Culture

Piedmontese have two favorite chocolates: one, gianduiotto, is sweet, charming and dressed in gold, always, almost to show its royal origins in the city of the Savoias, Turin. The other is probably not as known around the world, but just …

October, the month dedicated to Italian Heritage, is about to end. It’s been an eventful four weeks for the world and for the US, a month encased in a year, 2020, which has brought to all of us pain, worry, …

Dear Readers, October, the month your “Italian Connection” usually devotes to Christopher Columbus. Discovery Celebration related matters are being downsized a bit this year, therefore, I thought I would share some other October dates of general interest in addition to our longtime October honoree …

Have you ever wondered why, when Italians answer the phone, they always say “Pronto?”  First of all: what does that pronto word mean? It means, quite simply, “I am ready.” And what does it have to do with answering the …

It is true, “Mothers know best.” Christopher was born 1451 and his mother, Susanna, named him Christopher, meaning Christ -Bearer, Dove. Christopher was raised as a committed Catholic, observing fasts, confessions and communions. He learned his native tongue, Genoese, as …

Traditionally, Italy has never really celebrated Halloween, a feast we imported in the past 20 years from the Anglo-American world and that became particularly popular among children — hello “trick or treating!”— and the younger generations — hello, spooky parties! …

Let’s start with a concept that is not as obvious as it seems: identity is something to be invented. Each of us is the declension, the free and very personal interpretation of a culture, a language, a territory, a piece …

In a small corner of Lunigiana, in the extreme north-western tip of Tuscany, lies a remarkable story bound up with the founding of a Wild West town in America. An area of outstanding natural beauty bordering the Apennines on the …

The Lacryma Christi  is a wine from the Campania region of Italy produced in the area of Mount Vesuvius. Indeed, it is also known as  Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio.  It holds a DOC denomination, which means only when produced in …

What does it mean to be Italian-Americans? How does our family heritage affect our culture and who we are?  In occasion of this year’s Italian Heritage Month, L’Italo-Americano had the pleasure of discussing about it with Guglielmo Botter. Architect and …