The Attack on Columbus
Why Criticisms of Columbus Are Unfair
In Devotion to Donato The Patron Saint Who Cured Him
Finding a Cornerstone of Hope ...on a Journey Through Grief
The Power of Pasta One Chef's Fight Against Hunger
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ITALIAN AMERICA
Cook, eat, enjoy, repeat. facebook.com/ColavitaUSA ColavitaUSA youtube.com/ColavitaUSA @ColavitaUSA ColavitaUSA
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A FAMILY. A BRAND. A LIFESTYLE.
Find this recipe and others on COLAVITA.COM ITALIAN AMERICA
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VOL. XXV No. 4
Italian America
®
T h e O ff i c i a l P u b l i c a t i o n o f t h e O r d e r S o n s a n d D a u g h t e r s o f I t a l y i n A m e r i c a ®
FEATURES
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FINDING A CORNERSTONE OF HOPE … on a Journey Through Grief By Jerri Donohue
IN DEVOTION TO DONATO The Patron Saint Who Cured Him By Carol Ann Riccio Lindor
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THE ATTACK ON COLUMBUS
Why Criticisms of Columbus Are Unfair By Robert Ferrito
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THE POWER OF PASTA
One Chef’s Fight Against Hunger By Miles Ryan Fisher
ON THE COVER: A statue of Cristopher Columbus in Santa Margherita Ligure, a town in the Liguria region of Italy. (Roberto Lo Savio)
D E PA R T M E N T S 2 High Photo 4 National News 5 Oggi 6 Regions 7 Mangia
8 Pagina Italiana 13 Bulletin Board 14 Our Story 20 Book Reviews 26 OSDIA Nation
31 From the President's Desk 32 Foundation Focus 33 Fighting Stereotypes 34 Letters to the Editor 35 The Last Word 36 Piacere
ITALIAN AMERICA is published by the ORDER SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF ITALY IN AMERICA 219 E Street NE • Washington, DC 20002 • Phone: (202) 547-2900 • Web: www.osia.org Editor-in-Chief: Miles Ryan Fisher mfisher@osia.org Writers: Joseph Cacibauda; Jerri Donohue; Karen Palermo Bledsoe; Carol Ann Riccio Lindor; Robert Ferrito Translator: Serena Lonigro Proofreader: Peggy Daino, Marlene Palazzo Graphic Designer: Diane Vincent To Advertise: Contact ItalianAmerica@osia.org (202) 547-2900
Italian America Magazine is a publication of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA), the nation’s biggest and oldest organization for people of Italian heritage. To subscribe, see www.osia.org or call (202) 547-2900. FALL 2020
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ITALIAN AMERICA
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ITALIAN AMERICA
“It is with true humility that I accept this award. Recognition from the Sons of Italy Foundation is particularly gratifying to me since it links to what I consider my personal identity, family, and upbringing. I’m a second-generation Italian American. My grandparents on my father’s side were born in the town of Sciacca in Sicily. My grandparents on my mother’s side were from Naples. Both of them came to the United States at the turn of the twentieth century through Ellis Island and settled in the lower east side of Manhattan now known as Little Italy. It was in the environment of a loving household and an extended family of an entire neighborhood made up almost exclusively of Italian immigrants and first- and second-generation Italian Americans that my values and my aspirations began to take shape. I’ve searched my mind to come up with a single defining characteristic of that upbringing that had the most influence on me. And the best that I could come up with—in addition to the extraordinary love and dignity that my parents provided—is the concept of people caring about and taking care of others. This permeated our environment and could be seen even with the shopkeepers who used to sit on the folding chairs outside in front of their stores to watch out for my sister and me and other schoolchildren as we walked passed them every day from our apartment on 79th Street and Utrecht Avenue on our way to Our Lady of Guadalupe Elementary School ten long city blocks away.There was no safer walk in the world than that seemingly long trek because we had a lot of people looking out for us. It was from this background that I decided to pursue a career in medicine, where I could extend this principle of caring for others to my chosen profession in the arena of science and medicine.” Dr. Anthony S. Fauci Sons of Italy Foundation National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala May 21, 2015 Dr. Anthony S. Fauci is the only Italian American to be honored twice by the Sons of Italy Foundation. He was first honored in 1992 with the National Education & Leadership Award. In 2015, he was honored a second time with the Special Recognition Award for Science & Medicine.
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ITALIAN AMERICA
NATIONAL NEWS
ITALIAN AMERICAN ISSUES AND EVENTS
OSDIA Joins Four Italian-American Organizations to Defend Columbus The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) joined forces with the Columbus Citizens Foundation, National Italian American Foundation (NIAF), Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), and UNICO National to form the National Columbus Education Foundation (NCEF). The foundation’s mission is to defend the legacy of Christopher Columbus and Italian-American heritage through several methods. It will focus on correcting the false narrative surrounding Columbus by conducting and distributing research, studies, and analysis relating to the explorer. With this, the foundation intends to develop policy solutions and proposals that will educate the general public on the explorer’s great accomplishments and address why Columbus Day should be preserved and celebrated. “For the first time in many years, all of the national Italian-American organizations are united in the fight to preserve Columbus,” said Robert Ferrito, President of the Commission for Social Justice, the anti-defamation arm of Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America. “Together, we will fend off the attacks and protect our heritage.”
