Culture

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn is an unforgettable experience. Everyone around me was to some degree, Italian, that is to say that the guys I hung out with were descended from Italian parents, grandparents or great grandparents, …

When I was eleven years of age, my family moved to an Italian community in South Brooklyn known as Gravesend, which was located a few miles north of Coney Island.  Like any eleven year old kid, my summers were occupied …

Many of us become more aware of our calories intake as we grow older. Of course there are moments when we allow ourselves to fall off the wagon and indulge in delicious fatty foods.   Usually we target holidays and/or …

Sicilian poet Senzio Mazza was born in 1934 in Linguaglossa, Sicily.  Throughout his long, successful career, he has won many prizes, including most recently the 2010 Città di Giarre. Though he has published eight previous collections of poetry in his …

An artist that gives food-inspired titles to his albums has to be one of a kind. Also, he has to be somehow Italian. Award winning musician Michéal Castaldo was born in Calabria, but grew up in Canada, when he moved …

As the 2012 Presidential Election heats up, many American citizens are divided on the issue of allowing new immigrants (legal or illegal) into our country. One reason for the division is fewer jobs for American citizens because many legal and …

On a spring day in 1955, my brother Angelo prepared for his college graduation and as he did, he thought back to the time he had quit high school to go to war.  It was his sense of duty which …

Three years ago, I had the good fortune to be in Siena, touring with fellow architecture students. After seeing various neighborhoods and churches, we visited the famous Palazzo Pubblico, the historic seat of the government of that historic city. Inside …

At a scant 157 pages, Petros Maneos’ self-styled “novella in letters” entitled, The Italian Pleasures of Gabriele Paterkallos, is brief—but far from effortless—reading.   The premise appears to be that the narrating character, Gabriele, is a student of literature and …

America’s one-time favorite pastime, baseball, has reached its midway point as the 83rd All-Star game was played in Kansas City on Tuesday, July 10, 2012.  Baseball, is still recovering from the ominous images and stories of steroid abuse that plagued …