. He currently works as General Manager at Microsoft, where he enjoys building products used by billions of people and interacting with customers and developer communities all around the world. He lives with his wife Belinda and daughter Stella; in his spare time, he enjoys playing piano, building Legos and travelling. He joined the Board in 2023, serving a two-year term.

Tiziano Recchi Board Member at Large - Tiziano is the son of Luigi M. Recchi and Bianca M. Sarno, two Italian painters living in Rome, Italy. Tiziano was born in Rome and grew up between Rome, Naples, Milan and Turin. He graduated from the University La Sapienza in Economics and Business. He moved to Dublin, Ireland in 1995 where he began working for Microsoft Corporation as a translator of software. Tiziano moved to the USA in 2000, and lives in Mercer Island. He’s is married with Laurie Gerson and father to two sons, Milo and Matteo Recchi. Tiziano’s passions are playing music, baking bread and coaching soccer. He joined Il Punto in 2021 and is serving a two-year term.

Lorenzo Iovino Board Member at Large - Lorenzo was born in Southern Italy in the mid '80s. He grew up with his family in his small hometown until he was 18, then he moved to Tuscany, where he graduated from Med School and became a blood doctor. To pursue his dream of also becoming an immunologist, he got the opportunity to do an internship at Fred Hutch: he was supposed to spend only 12 months in Seattle, but he then decided to stay. Lorenzo has a passion for research, medicine, music, and cycling. He joined the board in 2021, serving a two-year term.

Mario Cazzanti Board Member at Large - Mario is from a small town near Ferrara and Ravenna. After classic studies he joined the science faculty in Milan, and spent time as a working-student teaching math in private and public schools. He later joined IBM close to Milan, leading IT projects, tools development and occasionally teaching programming languages and data analysis at the IBM Education Center. He traveled a lot in Europe but mainly in the US as liaison for the Order Process Convergence for all manufacturing plants of the company. His US office was in Rochester, MN which he called home. He has two sons, Stefano who is living in MN, and Luca in Seattle with two wonderful grandkids. He completed working in Italy in 2001 after 32 years of service, and worked 10 more years for the US plants before his full retirement. As a retiree, he now enjoys more time and is trying to give back to the community by supporting the local Italian Cultural Centers.

Antonella Vesponi Bartel Board Member at Large 

Keith Morphis Board Member at Large 

Immediate Past President: Bo Salvadalena

Immediate Past Treasurer: Margherita Conti

Immediate Past Secretary: Serena Capozi