The NCEF has launched its website— www.knowcolumbus.org—which will disseminate facts and findings that present a more objective approach to understanding Columbus as well as other figures in American history who have been under attack. The foundation named John M. Viola, former President and Chief Operating Officer of NIAF, as its Executive Director. “The mission of our new foundation is to bring a nuanced and fair perspective to the examination of a complex historical figure,” Viola said in a statement. “It is our immediate intention to begin the work of building a coalition of Americans of all ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds to make clear that our nation deserves an honest look at Columbus and all aspects of its history.”
OSDIA Launches Season 2 of the Live Interview Series Now Airing! On Wednesday, September 9, the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) launched Season 2 of the OSDIA Live Interview Series. The first episode, featuring Deana Martin (Dean Martin’s daughter), quickly became the most viewed episode, garnering over 20,000 views in its first week. The following weeks featured famed chef and restaurateur, Lidia Bastianich, and renowned tenor, Christopher Macchio. (Clockwise) Clarissa Burt, Justin Smith, Lidia Bastianich, and Dr. Mary Kovach, OSDIA Member from Ohio. The OSDIA Live Interview Series is currently in full swing and can be viewed on OSDIA’s Facebook page. New episodes air every Wednesday at 7 p.m., and past episodes can be viewed on OSDIA’s Facebook page.
(Clockwise) Deana Martin, OSDIA Managing Director Justin Smith, actress and television personality Clarissa Burt, and host/producer/author Lisa Marie Falbo. FALL 2020
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Upcoming guests include “Spaghetti and Baseballs” Podcast Hosts Chris Colabello and Natalie M. Spedaliere (November 4), former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino (November 11), and Diabetes Researcher Dr. Camillo Ricordo (November 18). ITALIAN AMERICA
OGGI IN ITALIA
ITALY’S NEWS, POLITICS, AND CULTURE
Italian Island Shows Immunity to COVID-19 The small island of Giglio, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea ten miles off the coast of the Tuscany region, has shown a distinct resistance to COVID-19. While several visitors on the island tested positive for COVID-19, not a single resident tested positive despite having been in close contact with those infected. This included one visitor who arrived in Giglio for a relative’s funeral and had been coughing throughout the service—one of the main ways that the virus spreads. Upon returning to the mainland, the visitor died three weeks later. Giglio is an island where homes are packed close together and the streets and alleyways are very narrow, making it a layout in which diseases have historically spread
very rapidly. “Every time an ordinary childhood illness, like scarlet fever, measles, or chicken pox strikes, within a very few days practically all get (infected),” said Dr. Armando Shiaffino, the island’s only doctor for the past four decades. Upon learning of this potentially natural resistance, Tuscany’s health office sent kits to test for antibodies among the 800 year-round residents. The residents were more than happy to lend their blood for the test, as 723 of the inhabitants lined up to do so. Conclusions have yet to be reached as to whether this resistance to the virus is due to pure chance or some unique quality about the islanders. Giglio, whose name means “lily” in Italian, is one of the seven islands that make up the Tuscan Archipelago.
Many houses on the Isola del Giglio were built within the old castle walls that once protected against pirate attacks. (Can Daniel Amirak)
New Bridge Opens in Genoa Last August, Italian President Sergio Mattarella presided over an inaugural ceremony that officially opened the Genoa San Giorgio Bridge. The bridge opened two years after the tragic collapse of the Morandi Bridge, which killed 43 people. It was completed in a little over a year. “We promised to restore it to the city as quickly as possible,” said Giovanni Toti, Governor of Liguria, the region in which Genoa is the capital. The new bridge was designed with sail-like structures to reflect Genoa’s influential maritime history as an international port. It was stress-tested by placing 56 trucks each weighing 50 tons on the bridge.
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Italy’s Smallest Village Celebrates Newborn Morterone, located in the mountains of the Lombardy region and regarded as the smallest village in Italy, had just 28 inhabitants until a baby boy was born this past summer. The baby boy, named Denis, was the village’s first birth since 2012, when a baby girl was born. His arrival came weeks after data was released, which showed that Italy’s national birth rate had reached an all-time low since 1861, when such records started being kept. Last year, there were just 420,170 births in Italy. In the Italian tradition, Denis’s parents, Matteo and Sara, announced the birth and gender of their newborn by placing a ribbon—blue for boy, pink for girl—on the door. This brought the tiny town’s population up to 29. ITALIAN FALL AMERICA 2020 5
REGIONS OF ITALY
ITALY’S TWENTY REGIONS
Basilicata
The Instep of Italy The southern region of Basilicata serves as the “instep” of Italy’s boot, wedged between the sole/toe of Calabria and the arch/heel of Puglia. While Puglia’s border runs along the east and curls up to the north and Calabria’s border runs along the south and southwest, Basilicata also shares a border with Campania—which runs along the west and curls to the north. In fact, Basilicata stretches all the way from the Ionian Sea in the south to the Tyrrhenian Sea in the west. If one were to drive from Campania to Calabria, the trip would pass through Basilicata. Basilicata is an ancient region, previously known as Lucania. It is separated into two provinces—Potenza to the west and Matera to the east. Both provinces boast well-known cities by the same name. The city of Potenza serves as the region’s capital, while the city of Matera is perhaps the best-known area in the region. Known for the “sassi” cave dwellings and put on the map by Carlo Levi in his renowned novel Christ Stopped at Eboli, Matera became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993 and rose to prominence when it was designated as the 2019 European Capital of Culture. Matera is one of the oldest inhabited places on Earth, extending back some 9,000 years. Because of its ancient-looking cave dwellings carved into a mountain of tufa limestone, Matera has been featured in numerous film productions, including The Passion of the Christ, because of its resemblance Basilicata Capital: Potenza Population: 562,869 (17th of the 20 regions) Size: 3,859 square miles (14th of the 20 regions) Provinces: Matera, Potenza
The city of Matera, with its many sassi carved into the tufa limestone. (Fabrizio Conte) to ancient Jerusalem. It also served as Wonder Woman’s fictional home in the eponymous film. In spite of Matera’s rising popularity, Basilicata remains one of Italy’s most natural regions, largely untouched by tourism. It is surrounded by three National Parks—The Cilento, the Pollino, and the Sila—where wildlife abounds, from soaring eagles to roaming wolves. With so much mountainous countryside, adventure sports have become quite popular. From white water rafting all the way to skiing, Basilicata has a full range of activities despite being positioned so far south. Basilicata’s coastline along the Tyrrhenian Sea is also an alluring area. The city of Maratea—not to be confused with Matera—is known for its paradisal beauty and attracts wealthy Italian tourists during the summer. FUN FACT: The Statue of Christ the Redeemer of Maratea is the third tallest statue of Jesus Christ in Europe and the fifth tallest in the word, measuring 69.6 feet high. As a historically poor region, Basilicata’s people relied on producing its own food. To this day, goats and longhorned cattle can be seen shepherded through the countryside. Meats—especially cured meats—and mountain cheeses are particularly prevalent in the region, as are the saltwater and freshwater fish. While Basilicata is perhaps a little off-the-beaten path for tourists, this is what keeps its mountains and countryside pristine and the instep of Italy with its ancient beauty untouched.
