catherine accardi

Have you ever wanted to walk the streets?  For arts’sake?  Italy’s immeasurable collection of public art is a forgone conclusion.  You stumble over it, walk around it, and view it from afar in just about every locale.  Rome, for example, could …

In the last issue of L’Italo- Americano we featured the planned Center for the Study of Ancient Italy at the University of California Berkeley. This innovative Center will embrace an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research, and will promote the …

How many people do you know that are capable of creating a new Italian verb and use that verb to name their art exhibit? Not many.  Leave that kind of creative genius to our own San Francisco living legend, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. …

The September 3rd edition of L’Italo-Americano featured an article titled “Before Ferry Plaza There Was the Italian Farmers’ Market”.  It told the story of the earliest, 20th century Italian farmers’ markets in San Francisco.  Here we continue the story of …

As with most extraordinary projects, they begin with extraordinary people and their inspirational ideas.  The new Piazza St. Francis-The Poets’ Plaza has been Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s vision for decades and that vision will soon be realized in one of San Francisco’s …

This is the second of a two part article featuring the timeless game of bocce ball.  Part one of the article was published in the May 28, 2015 edition of L’Italo- Americano.  In it we explored the history of this …

It’s summer in the city and although two of San Francisco’s Italian themed festivals have come and gone, there’s still more serious festeggiare (celebrations) to come.  On June 13th and 14th we enjoyed the 61st annual North Beach Festival in …

Recently, our own San Francisco Italian Consul General, Mauro Battocchi posted an interesting observation in his San Francisco, Italy blog at www.sanfranciscoitaly.com. Mauro has noticed an increased interest in all things Italian in the San Francisco Bay Area.  He calls …

Italians are portrayed as authorities in a wide variety of occupations and vocations, including artists, designers, entrepreneurs of all types, chefs, and any number of other colorful occupations, including farmer.  You know the word, contadino. If we take a look …

Part I of my Conversations with Lawrence Ferlinghetti appeared in the last, June 25th, 2015, issue of L’Italo Americano.  Below we continue with the man and his lasting legacy.     Mr. Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, N.Y. in 1919, …