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For many people, just to hear the voice of a loved one again is worth more than gold itself. When historian and author Anthony V. Riccio set out to record Italian immigrant stories in Boston’s North End nearly 40 years ago, he did not know that these voices would one day prove to be that gold not just for the immigrants’ families, but for all those...

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Italian immigrants in the United States are often thought of as clusters of Catholics who congregate in communities to preserve their culture and religion. In truth, the history of Italian immigration to this country is much more diverse and complex than the stereotype. This week will focus on the primary immigration routes of Italians for the last...

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People preserve their family history in scrapbooks or family trees. One family in Youngstown has preserved theirs in a podcast. The podcast is hosted by Marco Zaza, who grew up on Youngstown’s east side in the 50s, and his son David, a Boardman graduate. As it turns out, their stories are more than just their family. With Italian music in the backg...

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The Doris Foley Library will offer a free online presentation with tips and strategies for people starting to research their Italian ancestors on Tuesday, July 27, at 2 PM. The Nevada County Community Library will host the program, “Basics of Italian Genealogy,” on Zoom and Facebook Live. Topics to be covered include where to start; traditional Ita...

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My journey started in the Fall of 2002 when my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, brought home a new history project from school.  The assignment: “Find out which ancestors came to America and Why.” I knew a little bit about my father’s paternal side, but not much.  By the time I was born, our family was 100% Americanized, though both of my parents were 1...

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A study into the family history of the Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo Da Vinci claims to have found 14 living relatives, the youngest aged one. The findings form part of a decades-long project, led by art historians Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato, aimed at reconstructing the genealogical profile of Da Vinci – who never married and had no...

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Italian Parish Records is excited to announce that we are teaming up with Professor Nicola Barban of Demography at Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna. Dr. Barban is the Principal Investigator of the European Project GENPOP. “Genes, Genealogies, and the Evolution of Demographic Change and Social Inequality.” This Big Data for Investigating...

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While FDR had his fireside chats, I experienced porch side chats where I learned much about my heritage. It is well known that weekly Sunday suppers were a special time for large Italian families. It was a day of rest, except of course for Italian mothers — but they loved it, as they had an opportunity to enjoy the company of relatives and visiting...

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This month’s installment in our series on readers traveling to Italy in search of their roots and relatives features the story of Mary Louise Tucker, who has been drawn to her family history since she was young, hearing stories from her nonno about life in Abruzzo before he emigrated to Philadelphia as a 14-year-old boy. Mary Louise herself is an e...

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The surprising call came in March 2020 to a suburban home in a quiet Lakewood community. “I apologize if this is the wrong person...,” the woman’s voice on the other end started. As 71-year-old Yale Geftic listened, his eyes widened and he yelled for his wife, Nancy, to come to his side. Geftic was for the first time hearing the voice of a sister h...

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