Monte San Biagio with the statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea in Maratea. (Landscape Nature Photo)
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ITALIAN AMERICA
MANGIA!
Breakfast Biscotti
Gnocchi with Melted Butter and Fontina
Ingredients
Ingredients For the gnocchi: • 2 pounds russet potatoes • 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting • 1 medium egg • Semolina flour, for dusting For serving: • 4 ounces fontina cheese, grated • 4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted • Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste Preheat oven to 400ºF. Pierce the potatoes with a fork or skewer a few times to help the moisture escape as they cook. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until a fork slips in without resistance, then remove from the oven and split them in half to let the steam continue escaping. Peel the potatoes as soon as they are cool enough to handle and put them through a ricer. Transfer the riced potatoes to a pastry board dusted with a tablespoon of all-purpose flour, then sprinkle the rest of the flour over the top.Work the flour into the potatoes with a pastry scraper and create a mound with a well in the middle. Break the egg into the center, stir it with a fork, and continue blending the mixture with the help of the scraper until it comes together. Finish by kneading the dough a few times, dusting it with additional flour if needed, until it forms a smooth, soft loaf. Cut the loaf into slices and roll out on a flour-dusted work surface to form ropes as thick as a finger. Cut the ropes into half-inch pieces and sprinkle with semolina flour to keep them from sticking. Roll each piece down a gnocchi paddle or the back of a fork, leaving ridges on one side and a dimple from your finger on the other.
• 2 cups flour, plus 1 tablespoon for tossing with apricot pieces • 1 teaspoon baking powder • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 cup sugar • 2 large eggs • ¼ cup olive oil • Zest of a lemon • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • ½ teaspoon almond extract • 1 cup dried apricots, chopped • 1 cup blanched almonds (whole or slivered) • ½ cup old fashioned oats (not instant) Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Place sugar, eggs, and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until smooth. Add lemon zest, vanilla and almond extracts, and continue mixing, until combined. In a small bowl, toss remaining tablespoon of flour with dried apricots to keep the pieces from sticking and set aside. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, stirring just until blended and making sure to scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a spatula to thoroughly incorporate dough.
Just before serving, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add a heaping tablespoon of salt, and when the foaming subsides, begin adding the gnocchi, working in batches to keep them from crowding. Stir a couple times to dislodge any gnocchi that have stuck to the bottom of the pot, and boil gently until tender, about 10 to 15 seconds after they float to the surface. Remove gnocchi with a slotted spoon to a baking dish, drizzle with melted butter, and sprinkle with grated cheese. Continue layering until all the gnocchi are cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste and give the gnocchi a final stir to coat them evenly. Serve hot.
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If you liked these recipes, find more in Teresa Lust’s A Blissful Feast: Culinary Adventures in Italy’s Piedmont, Maremma, and Le Marche.
