Buonasera signore e signori

Salvatore Grancagnolo

Chemnitz Adult Education Centre is celebrating its 100th birthday these days. An anniversary that will be honoured with events in 2019. It is also a special year for Salvatore Grancagnolo. "I've been teaching at the adult education centre for 20 years in September," says the Italian lecturer. Born in Italy, he is one of around 400 teachers from over 30 countries who looked after more than 14,000 students in 2018. One with passion and great commitment. His courses have been regularly fully booked for 20 years. His eyes light up when he talks about his students and the lessons they take together.

What has been driving you to teach people for 20 years?
Salvatore Grancagnolo: In general, this curiosity. I consider it an honour that someone comes and not only wants to learn the Italian language, but also the Italians themselves and their way of life. My students are curious and interested in the country that I represent.
I told myself that if at some point I only do it for the money, I'll stop.

Then you lose your passion?
Yes, the word I love so much in the German language is vocation. Believe me: Assuming I've had a bad day at work and then I open the door and walk into the classroom, it's all gone at that moment. Some people go to the gym. I get to teach, talk and teach people something.
Over the past 20 years, I have met so many people, each of whom has a little story to tell. They have opened up in my classes and shared very personal things with me: negative experiences, etc. This is a gift to me. That is a gift that is given to me.
And when the participants open up, then I open up too. That's something wonderful. It's like meeting up with friends.

Who would like to learn Italian with you?
I have a wide range of participants. My youngest was 15 and my oldest almost 80. They come from different social backgrounds and then learn together.

In 20 years' time, surely you will also have "repeat offenders"?
Yes, some courses are always attended by the same people (laughs).

Why is that?
Because you learn for a lifetime. It's like sport. For example, if you play tennis and then don't play again for six months, it hurts again after the first time.
It's also not always the same topics in the courses. I think I have one of the highest language level courses this semester. We're dealing with literature and theatre plays.

Italian is not a world language. Where does the fascination of the people of Chemnitz for this language come from?
I've often asked myself the same question. I don't have a real answer.

Is that perhaps because of you?
(Laughs) Maybe. But I think, and this doesn't just apply to me, that a native speaker is naturally very important. We have quite a few of them at the adult education centre. In addition to the language, learners want to know a lot about the people, life and culture. Things that you won't find in any textbook. And you get that from a local.
And then the curiosity of the people of Chemnitz is great. You had to learn Russian at school here, English is a world language, almost compulsory. Not so many people speak Italian now.

How did you actually find your "vocation"?
The head of the language department at the Chemnitz Adult Education Centre at the time was Italian. He had the Italian consul in Chemnitz visiting and invited all Italians living in Chemnitz. During the introductory round, it was mentioned that the adult education centre was looking for lecturers. I thought about it and accepted after a few days.

Doesn't sound like you studied education?
Yes and no. There is no teaching degree programme in Italy that is comparable to the one in Germany. I studied natural sciences with the intention of being able to teach. Apart from a few tutoring groups, I had no experience as a teacher. The job at the adult education centre was like jumping in at the deep end.

Salvatore Grancagnolo came to Chemnitz 23 years ago by chance. There was a high level of unemployment in his native Sicily, which also affected the 27-year-old at the time. "I am lucky enough to be a product of German-Italian friendship. I was born in North Rhine-Westphalia. But then we quickly moved to Italy," laughs Grancagnolo. His father was Italian, his mother German. "We spoke German at home. That's why I know the language." So the Catanese came to Chemnitz to work as a translator in the construction industry. It could have been any other city in Germany. "Italians find it difficult to be passionate about a city that is not their home. They just say that they live or work there. But my credo is that I live in Chemnitz." Salvatore Grancagnolo now works in sales for an IT solutions company.

What is home for you now - Germany or Italy?
That's a good question. It's like asking whether you feel more German or Italian. I used to struggle to find an answer. Not any more. I am both. I feel comfortable in Italy, but I also know the negative sides, I feel comfortable in Germany, but I also know the downsides here. If I had to decide according to the weather, it would be clear. (laughs)
Both are somehow home, but Chemnitz is closer to my heart. I realised that very intensely after the pictures that went around the world from Chemnitz last August. That really hit me hard and hurt me as a Chemnitz resident. And after 23 years, I maintain that no matter what passport I have, I'm a Chemnitzer.
What I would like to say to the people of Chemnitz who are always making comparisons: We are not Dresden. We are not Leipzig. And Dresden and Leipzig are neither Venice nor Florence. I can't compare myself to anything. We can be proud of what we have. For example, I think Chemnitz is one of the greenest cities. Friends who come to Chemnitz confirm this. They then say: You have so many parks, are we already outside the city? No, we're still in Chemnitz.

Because you just mentioned the difficult time in August. Were you asked about it by your Italian friends or family?
My mum, who now lives back in North Rhine-Westphalia, naturally asked how things were with us. People there thought that everyone here in Chemnitz had something against foreigners. I've never once had an experience like that. Maybe behind my back. But directly, not once. I don't hide away, I'm out in the open. But that doesn't mean that the problem doesn't exist. It's there, but in my opinion not in the way it's portrayed to the outside world.

We want to become Capital of Culture 2025. What do you think about this plan?
Of course I'm open to it. Chemnitz can do it. That's one of the reasons why I love the city so much. It always reminds me of Catania. Catania has always had a bad reputation and blossomed in the nineties. We were the Seattle of Europe. Through a marvellous constellation: I think some musician or producer got to know REM. They played the only concert in Italy in Catania, even though we were not normally recognised by a world star. That was like an impulse - then Nirvana and other music groups came too. It flourished. Live music venues popped up on every corner. And suddenly neighbourhoods that had been completely run down, such as Brühl in Chemnitz, flourished. Not just because of the facilities, but because there were people there. I found that very nice. Suddenly Catania stood for something positive and was also recognised intellectually.
That's why I wish Chemnitz this title.

Salvatore Grancagnolo hopes that Chemnitz will win the title of European Capital of Culture 2025 because he is also familiar with this year's Capital of Culture in Italy - Matera. "There were times when people wondered where Matera even was," he says. Apart from the cave settlements, which have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, it was a forgotten city. The 2004 Mel Gibson film The Passion of the Christ "changed a lot of things. But in the end they picked themselves up. Matera is not Naples, but it has its own history and something to offer. And we can do that too." Chemnitz is just as interesting, if not more so. Because people know a lot more about Leipzig and Dresden, says Grancagnolo. "I think some people are surprised and say: What? Really? There's something like that here? I didn't even know that. We have so many gems that can be shown."