Baldassare Forestiere and His Underground Gardens
By Giovanni di Napoli "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat; it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." —J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit Baldassare Forestiere was born on July 8, 1879 i...
Cioppino: An American original from San Francisco, Christmas Eve tradition
By Ann Marie Bezayiff Chop a little of this, a little of that, and mix with leftovers from the sea catch of the day. Add to cooked tomatoes in wine sauce and you have Cioppino, a tomato based stew seasoned with basil, parsley and other Italian seasonings. Serve with sourdough, French bread, polenta or rice. It's a great meal to serve when the fami...
Why My Grandmother’s Coffee Pot Makes Me Italian American
For all I know, it might actually have belonged to my great-grandmother, Giuseppina, a rock of a woman who brought her two younger kids over from Italy to track down her husband, who met them at the boat then disappeared again. (There's more to that story, I'm sure.) You see how the tarnish on it, the bangs and dents, the sense of a histor...
Meet the detective who broke NYPD’s ‘Italian barrier’
by Michael Kane "Why Italians Are Useless in Police Work." That was the headline on an 1896 editorial in the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper — the premise being that newly arrived Italian immigrants would never bring to justice the criminal elements within their own community. One captain quoted said, "They are in dread of the vengeance of t...
Henry Mancini: Italian of the Week
Enrico Nicola "Henry" Mancini was born on April 16, 1924, in the Little Italy neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. Both his parents immigrated to the United States from the Abruzzo region of Italy. Henry's love of music came from his father who loved to play the flute and encouraged his son to take up the instrument when he was eight. Four years later,...
Call for submissions: Italian Americana
We are now reading poetry, creative non-fiction, memoir and short stories for our summer issue. Deadline: June 1. Italian Americana, a twice-yearly print journal founded over 35 years ago to promote Italian American scholarship and literature, has just published its first issue under new editor Carla A. Simonini and new poetry editor Maria Ter...
Q. and A. With Fiorentina’s Giuseppe Rossi
by Jack Bell Giuseppe Rossi grew up in Clifton, N.J., but never played soccer in high school or college in the United States (or for the United States national team). Instead, he joined the youth academy of Parma of Italy's Serie A as a 12-year-old. His professional career has taken him to Manchester United (England); Newcastle (England) a...
Openings at NIAF
Position Description Title: Assistant Director of Programs Reports to: Director of Programs Summary: The Assistant Director of Programs is a full-time position providing support to the Director of Programs in areas including administrative processes, creating and implementing new educational and cultural programs, assisting in the s...
Grants for Italian programs
Grants are available for the purchase of educational material for Italian programs in public and private schools (grades PreK through 12th) of the Tristate area. The maximum amount of each grant is $3000 per school. Please note: schools that already received a grant for the 2015-16 academic year cannot apply for this grant ONLY NEW S...
Dean Martin: Italian of the Week
Dino Paul Crocetti was born on June 7, 1917. His father, Gaetano Alfonso Crocetti, was originally from Montesilvano, Abruzzo, and his mother, Angela (née Barra), was an Italian America whose family also came from Abruzzo. Growing up, Dino first learned how to speak Italian and did not start learning English until he began school when he was five-ye...
Italiani all’estero, Francesco Cilano responsabile Sport del CTIM
Francesco Cilano, 47 anni, originario di Torino, allenatore di calcio con patente A per gli USA e B per l'UEFA, è stato nominato Responsabile Nazionale della Commissione Sport del Comitato Tricolore per gli Italiani nel Mondo. La nomina gli è stata conferita da Vincenzo Arcobelli, coordinatore del CTIM in Nord America. Mr. Cilano prima di...
Statement from UNICO National on the passing of Mario Cuomo
by Richard L. D'Arminio - UNICO National President Growing up in an Italian Neighborhood in the 1960's there were 2 people that stood out in my life. One was my Father who became Mayor of our City whom I followed very closely as I became interested in politics, and the other person was Mario Cuomo. He was an eloquent speaker and truly a gr...