Heritage

There isn’t a period in history as quintessentially Italian as the Renaissance. Even though it spread throughout Europe, with the notable exception of the British islands, it is in Italy that the rebirth of culture after the “dark ages” (which …

The first memories I have of Fabriano paper are of the A5 notebooks we used in elementary school: each page was heavier and thicker than average, making it perfect for the daily wear and tear imposed by the hands – …

When Niccolo Machiavelli penned his masterpiece, The Prince, Italy was a land divided and besieged by many foreign forces.  In his last chapter, “An Exhortation to free Italy from the Hands of the Barbarians,” he calls for new weapons and …

“The moment of arrival was euphoric, and then silence fell upon them. They were afraid they wouldn’t be let in. The question on everyone’s mind was ‘Will we enter or not? Will they let us pass?’” This is the scene …

Why is it that Italian America is better known for its wise-guys then for its wise men and women?     In 1927, after the United States had severely restricted immigration from southern European countries, Antonio Gramsci published “The Southern …

When modern bikini hit the shelves in Paris in the summer of 1946, Mediterranean women quickly snatched up it. One year later the world’s smallest bathing suit was introduced to the United States. Unleashed on the world, it conquered both …

Magic, mystery, a thirst for wonders and for the unknown, and a pagan sun-religion. Naples metabolizes three thousand years of culture and civilization, spread out over a corner of the Mediterranean that tells the story of Greeks, Romans, Carthaginians, Normans, …

Bill Cellini Jr. is a true blue expert in Italian ancestry. For about thirty years, he has been holding seminars and workshops across the United States, to teach Italian-Americans how to trace back to their roots. Between 1876 and 1930, …

Whatever I have learned about Italian American literature was on my own; no teacher suggested I read what I have read, and what I have learned has saved my life in many ways. In Mario Puzo’s novel, The Fortunate Pilgrim (1964), I …

If there is one reason why Italian Americans are especially proud of their ethnic roots, it is because Italy happened to be the birthplace of the first explorers and navigators who “discovered” – or better, “re-discovered” – America at the …