La vita italiana

President Barack Obama met with French President Francois Hollande, and both world leaders discussed the economic and political issues of their respective countries as well as the Syrian crisis.  Since President Obama played host to the French president’s visit to …

A mile and a half from the Circus Maximus, sheep graze in Caffarella Park. Warming themselves in the April sun, they are indifferent to the ruins of towers and mausoleums and oblivious to an annual rite of spring. Shepherds gather …

Over two thousand named characters, action which spreads across the earth and even to the moon, female warriors, monsters, magic, three main plots, numerous sub-plots, and witty asides by the author all woven together into a veritable “page turner”  make …

Ironically, the most well-loved manufactured two-wheeled object of Italian pride takes its name from one of the most hated and petulant insects, a wasp, vespa in Italian.   While the new Vespa campaign aims to target people who follow their …

As we approach the Lenten season, many who follow the precepts of the church prepare themselves for forty days of fasting.  The pre-Lenten season brings two words to mind: Mardi Gras and Carnival.  Both terms relate to the festivities leading …

Easter is the most important holiday in the Christian world, on par with Christmas, as it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Besides religious practices, each culture has its own ways of celebrating this festivity, which reflect people’s lifestyles and …

Those of us of a certain age may perhaps remember when history textbooks claimed that one of the “problems” with our immigrant ancestors was that they had no democratic tradition.  The authors either ignored, or were ignorant of the fact …

Naming conventions for given names in a country of origin can help to tie together records of family members.  In researching those who were born in Italy and emigrated to the United States, it may also be necessary to know …

At dusk, millions of starlings invade Rome. After feasting all day on ripening olives, they fly south from the Sabine Hills and fill the sky. A cyclone of feathers swallows the sun. The birds scatter and regroup, form a living …

The year was about 1983 when a couple of friends asked me to join them for lunch at Parker’s Lighthouse, a restaurant located at Shoreline Village in Long Beach. We took a table outside overlooking a small channel where the …