The appointment of Lorenzo Da Ponte in 1825 as professor of Italian in Columbia College failed to arouse any considerable interest among the students of the institution in the study of the language. As was the case with the other modern foreign languages, the study of Italian remained optional. In fact Da Ponte had no chair in the Faculty and no salary, and he received only the fees of the students who chose his courses. Despite his insistent offers to the trustees of the college, all aiming at putting the study of Italian on a firmer basis in the curriculum, he remained, as he humorously styled himself, professor sine exemplo. It is true that during his long residence in New York City, Da Ponte taught his native tongue privately to no less than two thousand students, but he was not satisfied with these sporadic results, for his constant aim was to make the Italian language and literature generally available to an increasing number of American students. When he finally became convinced that the trustees of the college were firm in their unwillingness to change their actual statutes which would have placed Italian as a subject of study in the curriculum, Da Ponte turned his efforts in other directions in the hope that he might thus perpetuate the rich heritage of the Italian language, literature, and culture on American soil. He thought that the next best means by which to accomplish this purpose was to establish a permanent, carefully selected, and ever increasing Italian library. Taking advantage of a celebration held in his honor on the occasion of his seventy-ninth birthday (March 10, 1828), Da Ponte delivered an oration to a select audience of pupils and friends, with the specific object of interesting them in becoming subscribers to the projected Italian library. Though everyone had applauded his plan, his triumph ended in fine words. The oration won for him only one subscriber!
“For Heart, Patriotism, and National Dignity”: The Italian Language Press in New York City and Constructions of Africa, Race, and Civilization