10 Reasons to Celebrate Italy’s Cultural Heritage
Every October the United States celebrates Italian heritage month (il mese del retaggio italiano). The 26 million Americans of Italian descent (di origine italiana) make up the fifth largest ethnic group (il quinto più grande gruppo etnico) in the United States. However, we all have many reasons to celebrate il meglio della cultura italiana (the b...
A Brave New Beginning: The Formation of Italian America
Many Italians came from the economically-strapped Mezzogiorno: Sicilia, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, and other southern regions of Italy. They scrimped to save the thirty dollars to book passage to L’America, dove le strade erano lastricate d’oro, where roads were paved in gold. As they prepared to leave, friends and family gathered in the piazz...
Rocco DiSpirito On His Upcoming ‘Healthy + Delicious’ Cookbook
As one of the most famous chefs in America, Rocco DiSpirito has never been very far from a good meal. By the time he turned 20, he was the food world’s very own George Clooney – working in the kitchen of legendary chefs around the world, gracing magazine covers and running his own 3-star restaurant (Union Pacific). He could have anything he wanted....
How Brock Olivo connected with his Italian roots and found himself and his family
Brock Olivo's parents could have been HGTV stars had they been born to this era. Honestly, it's not hard to imagine. "I'm David Olivo, and this is my wife, Vicki, and our two children, Brock and Daisy. After my NFL career ended, Vicki and I found a new passion together, moving into old homes and renovating them before moving on to the next one. Wel...
Lidia Bastianich: "L'Italia con cinque prodotti ha cucinato l'America"
È l’ambasciatrice della cucina italiana negli Stati Uniti: Lidia Bastianich, che da profuga istriana aprì il suo primo ristorante a New York nel 1971, è ora alla guida di un impero gastronomico, con una ventina di ristoranti, prodotti gourmet, libri, aziende vinicole in Italia delle quali si occupa principalmente il figlio Joe, il giudice di Master...
Scalia Speaks: What Makes an American
I’m going to offer occasional glimpses at the wonderful collection of Justice Scalia’s speeches in Scalia Speaks. With Columbus Day just around the corner, I figured that I’d highlight the opening speech in the collection: Justice Scalia’s speech to the National Italian American Foundation in October 1986—just one month after he became the first It...
Gustoso, a Business Network to Bring the Best of Sicilian Food Products to the USA
It is an ambitious project as for the first time 12 leading businesses in the agri-food sector have come together under the same brand to conquer the shelves of large-scale retail shops in the USA. The project Gustoso Sicilian Food Excellence has been cleverly outlined by Daniele Cipollina, the founder of the business network, and Paolo Internicola...
Valerie Bertinelli invites you into her kitchen with new book, 'Valerie's Home Cooking'
Most people know Valerie Bertinelli as a Golden Globe-winning actress who co-starred on "One Day at a Time" in the 1970s and more recently on "Hot in Cleveland." But these days, she's more likely to be sauteing garlic in her kitchen than walking a red carpet at a premiere. Bertinelli is the host of "Valerie's Home Cooking" and co-host of "Kids Baki...
L’On. La Marca (PD) incontra il Direttore Vignali sul miglioramento dei servizi nelle aree periferiche dei grandi Consolati della ripartizione Nord e Centro America
L’on. Francesca La Marca, lunedì 9 ottobre, ha incontrato il Ministro plenipotenziario Luigi Maria Vignali, Direttore Generale per gli italiani all’estero e le politiche migratorie del MAECI, per fare una ricognizione di alcune situazioni sensibili relative ai servizi consolari nella ripartizione Nord e Centro America. Dopo uno scambio di vedute su...
Tearing Down Statues of Columbus Also Tears Down My History
As I watched the disturbing events unfold in Charlottesville, Va., several weeks ago, I knew our Italian-American community would soon be called to once again address questions about statues celebrating Christopher Columbus and the day named in his honor. We would once again be called on to “defend Columbus” against efforts to remake his day into I...
Columbus, Our Lady of Loreto and the Ironies of Italian American History
As controversy and debate rage over the statue of Columbus in NYC and the fate of Columbus Day generally, today might be a good moment for Italian Americans (and others) to ponder the dilemmas and paradoxes of Italian American history. In co-editing a new book, we have come to see Columbus as a prism through which much of Italian American history i...
Celebrate Immigrants on Columbus Day
When it comes to raising the ire of the American left over the imposition of western values on the indigenous peoples of North America, no one quite gets them going like Christopher Columbus. To them his arrival in the western hemisphere was the beginning of a long slide down a slippery slope into cultural oblivion inaugurated and perpetuated by d...