"Professor Saccone, who came to Cork in 1994 from the Johns Hopkins University, provided outstanding academic leadership in the Department of Italian until his retirement in September 2004, and remains one of the leading figures in Italian studies internationally." - UCC 2005 press release, June 1st 2005 referring to June 2nd 2005, when Professor Saccone received the title of Knight-Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity for his special contribution to the promotion of Italian culture in the world.