Heritage

Garibaldi purportedly once said, “I swear it will be spaghetti that unifies Italy.” It was at the time a Southern Italian dish associated only with the lower classes. Naples’ lazzaroni, the infamous street beggars, for little more than a penny …

We all know how important café culture is in Italy, with many believing that the first real cafés in Europe were invented here, with Venice often competing with Vienna for this honor. Over the years, we at L’Italo-Americano have had …

Italy is, by definition, a land of differences. From north to south, from east to west, landscapes, habits, food, climate, flora, and fauna: they all change.  But perhaps nothing says as much about the country’s multifaceted, at times complex, reality …

If you have been to Italy, you have most likely come across those small, colorful boxes of candies, usually displayed beside the till in virtually every café. If you bought some, their pastel hues and delicate flavor, I bet, found …

Palazzo Ducale, or the Doge’s Palace, is one of Venice’s most prominent landmarks, a symbol of the city’s immense power and prestige during the height of the Venetian Republic. For centuries, it served as the residence of the Doge — the …

As Liberation Day approaches every April 25th, the editorial pages of Italy’s national newspapers reignite the national discourse over Mussolini, fascism, and the future of Italian democracy. Although the fall of nazi/fascism may seem remote, it remains relevant today, not only to …

In an era where the concepts of multiethnicity and multiculturalism are pervasive and dominate conversations in our highly connected and globalized world, it’s important to remember that this isn’t a new phenomenon in the annals of history. Indeed, our very …

Last weekend Italy, along with many other countries, transitioned to daylight saving time, a practice aimed at maximizing daylight hours during the evening by setting clocks 60 minutes forward. This annual adjustment is a modern solution to optimize energy usage and …

Volcanic ash rained down, followed by a fiery flood of pyroclastic rock and toxic gas; the noonday was cast into darkness. Where only moments before a normal August afternoon had been underway, now lay mayhem and devastation. The opulent villas, …

A newly discovered manuscript of Il Milione, Marco Polo’s famous account of his travels, has been found in the Biblioteca Diocesana Ludovico Jacobilli in Foligno, a historic town in the Umbria region of central Italy. The discovery is significant also due to …