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 …

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 …

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 …

There has been a great deal of talk about why Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia was defeated in a primary since he had little support from his own Republican Party. There is even speculation that his different viewpoints on …

Tuscan people are usually amiable and friendly, but they can also be very competitive and mocking, especially when it comes to horse racing. In several small Italian towns, from northern to southern regions, the typical horse races known as Palio …

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 …

In 1954 a group of intellectuals and movie buffs decided to organize a film festival in one of the most beautiful regions of Italy, Sicily. Today after 60 years the Festival di Taormina (Taormina Film Fest) has just finished celebrating …

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 …

Dear Readers, June jottings with an Italian connection:   Benevento (meaning Good Winds), a city of some 65,000 “abitanti” always triggers memories of  my father, Vincenzo, in his happy host role on Sunday afternoons offering “liquore” to his  visiting “paesani”. …

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 …