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 …

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 …

This Valentine’s Day falls on the full moon. Every dog from Rome’s 22 rioni will howl until the Seven Hills echo with their cries. Small packs roam the city at night. Some beg scraps from commuters at Termini Station. Others congregate around …

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 …

Genealogical research, after all, revolves about names.  The names of ancestors and relatives are the keys that connect us to them, and help to put flesh and bones on the dry statistics we may find.  To identify individuals, most western …

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 …

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 …

The Renaissance proper began in Florence in the Fourteenth Century, a rebirth of the learning of classical antiquity, the discovery of long lost Greek and Latin literature, and a flowering of art, science  and scholarship – the creation of the …

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 …