La vita italiana

Family: the essence of our being, the root of our ideals and the place we go back to when everything fails us. It does not really matter if it is  large or small, extended or nuclear, family is the first …

What comes to mind when you think of Sicily? Breathtaking Mediterranean beaches? The movie The Godfather, perhaps? If it’s not the overabundance of food found in the streets, you need to think again. The open-air street markets of Palermo, Sicily …

We made a brief stop at Grassano, one of the two small southern villages where Mussolini exiled Carlo Levi to silence him during the fascist’s ruinous reign.  But the real story of both Scotellaro and Levi is found in Matera. …

On February 26th 1917, clarinetist and bandleader Nick LaRocca (born in New Orleans, Louisiana, from Sicilian parents) passed into the annals of jazz history. In fact, that day in New York City, his Original Dixieland Jass (Jazz) Band – that …

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 you’ve ever visited the Apulian countryside, you’ve walked amongst the giants. The majestic ulivi secolari (centuries-old olive trees) have stood the grueling test of time. Imbued with a sage elegance and peaceful tiredness that only comes with old age, …

For a number of years, I have wondered why Easter Sunday falls at different times of the spring season. Although Easter usually comes in the month of April, it can come as early as March 22nd or as late as …

For centuries they were the only way to travel, criss-crossing the shallow lagoon and navigating the city’s iconic canals. Today, whilst Venice’s gondolas still glide silently through the waterways few visitors know their history, happy to just enjoy the view …

“Fatta l’Italia, bisogna fare gli Italiani,” famously said Massimo D’Azeglio shortly after the unification of Italy. And he was right: in those faithful last decades of the 19th century, when Risorgimento reached its apogee and political ideas of unity and …

Perched atop three Tuscan hills, the ancient walled city of Siena is famous for many things. Its medieval streets and architecture have barely changed in 800 years. Its polychrome marble cathedral rivals the beauty of Florence’s own. And its historic …