Culture

So far, I have spent much time describing what I have called the first ‘key’ in finding our immigrant ancestry: how to determine an ancestor’s name as it may have been given in a variety of records.  Having identified the …

Italy is well known and highly appreciated all over the world for its rich culture, delicious food, and elegant creativity in different sectors, from fashion to design and automobiles. Most of our treasures can be simply tasted, admired, touched, or …

Dear Readers, California, we didn’t discover it we just enriched it, this is what I wrote during the Columbian Quintcentennial when descendants of “Indigenous Peoples” and kindred spirits began hurling slings and arrows at our Italian Heritage and with the …

Per la ricorrenza dei 70 anni delle stragi di Filetto ed Onna e della liberazione della città dell’Aquila dall’invasione nazista, c’è un ricco programma di eventi preparato dal Comune dell’Aquila.    “Non c’è nessuna strada facile per la libertà”, una …

Wedged between the Regola and Parione districts, Campo de’ Fiori features Rome’s most spectacular flower market. Wassily Kandinsky, the Russian painter whose name adorns an apartment house on nearby Via di San Salvatore, called it “a symphony of color.” Each …

There is an obscure story linking the name Antonio Salieri with La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.  As the story goes, in 1776, when the old opera house had burned to the ground, a new one had to be …

The World Cup is like a woman. Valentina Losa, the head of the company that manufactures the World Cup trophy itself, explains in a Vanity Fair interview, “It’s loved, desired, and it travels. Every four years, it travels many kilometers …

Dear Readers, In June many saintly celestial superstars are venerated and celebrated. In Italy and in Italian American homes the “onomastico” or Name Day, is often cause for a party and celebration. Many of the favorite people in my life …

Questo 70° anniversario della Liberazione dell’Aquila cade in un momento particolare della nostra storia civile, con una città che dopo cinque anni è pienamente impegnata nella propria ricostruzione.   Una ricostruzione – mi si perdoni il paragone irriverente – che …

Imagine a game that can be played with one hand while holding an espresso or glass of wine in the other.  Imported by Italian immigrants to the U.S. in the 19th century, bocce ball is the ideal leisure sport for …