The Italian Connection

Dear readers,  Deported is a word we associate with “ordered to leave the US” but it turns out deporting boats float both ways… Italy did not exist as a nation in the early 1800s, and the Italian exiles who arrived …

Dear readers,  The Italian-American-US internment was a quasi-secret. In 1993, at a conference sponsored by the American-Italian Historical Association’s Western Regional Chapter, Una Storia Segreta had its inception. During that half a day, a panel of speakers for the first time bore public witness …

Dear Readers,  The Italian-American Heritage Foundation was established in San Jose on August 5, 1975, as the Italian-American Bicentennial Committee. In 1976, the original 15 founders incorporated a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of the Italian heritage through cultural, educational, and …

Dear Readers,  Flag Day, June 14, 2023, is the anniversary of the adoption of our American flag, June 14, 1777. First designated for US observance in 1895, it is not a legal holiday but is widely celebrated, especially in schools and …

Dear Readers,  more July jottings with an Italian connection.  Atlas, the mythological Titan condemned by Zeus to stand and bear the weight of the Heavens and Earth on his shoulders, after he had led the Titans in a war against the gods of …

Dear Readers,  May, we said, keeps on having many Italian connections, but for those of us who were fans, this is the month we had to say goodbye to Frank Sinatra: learning he had died, on the 14th of May 1998, was …

Dear Readers,  May jottings with an Italian Connection:  Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 14th, calls for a toast. Here is one shared with me by the late Frank Befera of Duluth, Minnesota: “Here’s to the happiest hours of my life, spent in …

Dear Readers,  April (Aprile) comes from the Latin word aperire, which means to open.  *** St. Francis of Paola was born in Paola, Calabria, Italy, in April 1416. He cured the sick, prophesized the future, and was a major influence on five kings …

Dear Readers,  A June “minestrone” of Italian connections for you! “Grazie” to Tony Ghezzo, who has been a font of information on all things Italian for over thirty years.  ** La Festa della Repubblica commemorates the day of June 2, 1946, when the people of Italy, in …

Dear readers,  in July, let me refresh your memory and mine on the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia. Although the colonists declared themselves independent of England and set up the United States of America, a long war …