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In July 2016, Lisa Giordano of Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, arrived at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute’s midtown Manhattan offices bearing a cache of letters written in Italian. Earlier that same year, on a Saturday morning in March, she had come upon the letters strewn on the sidewalk in front of a brownstone on Degraw Street, betwee...

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Using a range of chromatographic, spectroscopic, and mass spectrometric analytical techniques, we characterized one of the “edible items” found at the Vesuvius archeological sites and guarded at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (MANN) in Naples, Italy. We authenticated the specimen contained in a glass bottle (Mann-S1 sample) as origina...

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The Associazione Regionale Campania di Chicago celebrated its 30th anniversary on Oct. 18. Founded to promote the culture and customs of Naples and the Campania region, the ARC has a long list of accomplishments. The group has hosted the first North American conference of Neapolitan associations, crowned the first Miss Campania a Chicago, promoted...

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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 the Vesuvian areas, it can bear its beautiful name.  Yes, its name. Latin for “Christ’s tears,” it is evocative and mysteri...

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Congratulations to NIAF Member Sandra Hurt for her new book, Priestess of Pompeii, an epic yet intimate portrayal of Rufilla Istacidia’s world in ancient Pompeii and Greece. Mythology and history intertwine, like the inner and outer worlds of life. Whether on the pirate-infested seas, in the quiet of sacred sanctuaries, inside Julius Caesar’s polit...

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that today is the holiday formerly known as Columbus Day, in recognition of the Genoese explorer’s landing in America. With the growing intolerance of monuments and holidays that celebrate the legacies of colonists, oppressors and other bullies, there’s a solid movement afoot to rename this October h...

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You are certainly familiar with it, thecurnicello, or cornetto, that red chili pepper Neapolitans use to attract good luck and be protected by evil forces, or malocchio, as they call it. Found often on market stalls,  it has become a symbol of fortune a bit everywhere in Italy, even if, of course, its Neapolitan roots remain strong.  To be  fair to...

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Grape harvest used to reproduce the wine grown in Pompeii before it was buried in volcanic ash 2,000 years ago. The annual vendemmia, or grape harvest, gets underway today in the ancient Roman ruins of Pompeii. The traditional grape harvest is part of an ongoing project, now in its 21st year, to reproduce the wine grown in Pompeii before the city w...

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Lyrical Naples is credited with founding the school of opera that changed the world. We listen among others to Nicola Porpora, who taught singing to Farinelli and composition to Haydn. What Makes It Italian? Discovering Regional Characteristics in Music is a music listening and discussion group that meets online on the Zoom platform and is open to...

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A new Italian Geographical Indication adds to the European register. The Colatura di Alici di Cetara PDO has been officially registered in the European Official Journal. This brings Italy to 308 food specialties with a Geographical Indication. Colatura di Alici is a liquid product obtained from the maturation of anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus L....

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