Stephanie Longo, a Doctor of Strategic Communication candidate at Regent University (Virginia Beach, VA, USA) is seeking participants for a survey that will help complete her dissertation, which seeks to determine the ancestral homeland marketing factors that motivate ancestral travelers. Ms. Longo is looking for survey respondents whose families i...

Some time ago, while counting the number of interviews published, I realized that I was approaching the three hundredth, and that keeping the current pace I would get there with the second to be published in February 2023. That's why I'm so glad that the 300th interview of We the Italians is this one. Because it is truly one of the most important a...

For many of us who are active in the Italian American community, there exists a common, existential fear, a constant refrain that can be heard at Lodge meetings and Sunday dinners alike… “The young people aren’t interested in being Italian!” But we decided to challenge this terrifying assumption by providing an opportunity for Italian America’s mos...

This survey is to be used as part of Stephanie Longo's course project for COM 722, Quantitative Research Methods, taken during the fall 2022 semester at Regent University, located in Virginia Beach, VA. All answers to this survey will remain anonymous and accessible only to Ms. Longo. The informed consent form is necessary to complete before beginn...

Stephanie Longo of Dunmore was recently recognized by both the Association of Former Citizens of Guardia Lombardi and the town of Guardia Lombardi for her work in preserving Italian and Italian American heritage. Ms. Longo’s grandfather, the late Joseph Anthony Longo, a prominent barber in Dunmore, emigrated to the United States from Guardia Lombar...

It’s official: October is now Italian American Heritage Month in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania! ISDA member Stephanie Longo and Rep. Kyle Mullins (PA-112) brought this historic occasion to fruition. This proclamation recognizes the numerous contributions of Italian Americans to the state’s history, as well as NEPA’s local history. The Pennsylvan...

St. Anthony’s Feast in Boston’s North End culminated with an explosion of Italian pride. While the Feast itself came to Boston by way of Montefalcione, there is no denying that this Feast has Beantown written all over it. Following a Mass in Italian at the North End’s St. Leonard of Port Maurice Church, the statue of St. Anthony is brought to the s...

A streetside Mass provided one of the most moving moments of St. Anthony’s Feast in Boston for me this past weekend. The outdoor Mass in honor of St. Anthony is held the Saturday evening of St. Anthony’s Feast, where Via Di Santa Lucia and Via Di Sant’Antonio meet. This year’s Mass was presided over by Fr. Michael Della Penna, the pastor of the Nor...

Growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, an area with a vibrant Italian American community, Stephanie Longo first became intrigued by her heritage when she was five years old when her mother took her to Dino and Francesco’s restaurant in Clarks Summit, PA, which had a large map of Italy on their placemat.  While they were there, her mother, Ann Mar...

We are celebrating Italian-American Heritage Month! Stephanie Longo is a historian who focuses on the Italian-American heritage in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.  She says the region is rich in Italian-American history, being that many people migrated to NEPA from Italy many years ago. Longo has researched the ancestry between the two count...