Culture

Research carried out a few years back found out that the vast majority of Italians considered language the strongest representation of their “being Italian.” It seems a legitimate view: in a country where traditions and cultural habits can change drastically …

To us Italians and Italian-Americans – and to most historians – there isn’t really any doubt about it: Christopher Columbus was from Genoa. However, not everyone is as certain as we are, so much so the University of Granada, in …

If you read us regularly, you are definitely familiar with Pasquino, the talking statue located near Piazza Navona that, through his invectives, satires and commentaries  (the famous Pasquinate) — all rigorously seasoned with a hefty dose of humor —  outlined …

Of course gelato is Italian, but one of its most popular varieties, the ice cream cone – or cono gelato – is the brainchild of an Italian, too,  and that the US had part in its creation. There is very …

The Beati Paoli are, perhaps, the most mysterious citizens of Palermo, so mysterious we don’t even know if they existed. For more than five centuries, their name and the legend surrounding it has permeated the streets of Sicily’s capital, with …

Dear Readers,  Rome was liberated by the Allies in June 1944.  The next day, King Victor Emmanuel III resigned and his son Crown Prince Umberto became the acting head of state. In June 1946,  King Umberto II abdicated in favor of a …

My great uncle was a painter. Class 1918, the youngest of three, he had blond hair and the looks – I am told – of an old Hollywood actor. Left-handed and extraordinarily talented, he had always been an artist at …

Yes, you read it right, the strawberry tree (or corbezzolo, as it’s known in the Belpaese) is considered one of our country’s symbols. It all started with the words of poet Giovanni Pascoli, representative of the Italian Decadentism, active between …

Many Italian-Americans have Neapolitan and Sicilian roots and, among them, a great part has certainly fond memories of their grand parents or parents speaking in the “dialect” of their own native land. Some, I am sure, probably also learned it, …

What do a giraffe, a unicorn, a small owl, and a tower all have in common? Despite no apparent links, each of these entities proudly represent one of Siena’s 17 contrade, or neighborhoods. These are more than just fun mascots, …