Fidelity & Perseverance
JULY 2025
PROPOSED SECOND BUILDING ON THE CAMPUS OF THE CULTURAL CENTER
La Societa` Dante Alighieri founded in Italy in 1889, with its present world headquarters located in Rome, is a non-profit association that promotes and disseminates the Italian language and culture throughout the world to include Italian achievement in the arts, literature, science, and industry and their collective promotion via language and cultural activities. La Societa` Dante Alighieri has approximately 490 affiliated chapters in more than 80 countries worldwide.
​
One of the chapters is the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, Inc. ("The Society") which was incorporated on June 11, 1971 pursuant to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 180, and in particular Section 4 thereof. The Society is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. The Society's Italian Cultural Center is located on a 35,000 square-foot parcel of land immediately adjacent to Kendal Square in Cambridge, MA. The Cultural Center, which was dedicated in June of 1985, was designed by the world-famous Italian Architect Pietro Belluschi who at that time was the Dean of the School of Architecture at MIT. Over the years, with a fidelity to the cultural and educational programs and purposes of La Societa` Dante Alighieri, the Society has grown such that the present Cultural Center can no longer service the cultural, educational and social needs and other demands placed upon the Cultural Center.
​
To ensure the cultural and educational mission of the Cultural Center, the Society needs to create an endowment to provide additional income to sustain the Cultural Center. An additional building appropriately designed would establish an endowment for the Society and surely strengthen the Society with a unique Italian Cultural Center, a landmark for the entire Italian and Italian-American community where tradition and innovation would converge in achieving the purposes and programs referenced in the first paragraph hereof.
​
The Board of Directors of the Society, recognizing the immediate need for additional classrooms, more office space and for library expansion to include a Reserve Book section, created the New Building Committee as a Standing Committee under the Society's By-laws. The Committee is presently composed of qualified and experienced professionals responsible for the planning, design and construction of the new building which will be located in the area designated by Architect Pietro Belluschi when he first designed the Cultural Center. The Chairman of the Committee, Guy A. Carbone, is a practicing attorney with law offices in Winchester, MA, and is also a Registered Professional Engineer with three engineering degrees from MIT and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School. The other Committee members are ex officio the Society's President Anthony Cassano, a successful real estate developer; ex officio Salvatore Bramante, Vice President for Administration; Grande Ufficiale Lino Rullo, real estate developer; and Attorney Richard J. Vita who is also President of the Italian Heritage Month Committee.
​
The major design consultants for the proposed new building are all highly regarded in their respective professions: Architect Anthony Pisani, AIA, Pisani + Associates with its principal office in Boston; Alfred E. Muccini, P.E., the Principal of MEA Engineering Associates, Inc. (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and fire safety); Structural Engineer Carmine Guarracino, P.E., Principal of Roome & Guarracino, LLC; and Construction Consultant Joseph J. Albanese, President and CEO of Commodore Builders Inc.
Status of Project
In early 2023 the New Building Committee with the help of the design consultants had advanced the plans for the new building to a point where the Committee could seek zoning relief from the Cambridge Zoning Board of Appeals (“ZBA”). The zoning relief requested and granted by the ZBA was a variance for setback along Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, a variance for general office use on the second floor and a special permit with regard to floor-area ratio. Following a Hearing in May 2023, the ZBA voted to grant the requested variance and special permit and filed its decision with the City Clerk on July 14, 2023. Applicable law required that the Committee “exercise the variance,” i.e., obtain an appropriate building permit from Cambridge, no later
than January 14, 2025.
The building design presented to the ZBA incorporated heating of the new building by natural gas. In April of 2024 the Cambridge City Council passed an ordinance forbidding the use of fossil fuel for heating new building construction. Accordingly, the Committee directed the design team to proceed with major revisions to the design which had originally been presented to the ZBA. The Committee studied geothermal heating and heat pumps as alternate heating methods to the original fossil fuel heating design. Based on that study, the Committee selected air source heat pumps as the heating method for the building with solar panels on the roof of the proposed new building. Because the space required for the fossil fuel mechanical equipment in the basement is larger than the space required for heat pumps, the size of the basement has been reduced. The first-floor plan for the new building remained the same, and the second-floor cantilever of 30 feet at the northerly end of the proposed building was reduced from 30 feet to 10 feet resulting in a reduction on the gross floor area of the second floor of 1,120 gross square feet from the previous design. Fortuitously, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted an omnibus economic development bill, Chapter 238 of the Acts of 2024, which became effective on November 20, 2024. Section 280 in said Chapter 238 specifically extends all variances and special permits in effect for the period from January 1, 2023, to January 1, 2025, for an additional lawful term of two years on and after the original expiration date.
Accordingly, the variance which had been granted for the new building and which had to be exercised no later than January 14, 2025, was automatically extended by the Legislature to January 14, 2027. The special permit, which had a two-year effective term, was extended from July 14, 2025, to July 14, 2027.
The New Building Committee is now actively fundraising to advance the redesign of the new building so as to obtain a building permit from Cambridge no later than January 14, 2027.
Building Info
The proposed new building will be located on the Dante Alighieri Society campus at the intersection of Hampshire Street and Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cambridge, MA. It is planned to have a first floor consisting of an Exhibition Hall and a related small espresso cafe together totaling 3,680 square feet. The building will also have a 4,582 square-foot second floor with a terrace overlooking the plaza. The new 5,279+ square-foot basement will contain a 50-person theater, a 35-person classroom, two small seminar rooms, bathrooms, all handicapped accommodations, electrical and mechanical rooms and storage space.
Please see the images below for conceptual floor plans of the proposed new building and visual representations of the proposed new building. You can also expand each of the plans to show the details on each plan by clicking here.
Donate
Numerous benefactors have generously donated considerable monies which have been spent for borings, geotechnical and environmental engineering, schematic architectural, structural and mechanical drawings, and legal fees and expenses required to obtain zoning relief from Cambridge. Unfortunately, as a result of the Cambridge directive, with the change in the fossil fuel heating to heat pumps, a portion of the architectural, structural and mechanical drawings will have to be substantially revised. The Society, acting through the Committee, has immediate need for at least $150,000 so that the design team can resume work on the construction drawings and the specifications for all the work required to apply for a building permit for the project. Accordingly, the Committee appeals to all those who are interested in seeing the new building come to fruition to donate any amount for the advancement of the project. Checks should be made payable to "Dante Alighieri Building Addition Account" and mailed to "Dante Alighieri Society, 41 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, Attention New Building Account." Because the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, Inc. has been designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, all donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by applicable law. The Board and the Committee thank you for your consideration and generosity.
Contact
The New Building Committee appreciates your questions and comments. You may contact us by mail using the address below:
Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts
New Building Committee
41 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA 02139-1547
You may contact us by phone at the Cultural Center 617-876-5160.
Alternatively, you may use the email address below to reach the Chairman of the New Building Committee, Guy A. Carbone guya.carbone@yahoo.com, or the Vice President for Administration, Sal Bramante vpadmin@dantemass.org.
​