The Italian Connection

Dear Readers,  Looking back, I noted that it was in December 1915 that one world-renowned singer-entertainer entered this world, and it was on December 25th, 1995, that another world-renowned singer-entertainer made his exit.  Since December is a month when presents play an …

Dear readers,  November 2nd is All Souls Day. The early Christians, like their pagan ancestors, remembered their dead on certain days of the year. ** An assassin’s bullet ended the life of our 35th President, John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963, …

Dear Readers,  Just in time for your end-of-year parties, here comes the lyrics of one of Italy’s 1950s favorites, Volare, so you, or any of your senior citizens’ relatives and friends, can sing along, or at least reminisce! ** The best-known …

Dear Readers,  Buon Compleanno to all you “Big Bambini” delivered by the September stork and Buon Onomastico (Name Day) to all you Michaels and Michelles! The feast day of St. Michael the Archangel is September 29. He is also the protector and patron saint of …

Dear readers,  October, official or not, will always be Italian Heritage Month in the hearts of Italian-Americans throughout the United States. Following is an assortment of Italian connections for you.  *** In 2001, among the honored dead at the World …

Dear Readers,  “Toot! Toot!” — that’s me, tooting my own horn! I began writing for L’Italo-Americano in mid-1977, forty-plus years ago. As 2024 begins, let me pass on some good advice and January jottings to you!  ** Advice for the New Year: …

Dear readers,  November 11th we celebrated Veterans Day, formerly called Armistice Day. Armistice: suspension of military hostilities between warring factions, usually a forerunner of peace, proclaimed by the governments or by the commanders-in-chief of the armies. World War I ended with the signing of …

Dear readers,   October, official or not, will always be Italian Heritage Month in the hearts of Italian-Americans throughout the United States. www.italic.org is where you can make an Italian connection any day of the year: all you need is your …

Dear Readers,  The Giovanni da Verrazzano‘s namesake’s double-decker suspension bridge, which lost a “Z” in the translation, turned 59 this month. Then-New York Mayor Robert F. Wagner cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony. The upper level of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, …

Dear readers,  As the San Francisco Opera First Nighters, dressed in furs and finery, file into the San Francisco Opera House each September when the new season begins, let me share this bit of early San Francisco history with you.  …