Dr. Pietro Ferrua

People all over the world are mourning the death of Dr. Pietro Ferrua, Ph.D., who breathed his last on July 28 in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., in the presence of three of his closest friends.

Pietro Michele Stefano Ferrua was born on September 18, 1930, in San Remo, Italy, the son of casino croupier Libero Ferrua and seamstress Anita Taggiasco. His many academic diplomas included translation and interpretation certificates in Italian, French, Portuguese and Spanish at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, a Master’s in Philosophy at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica in Rio de Janeiro, an A.B.D. at the Universidade Federal in Rio, and a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Oregon.

In 1957, Pietro established CIRA (Centre International de Recherches sur l’Anarchisme) in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1965, he founded the Centro Brasileiro de Estudos Internacionais in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was also the founder and president of Avant-Garde Publishers.

Dr. Ferrua was an Emeritus Professor of Foreign Languages at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, where he taught French, Italian, Spanish and Film Appreciation between 1970 and 1987. He was a mentor and advisor to many students with whom he later maintained lifelong friendships.

Concurrent with his career as a college professor, Pietro worked as a freelance conference interpreter on all continents of the world. Under the auspices of the AIIC (Association Internationale d’Interprètes de Conférence), he was one of the few AIIC members who were certified as conference interpreters with two “A” (native) languages — Italian and French — plus Portuguese (B) with English and Spanish (C). Pietro interpreted for heads of state, corporate executives and international organizations, including Pope Francis, King Juan Carlos of Spain and King Baldwin of Belgium, U.S. Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton, UNESCO, IMF, WHO, Bill Gates of Microsoft, and many more.

Pietro was the author of 20 books and dozens of articles in various languages. He was also a cinema enthusiast, having written, directed and produced the film “Propos contemporains sur la femme décousue”. He was the creator of several multimedia art pieces, including “Dérèglement Rimbaldien.” Pietro was also a gourmet chef, a connoisseur of wine and spirits, an admirer of classical, jazz, and experimental music, and a master Scrabble player in six languages.

On October 13, 1984, Dr. Ferrua received the honor of Cittadino Benemerito from San Remo, Italy.

Pietro married Diana Lobo Filho and they had two children, Franco and Anna. All three of them predeceased Dr. Ferrua.

We appreciate the dedicated care provided to Pietro by Brookdale Senior Living, Cedar Sinai Park and Seasons Hospice.

A Celebration of Pietro’s Life will be held on September 18, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. in Portland, Oregon. For information, email PietroCelebration@gmail.com.