Stir in chopped apricots, almonds, and oats. Cover dough and refrigerate 30 minutes (or up to several hours or overnight). Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper. Divide dough in half, roll into logs (about 12 x 2-inches) and place on baking sheet a few inches apart. Flatten the logs into loaves about 1 inch high. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Reduce oven temperature to 300ºF. Let loaves cool slightly, then cut into ½-inch slices. Arrange cut-side down on baking sheet and return to oven until biscotti start to harden and turn golden (they’ll still feel a bit soft, but will continue to harden as they cool), 15 to 20 minutes. ITALIAN FALL AMERICA 2020 7
PAGINA ITALIANA
PER CHI STUDIA LA NOSTRA LINGUA
Un incidente a bordo della S.S. California TRANSLATED BY SERENA LONIGRO
Nel livello più basso della terza classe regnava il caos. Una donna era impazzita, sbraitava e delirava attraversando tutta la sezione, piangendo un attimo prima, ridendo quello successivo. I suoi due figli, confusi e in lacrime, faticavano a starle dietro. Tra una crisi e l’altra, se li teneva stretti al petto mentre piagnucolavano. Poi, in un istante, il suo umore cambiave e li spingva via con violenza. Ricominciava quindi a inveire, i bambini continuavano a piangere e si aggrappavano alla sua gonna. Nessuno la conosceva abbastanza bene da calmarla, da avvicinarsi per aiutarla. I passeggeri mandarono a chiamare gli ufficiali della nave e presto un agente e due steward muscolosi la fermarono. La portarono via con la forza mentre scalciava e urlava. I suoi figli battevano sulle gambe degli steward, tentando di liberarla con i loro colpi. Alcune madri compassionevoli trattennero delicatamente i due bambini e li condussero alle cuccette delle loro famiglie, confortandoli come meglio potevano, assicurando loro che la madre sarebbe tornata presto. Gli isolati alloggi della terza classe avevano le caratteristiche di un quartiere: un villaggio dove i vicini osservavano gli altri, traevano conclusioni ed esprimevano opinioni su di loro che poi diventavano pettegolezzi. Ben prima del suo raptus di follia, erano circolate voci su di lei. La donna, Anna Leone, era di Poggioreale. Era in viaggio per trovare suo marito, di cui non aveva notizie da quattro anni. Sola e indigente nel suo paese (una donna sposata senza marito né soldi è una vicina sgradita), aveva venduto tutti i suoi averi per comprare i biglietti del piroscafo per New Orleans, la destinazione per cui lui era partito.
TasteLittleItaly.com
Ben presto i suoi figli avevano iniziato ad ammalarsi per il cibo scadente servito di sotto e Anna aveva iniziato a elemosinare cibo per loro. Un uomo abruzzese, di nome Brittoli, si offrì di condividere il suo cibo se lei avesse condiviso la cuccetta con lui. Anna lo fece finché lui non si stancò di lei e smise di aiutarla. A quel punto, usata e abbandonata, era una donna in disgrazia. Il giorno dopo Anna Leone tornò con aria di sfida nello scompartimento. La verità era che mentre solo in pochi la giudicavano duramente, nessuno provava abbastanza compassione per confortarla o offrirle aiuto. Tutti la guardarono in silenzio mentre passava. Non guardò nessuno mentre salutava i suoi figli con lunghi abbracci e numerosi baci. Guardando la massa di passeggeri al di sotto, Antonietta e Maria erano in piedi sul ponte della prima classe, che cercavano giovani attraenti con lo sguardo, facendosi segno l’un l’altra con il gomito e arrossendo. Antonietta indicò. “Cosa sta facendo?” Maria cercò di inviduare il punto che le stava indicando. “Contro la ringhiera”, disse Antonietta. “La donna.” “Mio Dio, la vedo”, disse Maria, “dove sta andando?” La donna teneva due bambini, uno stretto da ciascun braccio, e si diresse verso il bordo della nave. “Fermatela!” gridarono disperatamente entrambe. “Fermatela!” Vito Russo e suo figlio, Saverio, videro Anna e corsero verso di lei mentre si trovava in cima alla ringhiera. La sua rabbia, la delusione, il disgusto per la vita e la paura che la sua miseria e la sua disgrazia sarebbero state anche il destino dei suoi figli riempirono il suo grido pietoso. “A infernu cu vita miu! A infernu cu spusu!” Stringendosi entrambi i bambini al petto, saltò. Saverio Russo, allora dodicenne, avrebbe raccontato questa storia molte volte nel nuovo paese, per il resto della sua vita. “Al diavolo la mia vita! Al diavolo mio marito!” era stato il grido disperato della donna.
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Serena Lonigro was born and raised in Napoli. She graduated from the University of Naples “L’Orientale” with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures and now works in marketing and news media. ITALIAN AMERICA
An Incident Aboard the S.S. California BY JOSEPH L. CACIBAUDA
There was chaos in the lowest steerage level. A woman went mad, ranting and raving all through the section, crying one second, laughing the next. Her two children, bewildered, weeping, trailed closely behind. Between crying fits, she held them to her breast as they whimpered. Then in an instant, her mood changed, and she violently shoved them away. She resumed her ranting, the children continued their wailing and clutched on to her skirt. No one knew her well enough to pacify her, to get close to help. The passengers sent for the ship’s officers and soon an agent and two brawny stewards restrained her. They forcefully carried her away as she kicked and screamed. Her children pounded the stewards’ legs, attempting to free her with their blows. A couple of sympathetic mothers gently held the two children, and led them to their own families’ berths, comforting them as best they could, assuring them their mother would soon return. The cloistered steerage quarters created neighborhood characteristics—a village where neighbors observe others, draw conclusions, and voice opinions that turn into rumors. Long before her mad outburst, rumors about her had circulated. The woman, Anna Leone, was from Poggioreale. She was travelling to find her husband, whom she had not heard from for four years. Alone and destitute in her village (a married woman with no husband or money is an unwelcome neighbor), she sold everything to buy steamer tickets to New Orleans, the destination he had set out for. Soon her children began getting sick from the poor food served below, and Anna began begging for food for them. A man from Abruzzo, Brittoli by name, offered to share his food if she would share his bunk. Anna did this until he got tired of her and quit helping. Now used and abandoned, she was a disgraced woman. It was a day later that Anna Leone defiantly returned to the compartment. The truth was that while few judged her harshly, none felt enough sympathy to comfort her or to offer help. Everyone silently watched as she strode by. She looked at no one as she greeted her children with long hugs and numerous kisses. Overlooking the hoard of passengers below, Antoinette and Maria stood on the first-class deck, picking out attractive young men, nudging each other with blushes. ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 9
Antoinette pointed. “What’s she doing?” Maria tried to follow her point. “Against the rail,” said Antoinette. “The woman.” “My God I see her,” said Maria, “Where’s she going?” The woman held two children, one under each arm, and moved toward the edge of the ship. “Stop her!” both frantically shouted. “Stop her!” Vito Russo and his son, Saverio, saw Anna and ran toward her as she now stood atop the railing. Her anger, disappointment, disgust for life, and fear that her misery and disgrace would also be her children’s fates filled her pitiful cry. “A infernu cu vita miu! A infernu cu spusu!” Clutching both children to her breast, she jumped. Saverio Russo, then 12, would tell the story many times in the new country for the rest of his life. “To hell with my life! To hell with my husband!” is what she said. Joseph L. Cacibauda (jlcaci@yahoo.com) is a retired elementary teacher living in Reno, Nevada. He has written books about Sicilians on Louisiana Plantations (After Laughing Comes Crying: Sicilian Immigrants on Louisiana Plantations) and in the coal mines of Illinois (Not For Self: A Sicilian Life and Death in Marion), both published by Legas Press, Mineola, New York.
