Heritage

Reprinted From Newsletter, Italian American Studies Association Among the features of Prof. Kenneth Scambray’s new book, Italian Immigration in the American  West, 1870-1940, that stand out are the episodes he relates coming directly from his Family Papers. These are by …

Have ever heard about the Passetto di Borgo or, to say it in Romanesco, er Coridore de Borgo? This historical landmark is a bit of a 007-esque fixture in the middle of the baroque beauty of the area around the Vatican. The elevated and …

In Christianity, Lent is the period of forty days that anticipates Easter and corresponds to the forty days spent by Jesus fasting and praying in the desert of Judea, as told by the Gospels. For Catholics, this is traditionally a period of …

Happiness, triumphs, and pain are always green, white, and red in Italy, just like the colors of the flag. Our beloved Tricolore that, for 225 years, has been flying in every village and city in the country, on every public building from …

Is there anything more quintessentially Venetian than a gondola? Well yes, perhaps: a gondoliere, or gondolier, to say it in English. We all know these colorful figures, so familiar to all those who visited La Serenissima at least once in …

Piazza San Marco is the heart of Venice and, if you’ve been to La Serenissima, you definitely spent some time there, either enjoying a Spritz at one of its many cafés or walking through the square itself, perhaps towards the Basilica, …

While I am uploading this article on our website, we’ve just re-elected our beloved Sergio Mattarella to the Presidency of the Republic for a second time. It seems the right moment, so, to delve into the history of power and …

We were sitting in Adele Negro’s kitchen in Albany, CA in 1993.  There were four of us, contemplating the exhibit we were about to construct—on the WWII story“When Italian Americans Were ‘Enemy Aliens,’” and what we could formally name it. …

Italy is a country where beauty is common. In the landscape, in art and, of course, in its language. Italian isn’t known as la bella lingua, the beautiful language, for no reason. However, Italian has been going through some difficult …

The ancient Romans are important for Italy: they are part of its history and heritage, a symbol of unity, and a constant presence in the collective imagination of the country. We like to read about them, discover what they used to do …