La vita italiana

At market in Massachusetts this fall there are a variety of apples on sale that I have never seen before including Golden Russets, Freedoms, Spitzen-bergs, and Red Stayman Winesaps. It was the same in the New York Hudson Valley last …

The September 3rd edition of L’Italo-Americano featured an article titled “Before Ferry Plaza There Was the Italian Farmers’ Market”.  It told the story of the earliest, 20th century Italian farmers’ markets in San Francisco.  Here we continue the story of …

“Se avete due pani, vendetene uno e comprate un fiore, perché anche l’anima  ha fame.”  If one has two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a flower, for the soul also has hunger.   This Italian proverb spoken by …

To most people Matt LeBlanc will forever be the good-hearted, amiable aspiring actor Joey Tribbiani from the widely popular show Friends. The series was a must watch in the mid nineties and it ended its successful run in 2004 after …

Celebrations for the 35th anniversary of the National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW) kicked off October 26 in New York City. A “unique sisterhood that welcomes women of all ages and phases of life,” NOIAW was founded in 1980 …

One of my very favorite places in Rome is the Pantheon with the small Piazza della Rotunda just to the south of it. Every trip to Rome is not complete without a visit to this glorious first century monument. There …

Its name is Jellyfish Barge and it’s a floating greenhouse. On its wooden basement there are recycled plastic drums where to grow vegetables just exploiting sea water, solar energy and wind. No land needed. That means growing farms could happen …

“No Italians Need Apply” was the sign that Louis Rossetto’s grandparents had to read when they first moved to New York City from Bollengo, Piedmont, at the turn of the 20th century. The founder of Wired magazine is a son of …

A leading expert in digital media worldwide, Italian entrepreneur Bibop G. Gresta was a key figure in the early development of the digital market and Internet technologies  both in Italy and abroad. A native of Terni, he has been living …

The Leaning Tower of Pisa seems like an obvious topic for a travel and culture blog about Italy, but if I’m being honest I have to admit that it had never been on my “Have-To” list.  I didn’t understand why …