La vita italiana

  In popular culture King Arthur is usually depicted as sovereign of some medieval never-never land, where Knights  of the Round Table and their ladies speak perfect English and live by an idyllic code of chivalry, troubled by little more …

  Rome is thought of as the imperial city as well as the great center of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican. It is certainly that in the minds of many. Yet, Rome is the city of Saint Francis …

Bologna: la grassa, la dotta, la rossa. Apt nicknames for the capital of Emilia-Romagna, which boasts a rich culinary tradition (grassa meaning fat), the oldest university in the Western world (hence dotta: learned), red roofs and left-leaning politics (as in …

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 …

  Before Americans knew what a caffé macchiato or a cappuccino with its delicate froth was or had the pleasure of experiencing a true espresso, we cared little about our coffee and thought of it only in terms of that …

  There are many traditions inspired by the joining of two people in matrimony, traditions which have passed from generation to generation.  They have endured over centuries and, though we continue practicing them today, many of us do not know …

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 …

  While driving on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York City, I was listening to a local radio station playing Alice Cooper’s hit song, School’s Out written in 1972. Although most students today are removed from the song, I imagined …

  Pirandello was the son of a wealthy sulfur merchant. In Pirandello’s time, boys had to go into the sulfur mines and carry out heavy loads of raw sulfur on their backs, and they were called “carusi”. My grandfather’s name …

Government sequestration, furloughs, bailouts, and bipartisan bickering have increased the sentiment of cynicism and disillusionment among voters (young and old alike) in the United States.  While internationally, more and more of the populace has subverted oppressive governments’ (i.e. The Arab …