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BY JERRI DONOHUE
W
hen Mark Tripodi spotted Christi DiGeronimo on the campus of Ohio State University, he was immediately smitten by the smart, pretty co-ed. Christi noticed him, too. “I thought he looked like Sylvester Stallone,” Christi reflects. “He loves that!” A mutual friend introduced the two, and they soon discovered that they shared similar backgrounds, including their Roman Catholic religion and their Italian heritage. Mark’s ancestors had emigrated from Reggio Calabria, while Christi’s had emigrated from Rionero Sannitico, a town in the Molise region. Romance blossomed, and the couple married after Mark received his engineering degree.
Drowning in sorrow, Mark and Christi struggled through the weeks and months that followed. Christi recalls that her emotional pain was so excruciating, she could not help Mark or their daughters with their own heartache. Some days she could barely get out of bed, prompting her mother and her sister to pitch in with household chores and childcare.
had also experienced heartbreaking loss, but they foundered during the long stretches between meetings. In addition to that, nobody with professional training steered the group. The Tripodis tired of relating the details of their tragedy to newcomers month after month. Repeating—and reliving—the story of Bobby’s death did little to alleviate their anguish.
Mark and Christi received individual counseling and joined a monthly support group. They initially found consolation in being with others who
“There was no structure to offer hope,” Mark says, recognizing that they had stalled on the emotional journey that is grief because they received no tools to enable them to progress.
By 2000, the Tripodis lived in a lovely home they purchased in Independence, Ohio. Mark advanced in his career while Christi relished her role raising their three children. Their family appeared on course toward a happy future. The Tripodis’ nearly perfect life capsized on Mother’s Day that year when their three-year-old son, Bobby, suddenly spiked a fever. They rushed him to the hospital but their precious toddler died within 24 hours—a victim of bacterial meningitis. FALL 2020
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A family favorite picture of Bobby.
Noticing that others, too, seemed mired in sorrow, Mark and Christi decided to found their own nonprofit bereavement center—a decision that took them across the country. They did in-person research, visiting centers like Erin’s House in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Ele’s Place in Lansing, Michigan. To learn about fundraising, recruiting a board of directors, and developing volunteer programs, they attended a how-to seminar at the Dougy Center for grieving children and families in Portland, Oregon. They traveled to the Caring Place in Pittsburgh for pointers on hiring a staff exclusively composed of licensed professionals. ITALIAN AMERICA
The message that greets visitors upon entering Cornerstone of Hope.
Meanwhile, Mark and Christi continued to grapple with their own sorrow. Then Christi’s mother handed them a brochure for the Apostolate for Family Consecration, an international Catholic organization that nurtures the spiritual lives of families. She urged Mark and Christi to attend one of its weekend conferences in central Ohio. The experience changed the Tripodis’ lives, their marriage, and their family. Both Mark and Christi acknowledge that previously they had been spiritually starved. Although they never skipped Sunday Mass, Mark describes them as “glamour Catholics.” They dressed for church, but didn’t think about their faith the other six days of the week. The couple resolved to change that by making God the center of their lives.
prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” The name of the facility would be Cornerstone of Hope. From inception, Cornerstone’s mission has been to help individuals accept their grief and find the strength necessary to go on with life. The Tripodis kept their resolve to provide counseling to whoever needs it. Fees are based on a sliding scale. Former Cleveland Browns Head Coach Sam Rutigliano has supported the bereavement center since those early years. Like the Tripodis, Sam and his wife Barbara suffered the death of a preschooler. The Rutiglianos relied on their Christian convictions to cope with
the loss of their daughter, Nancy, who died in a car accident in 1962. Christi Tripodi credits Sam Rutigliano with creating Cornerstone of Hope’s taglines, “Pain to Purpose” and “Tragedy to Triumph.” At its annual benefit gala in 2017, the facility honored him as its “Champion of Hope.” The bereavement center steadily increased its services and now has branches in two other Ohio cities, Columbus and Lima. In Independence, Ohio, it occupies a spacious, Victorian-style building with beautiful outdoor nooks perfect for private reflection. Its imaginative treehouse, a site of some of the center’s healing
Following that weekend retreat, they began to pray every day. They began examining religious beliefs that they had taken for granted since childhood. In them, they found comfort. “Probably 90 percent of our healing was the faith component,” Mark says. Meanwhile, the couple pursued their plan to establish a nonprofit, nondenominational bereavement center. They opened their first small facility in 2003. Rejecting advice to avoid any reference to religion, they found its name in Ephesians 2:20: “built on the foundation of the apostles and ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 11
An aerial view of Cornerstone of Hope’s Independence, Ohio campus. The grounds feature a gazebo and sheltered nooks for quiet reflection. ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 11
Since Bobby’s death, the Tripodi family has grown to include eight other children. Busy as she is, Christi still serves on Cornerstone’s board. Her favorite hands-on project is the annual appreciation dinner that she and Mark host for volunteers, many of whom are former clients. Mark grills steaks, Christi prepares pasta and salads, and their children serve the meal. “There is a comfort here, where they can remember their loved one,” Christi says. “And they can give back, because they know what [grief] feels like.” In Cornerstone of Hope’s sunny, homey reception area, a message stenciled on the wall greets visitors: “Grief is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith. It is the price of love.” (L. to R.) Mark Tripodi, Barbara Rutigliano, Sam Rutigliano, and Christi Tripodi celebrate Sam Rutigliano’s recognition as Cornerstone of Hope’s 2017 “Champion of Hope” at the center’s annual gala.
activities, was featured on the Treehouse Masters television series. Every week at the Independence location, more than 400 children, teens, and adults receive counseling or attend workshops, support groups, and family events. Some programs are designed for specific kinds of loss, such as the death of an infant. Others assist those whose loved one died by murder, suicide, or accidental drug overdose. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Cornerstone added weekend retreats for survivors of those killed in military service. Its annual summer camp assists grieving inner-city children. In addition to these support programs, the center also offers low-cost seminars for therapists, social workers, and nurses who interact with the bereaved. Neither Mark nor Christi is a therapist. They do not counsel clients, FALL 2020
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but both participate in the center’s operation. Mark had even returned to school and earned a Master in Business Administration to better oversee Cornerstone of Hope as its Chief Executive Officer.
While nobody passes through life without experiencing overwhelming loss, through Mark and Christi Tripodi, thousands of mourners have received help—and hope—on their painful journey through grief. Jerri Donohue’s (msjerridonohue@ gmail.com) work has appeared in Saint Anthony Messenger, Irish America, and regional and history publications. She often writes about WWII veterans.
Cornerstone of Hope serves more than 400 grieving children, teens and adults each week at its facility in Independence, Ohio. ITALIAN AMERICA
BULLETIN BOARD
WHAT’S NEW: DISCOUNTS, SERVICES AND EVENTS
Sons and Daughters of Italy Scholarships Applications Available in October! Every year, the Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) awards 1012 scholarships that assist outstanding Italian-American students with their college and graduate studies. Grants awarded are up to $20,000 per student, and all scholarship recipients are invited to be guests at the SIF’s annual National & Education Leaderships Awards (NELA) Gala. Each applicant will receive a one-year At-Large Membership to the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, which includes a one-year subscription to Italian America magazine. Scholarship information and application can be found on http://www.osia.org starting in mid-to-late-October. Contact scholarships@osia.org for questions or assistance.
Have You Checked Out Your OSDIA Member Benefits? The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America offers its members a range of special discounts on Italian products, genealogy research, travel, healthcare, specialty items, and other services. To view your Member Benefits, log on to www.osia.org and click on “Member Benefits” listed on the left. If you are a Lodge Member and do not have a Username/Password, please contact your Grand Lodge or Subordinate Lodge about setting one up. If you are an At-Large Member and do not have a Username/Password, please contact NationalOffice@osia.org about setting one up.
Scholarship recipients at the NELA Gala.
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ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 13
ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 13
OUR STORY
ITALIAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
When Roots Run Deep BY KAREN PALERMO BLEDSOE
It all started with a simple ancestry search. How naïve was I to think that I could stop with just one click. I came to discover not only the names of my ancestors, but that I also had a right to Italian citizenship by jure sanguinis, or “right of blood.” And because I had that right, so did my three daughters. Years of research proved that one of my ancestors did not give up his Italian citizenship through naturalization. He was my great-great-grandfather, Antonio Palermo, born in Calabria …all the way back in 1872. While each dual-citizenship case is different, my family’s journey required the fortitude and stamina of a marathon runner. One of our family’s prized possessions became a big red expandable file folder that housed six years of research with every birth, marriage, death, baptism, and naturalization record through our bloodline. Each certificate was translated and apostilled for Italy, for even small discrepancies such as incorrect spellings and dates can cause a problem when presenting your case for citizenship. After a two-year wait for our Philadelphia consulate appointment, my daughters and I awoke to a day that we would remember for the rest of our lives. Here was the momentous occasion as experienced through the young eyes of my three daughters:
Olivia Bledsoe, 15 When I woke up on Thursday, the 12th of March, I had one word on my mind: citizenship. After six persistent years of research, we were finally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Italian consulate a mere five-minute walk away. When we made the appointment for our citizenship two years ago, it
The Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia, located just across the street from Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. FALL 2020
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(L. to R.) Karen Palermo Bledsoe and her daughters— Hadley, Julia, and Olivia—after applying for dual citizenship last March. had felt like so far away, not yet an imagined day. The months passed, each marked with the growing folder of documents my mom kept. As March 12th grew closer, so did our excitement, but also our nerves. As we drove from our home in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Philadelphia, the imaginable what if silently echoed in all of our minds. The world would open for me! The dream is becoming a reality as our paperwork is accepted at our appointment. It is only a matter of time until we will be officially recognized as Italian citizens. Now, I can study to become a doctor in Italy. Now, I will try even harder to perfect the Italian language. And now, what I feel in my heart will finally be documented with an Italian passport. I am proud of my Mom for taking us on this journey with her. Our hearts are full as we leave the Italian consulate smiling. I briefly look up into the sky and know that my ancestors have blessed this day and are calling us home.
