The Italian Connection

Dear Readers, St. Patrick’s Day, which we celebrate on March 17th, has an Italian Connection. In his autobiography, Confessions, written shortly before his death, the saint tells us that his father was a Roman official named Calpurnius. Calpurnius was an ancient Italic …

Dear Readers,  A February minestrone of Italian connections for you. *** February comes from the Latin word februa, which means “to cleanse.” The month was named after the Roman Februalia, a monthlong festival of purification and atonement. *** Rossini, the composer of over thirty …

Dear Readers,  An April assortment of Italian Connections for you: A Chance at Life, formerly known as Boys Town of Italy has been providing education and supportive services to children around the world since founder, Monsignor John Patrick Carroll Abbing, established his …

Dear Readers, May has many dates with an Italian connection: Alessandro Scarlatti, the great Sicilian composer of the Baroque Era was born May 2, 1660, in Palermo. He died in 1725, in Naples. He married Antonia Anzalone, with whom he …

Dear Readers,  June-Giugno will hopefully be a happy month for you with weddings, birthdays, graduations and Father’s Day (June 19) coming up. And let’s not forget the feast days of St. Peter (June 29). It was also on June 16, 2002 …

 Dear Readers, A May minestrone of Italian connections: Mother’s Day coming up Sunday, May 8th brings thoughts of my own mother Caterina, and how I was twice-blessed with a mother-in-law, Angelina, of the same caliber as my own. Angelina had three …

Dear Readers, February is the month we celebrate President’s Day, February 21st this year. Back in the day, when I attended Grade school, Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th, and Washington’s birthday, February 22nd, were celebrated separately. To ensure that federal workers had …

Dear Readers, My March minestrone of Italian connections is served: Aerospace is not generally associated with Italy but the history of Italian-American cooperation in aerospace goes back to the pioneering flights of the Wright brothers. In 1909 Wilbur Wright was invited to …

Dear Readers, As 2022 begins, my little corner of the world, the “Italian Connection” column (since 1977) has been comfortably ensconced in the pages of L’Italo-Americano for nearly forty-five years. Through the years, I have spotlighted subjects from A to …

Dear Readers, An April assortment of Italian connections for you: Blue Jeans are assumed by most young people today, incorrectly as it happens, to have originated in the USA. Their real place of origin in fact, is Genoa, Italy, where the blue cotton cloth …