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St. Joseph is among the most venerated saints in Christianity. He is the head of the Holy Family, husband of the Virgin Mary, and stepfather to Jesus. Though St. Joseph is honored throughout Christendom, celebrations of St. Joseph’s feast day, March 19, are particularly resplendent among Italians—especially in the region of Sicily—and Italian Ameri...

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November 2 2019 Washington, DC

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Did you know that Italians first settled in Los Angeles in the 1820s? Or that California’s wine industry was started in L.A. by Italian-Americans, and that the city is still home to the oldest winery in the state? Were you aware that Los Angeles has the fifth largest Italian-American population in the U.S.? Los Angeles has a long and storied Italia...

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The eleventh-annual Taste of Italy , an evening of authentic Italian food, wine, and entertainment to benefit the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA), will take place on October 12 in downtown Los Angeles. For one evening, the heart of historic downtown Los Angeles is transformed into a charming piazza, where 2,500 Italophiles join celeb...

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What do Tom and Jerry, Woody Woodpecker, The Jetsons, Snow White, and The Flash have in common? In addition to being some of the most iconic series and characters in the history of animation, they were also conceived by or can be linked in some manner to Italian Americans. The impact that Italian Americans have had on the world of animation, and th...

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Best known as a Caldecott Award-winning author and illustrator, Leo Politi pioneered multiculturalism in children’s literature and captured bygone eras and communities with his paintbrush. The son of Italian immigrants, Leo Politi was born Atiglio Leoni Politi in Fresno, Cali., in 1908. Located in California’s Central Valley, Fresno is typically no...

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Marianna Gatto. Marianna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today. I’m a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, born and raised in Los Feliz and Silverlake, and from the time I was young, history, especially United States immigration history, was what ignited...

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Fifty years ago, Los Angeles-based Italian American artist Leo Politiquestioned the the notion of "progress" "achieved" at the expense of the destruction of communities and history. Although primarily recognized as an award-winning children's book author and illustrator, Politi spent decades chronicling the city's diverse enclaves and captured its...

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It is said that every recipe has a story behind it. This statement rings especially true among Italian Americans, for whom the significance of food extends far beyond sustenance, and cooking is among the most visible expressions of identity and pride. Eating rituals figured prominently in the Italo American immigration experience. Distinct food and...

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As executive director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, Marianna Gatto has made it her life’s work to celebrate L.A.’s rich and largely unknown Italian legacy. Los Angeles is all too well known for its Hollywood heavies, rock stars and thriving Latino culture. But as Marianna Gatto will gladly tell you, Italian roots run rich and deep...

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