Julia Bledsoe, 12 Today my family finally applied for Italian dual citizenship. Some of the struggles to this long and tedious process is that you have to make an appointment about two years in advance, you normally have a lot of paperwork to keep track of, and after all your research you can still be turned away. I watched several families walk into the consulate with a big binder of documents holding all their important information. Our appointment was on a Thursday March 12th at 9:45 a.m. We arrived early, as you should for prestigious and important matters. It’s a good thing because there was a sense of urgency in the air. The consulate had just started putting signs up stating that they will only see the public by appointment only due to COVID. ITALIAN AMERICA
OUR STORY
ITALIAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE
My sisters and I sat down, all of us filled with nerves, while my mother presented certain papers explaining them as she went to the person behind the banker’s window. She explained the way we can get Italian citizenship thanks to my greatgreat-great-grandfather, who came from Calabria in 1900. This lasted about 20 minutes, and then my sisters and I went up one at a time as my mother showed our birth certificates and passport photos. The whole process lasted a little over an hour and cost around $300 for the appointment. Finally, we were presented with a stamped piece of paper stating that our important documents had been accepted.
through us and all the way back to 1872, I have been able to open the world to my children and strengthen their ties that are deeply rooted in a small Calabrian village in Italy. Karen Palermo Bledsoe (Karen.bledsoe@gmail.com) enjoys teaching her family the “old Italian“ ways and posts about it on Facebook at Deeply Rooted Italian. She and her daughters are members of Lodge 2817 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
We left the Italian Consulate knowing that we will now wait a year to be recognized as Italian citizens and then we wait three more months after that to receive our Italian passports. The most important thing though was that they accepted our paperwork, and after six years of research a huge weight was lifted off my mother’s shoulders. I am grateful for this experience!
Hadley Bledsoe, 8 Have you ever been to a big city? I got up early to drive to Philadelphia. It took seven hours to get to the city. I walked past Independence Hall where a lot of history has taken place, and I took a picture with my camera. The streets were busy with people and loud cars. The next morning my family and I woke up with joy as we went to get Italian citizenship. I heard people speaking Italian inside the building. The appointment took a long time, and afterwards we went to eat a good Italian lunch. It was a fun trip to Philadelphia. The process of researching the documents necessary for Italian dual-citizenship was an emotional—and exhausting—fact-finding journey for our family. Now we patiently wait one more year for our case to be processed. Through jure sanguinis, through the blood that runs OSIA members benefit from a 10% discount on all our services!
(L. to R.) Hadley, Julia, and Olivia in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.
Do You Ever Imagine Your Italian Ancestors? Bring that vision to life with real history.
• Discover centuries of information about your roots through our research services onsite in Italy • Obtain your Italian Dual Citizenship by working with us to manage the application process. For more information, visit www.myitalianfamily.com, or call 1-888-472-0171 ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 15
ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 15
BY CAROL ANN RICCIO LINDER
The Patron Saint Who Cured Him
When Giovanni Mainiero was a boy, he suffered from violent epileptic seizures. Every day, in his small town of Castelfranco in Miscano—located in the mountains east of Naples—he prayed to San Donato di Arezzo, the patron saint of epileptics. He promised the saint that if he were cured, he would build a church in honor of the saint who answered his prayers. As Giovanni grew from childhood through adolescence and then to adulthood, his epileptic seizures became fewer and fewer until they ceased completely. This, he believed, was a miracle, the very miracle he had been praying for. His patron saint, Saint Donato, had interceded on his behalf, curing him of his epilepsy. In 1890, at age 33, he left Italy with his wife, Maria Antonia, and two sons. They arrived in New York and settled not far from the city in a small town called Rye in a neighborhood called Dublin, named so because it had been previously settled by the Irish. Even as more Italians moved in, the area retained its name.
The feast celebration procession, in which the statue of Saint Donato was hoisted high and carried for several blocks through the Dublin neighborhood. The family stopped holding the feast in 1963, when Jennie and Leonardo died within 12 days of each other. FALL 2020 (Kathleen Ognibene)
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Giovanni Mainiero (circa 1910), whose name was Americanized to John Miner upon his arrival to the United States. ITALIAN AMERICA
Castelfranco in Miscano named Leonardo Riccio, who became a lot more than Giovanni’s paisano. For it was here that Leonardo became smitten with a young lady, the same one that was born into the Mainiero family five years after they arrived. Her name was Giovannini (Jennie) Mainiero, and eventually she and Leonardo were married.
The first floor of the house that served as the neighborhood bar.
