La vita italiana

I stand in a small square at the end of Via del Governo Vecchio, a stone’s throw from Piazza Navona. Poised on blocks of ancient concrete, I lean against a corner of Palazzo Braschi, home to the Museo di Roma. …

There was a time, in Ancient Rome, when it was customary to eat with only three fingers, while leaving the ring finger and little finger uninvolved.  Only a person lacking sophistication and grace used all five fingers. With the morphing …

Italy has long been one of the world’s most popular travel destinations, and many a person has diligently saved to make the trip, but few can claim to have given up as much as Queen Christina, who renounced the kingdom …

We all have our vacations. But where on this earth will you find one nation who closes down, packs up, and goes off to rejuvenate all at one time? In the month of August, Italy does just that and of …

As Italian immigrants arrived in the United States circa 1850s, (before Italy was officially a nation-state) one of the first neighborhoods that many settled in was a notorious ghetto called the Five Points.  The Five Points located in Lower Manhattan …

All culturally literate people know who George Frideric Handel was, yet the man who gave him his biggest career boost as well as being one of the great composers of his age and more, is largely unknown.  It was, in …

The Declaration of Independence was a bold statement of human rights, based on the then radical principle that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, an idea that was even more radical when it was put forth …

Bologna is famous for its towers, among other things. In fact, it is also known as “la turrita”, the town with many towers. Of the 100 that dotted the historical center in the Middle Ages, only 20 remain today. One …

Bypassing  the strong visual power of the romantic canals of Venice, the breath-taking views inside and outside Tuscany, a portrait of Rome by night and a snapshot of the emerald Sardinian sea, it is not an easy goal.   From …

One of my earliest recollections of my father’s town in southern Italy was at nine-years old. The town of approximately 12,000 inhabitants is called Mugnano del Cardinale and it is surrounded by the Irpini Mountains, located just 45 miles from …