Maria Gloria Rando

Dear Readers,  As theLabor Day weekend approaches let us all pause and give belated thanks to our immigrant parents, grandparents or great grandparents for making the decision to leave home and family behind in search of a better life and, …

Dear Readers,  a March minestrone of Italian connections for you: March 17, 1861 is the day the Kingdom of Sardinia changed its name to Kingdom of Italy. Here is a brief look back at the “new management.” The Kingdom of …

Dear Readers, Rosh Hashanah, also known as “Jewish New Year”, begins September 18 2020 at sundown and marks the beginning of the civil year according to the teachings of Judaism and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam …

October, the month Italo-American organizations throughout the United States celebrated Columbus Day with parades and public festas, is becoming a thing of the past. Since the 1992 Columbus Quincentennial commemorations, political activists have been watering down Columbus Day Discovery celebrations, to …

Dear Readers,  April-April comes from the Latin word aperture which means to open. 1. April Fool’s Day is a day people play silly pranks. So be alert. The United States orbited the first weather satellite April 1, 1960. 2. St. Francis of Paola was …

Dear Readers, October, the month your “Italian Connection” usually devotes to Christopher Columbus. Discovery Celebration related matters are being downsized a bit this year, therefore, I thought I would share some other October dates of general interest in addition to our longtime October honoree …

Dear Readers, on Veteran Day I am reminded that on November 11, 1918, the Armistice agreement was signed and fighting on all battlegrounds ceased at 11 a.m. as the guns of World War I fell silent after 4 long years. The …

Dear Readers, Our National Elections will take place in a few days, so I thought I would share a little political gossip with you from days gone by. Back in 1934 a piece titled Roosevelt and I by Benito Mussoliniappeared in the World Digest Magazine. …

Dear Readers,  Grazie to those of you who responded to my “support your L’Italo-Americano press now!” message by putting pen to check-pad and ordering a new subscription for yourself, friends, or relatives. Thanks for understanding the importance of supporting our Italian American press, …

Dear Readers,March brings shamrocks and my annual “St. Patrick was Italian” column: A “St. Patrick was Italian” remark, tossed into your March conversations, can make boring talk into boiling talk if you have some conversational fodder, to buttress your claim. …