La vita italiana

As big as a Robin’s egg, mildly tart with a hint of sweetness, and just-perfect chewy only begins to describe an Ascolana olive. Biting into one is a much finer manner of introduction to this enticing little fruit…and I was …

Last month Venice suffered the fourth highest floods in its history. Water seeped up through the drains, over the canal sides and into the houses, businesses and hotels of the city. And few were spared, with around 75% of streets …

This year, 2018, marks the 90th anniversary of San Francisco’s premier Italian cultural club, Il Cenacolo. This impressive and important milestone was celebrated on December 7th with a stunning Christmas Gala at the St. Francis Yacht Club. In attendance were …

Today, I feel like to write about Rome and Italian heritage, but for once – our regular readers may be aware of my penchant for classical history – I won’t delve into the depths and beauties of the Empire, but …

You want clear lights on the tree, I think multi-colored are prettier; you prefer ham on the holiday table, I say turkey is tastier; you rock out to modern Christmas carols, I sway to the oldies; you insist on a …

Rank heists, police chases, beautiful actress, cruel gangsters, crooked cops and social criticism: Marco Ponti’s newest film, Reckless Life (Una Vita Spericolata), has a little bit of everything in it. The film is a combination of madcap comedy, pulp fiction …

Even today, the hilltop village of Bisacquino is a place for those in search of a forceful Sicilian character all its own. Deep in majestic Mount Triona, in the province of Palermo after Corleone and on the way to Sciacca, …

The word cappuccino means, literally, small hood, but of course we think of coffee when we hear it. Or friars, and the link is not haphazard at all. You all know how the story goes: every morning, on the way …

A beautiful article appeared a while back on the renowned pages of the New York Times. It was an incredibly entertaining and informative account of the author’s voyage to one of Italy least known corner, Basilicata, a region mostly associated …

On one of my many trips to Italy in the early 1980s, I had the good fortune to visit with Father Romano Romani, a friend of my good friend, Dr. Colosi, a preeminent physician of New York City. Fr. Romano …