La vita italiana

One Christmas day some years ago, as my family gathered around the Christmas tree, my granddaughter looked up at me and asked, “Grandpa, do you believe in Santa Claus?”  Without hesitation, I answered, “Yes … Of course I do!” I …

In the first half of this two-part discussion, we left off with the question, “How did St. Nicholas become Santa Claus?” I must answer by first explaining that the custom of gift-giving, especially to children during the Christmas Season, is …

I met Gay Talese on a Friday afternoon in New York City, when the sun descends from its zenith and anxious pedestrians are walking briskly home to begin their weekend.  He had agreed to meet and talk about his Italian …

It wasn’t a tweet that kicked off the life long career of Federico Rampini. The award-winning Italian journalist is no over-night 140-character sensation. After all, he recently followed President Obama in Antalya, Turkey, and covered the G20 summit, which focused …

John Fante (April 8, 1909 – May 8, 1983) was an American fiction writer and screenwriter. He was born in Denver, Colorado, to his father, Nicola Fante – emigrated to the States from Torricella Peligna (small town in Abruzzo) – …

December, the month we celebrate Christmas, exchange presents with our friends and wish all “Buon Natale,” I got to thinking that some people, by their efforts, wind up enriching an entire community or in the case of Carlo DiRuocco, the …

Although things are changing fast, Christmas in Italy still is one, if not the most, traditional time of the year and many Italian households have a series of family traditions they like to repeat each year, no matter how old …

Come November the inevitable question pops up in conversation almost on a daily basis: what are you doing on New Year’s Eve? Finding new and unique things to do to ring in the New Year can be sometimes challenging and …

Italian Natioanl broadcaster, RAI, has disclosed the list of singer who will participate in the 2016 edition of the Italian song contest, the so-called Festival di Sanremo.   The presenter Carlo Conti has announced the list of “Campioni” (well-known artists) …

Head to toe, you can meet your wardrobe needs on San Francisco’s Italian Block, a vibrant collection of shops on the streets of the City’s Union Square shopping district. Nine gorgeous shops offer the best in quality, luxury Italian made …