Giovanni was quick to make a name for himself as someone who was instrumental in helping new immigrants assimilate into their adopted country. In 1898, Giovanni became a member of the “Società Italiana di Benevolenza” (the Italian Benevolence Society), which had just been
Soon after his arrival, Giovanni purchased three plots of land on Maple Avenue in Rye. He built a house on one, which served three purposes. While he and his family—which soon included a little girl—lived on the second floor of the house, the first floor became a neighborhood bar, where Giovanni served as the bartender, offering patrons a small beer for a nickel. With the beer, came a free sandwich. The third floor of the house served as a way station for new Italian immigrants. For a small fee, a young Italian man having just arrived in the new country could rest his head and eat a hot meal while living above a family that spoke his language. It gave these immigrants a foothold as they searched for work and then a more permanent place to live. While Giovanni and the Mainiero family never made a fortune off of their patrons and tenants, they earned enough to subsist. Over the years, scores of men began their lives in the new country by living at 112 Maple Avenue, including an immigrant from ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 17
The original Church of Saint Donato that was built of wood. Circa 1925. ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 17
founded one year prior. As a wellrespected individual in the town of Rye, Giovanni was seen as a leader in the community—a man who kept his word. True to his promise from long ago, he began building a wooden church on the property across the street from his home. The wooden church would be in honor of the saint who had cured him of his epilepsy. And so, to commemorate the church and celebrate the saint, Giovanni hosted a celebration on August seventh, Saint Donato’s Feast Day. It was the first of what became an annual celebration that lasted for nearly 70 years. While he put one tragedy of his childhood behind him, a new one was looming in adulthood. In 1912,
Giovanni’s wife died. Thanks to the strength of his daughter, Jennie, the family held together. At just 17 years old, she served not only as a barmaid in the family’s downstairs bar, but also cooked the meals for her father and two brothers. Meanwhile, Giovanni, just 55 years old, began losing his eyesight. Jennie took her father on many trips into New York City to see specialists, only to learn that there was no cure for his increasing blindness. Before losing his eyesight completely, Giovanni managed to return to Italy to purchase a plaster statue of Saint Donato. It became the centerpiece of the small church. In 1914, Jennie and Leonardo Riccio married, and the young couple
made their home with Giovanni, caring for him and taking over more of the responsibilities for organizing the feast year after year. Under her wing, the feast of Saint Donato grew more elaborate each year. Held in the small wooden church and along Maple Avenue, it transformed from a one-day celebration into a three-day affair, drawing thousands from across the region. The morning of the Feast began with a Mass at the church that was celebrated by a priest from the local parish. Adding to the festivities, Giovanni hired a band that traveled to Rye “all the way from Long Island.” For the evening’s entertainment, he hired a company to set off fireworks for a spectacular nighttime display.
Though it no longer serves a religious function, the reconstructed Church of Saint Donato still stands on Maple Avenue as a reminder of one man’s devotion to his patron saint. FALL 2020
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ITALIAN AMERICA
Vendors came from far and wide to sell all types of Italian food, including sausage and pepper sandwiches and torrone. Carnival games eventually worked their way into the feast, and in later years, the local benevolent men’s club raffled off a new car. However, the highlight of the feast was always the procession, led by the band. Men and women carried the statue of Saint Donato several blocks through the Dublin neighborhood. Dollar bills were pinned to ribbons on the statue, but of course they could never cover the cost of sponsoring such an event—those dollars were donations to the Saint and barely covered the cost of the candles that were lit in devotion. All of the other expenses were paid for by Giovanni out of his own pocket.
Sandwiches and wine and an evening meal of spaghetti cooked by the ladies of the neighborhood were available in the basement of the church for band members, relatives, and friends—all food provided by the Mainiero family. Two outhouses were built just for the occasion. It was the event of the year for the town. The Feast of Saint Donato had been celebrated for over 20 years, until one evening in August 1925, after a day of festivities, a candle was left burning, and suddenly the little wooden church was ablaze. The fire consumed not only the church, but also Giovanni’s will to live. His spirit broken, he wept for days as though his heart were giving out. Less than two weeks after the fire, it did just that. Before he took his last breath, Giovanni made his children promise
that they would one day rebuild the church and carry on the feast as long as possible. The task thrust upon them was, however, not beyond them. Giovanni’s elder son, whom he had named Donato in honor of the saint, was a stone mason. With the help of his brother, Leonard, his sister, Jennie, and his brother-in-law, Leonardo, they built a replacement church of local brownstone that would stand for more than 90 years. Hanging atop the new church was the only thing that had survived the fire: the cast iron bell, imported from Italy. Placed in the bell tower of the new church, it tolled once again on August seventh. Carol Ann Riccio Linder (ca.linder22@ gmail.com) is the great-granddaughter of Giovanni Mainiero. She is passionate about compiling stories of her ancestors and their origins in Castelfranco. She lives in Arlington, Virginia.
(L.) A receipt written in Italian for the Bridgeport Marine Band, which played at the feast in 1921. (R.) A receipt written in Italian from Fratelli Paragone, the company that set off the fireworks at the feast in 1907. ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 19
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BOOK REVIEWS
FALL 2020 SELECTIONS
LOST IN TRANSLATION: Stories of Growing Up First Generation Italian American By Susan Nanfeldt
A collection of short personal essays, Lost in Translation is author Susan Nanfeldt’s successful attempt to pass on a more bicultural identity to her children. In doing so, she gives not only her children, but all readers stories that will, in many ways, remind them of their own ancestors. Her essays portray sentiment and emotion for a cherished history that’s not fully appreciated until one ages like a fine wine. Readers are sure to truly treasure each essay as they do a glass of wine. The essays are concise and explore an experience that is accompanied by an overall message. Several identifiable themes arise throughout this collection, such as walking for the sake of walking (passeggiata), wasting nothing, helping one’s neighbor, the approach toward death and mourning, and eating meals made with humble ingredients.
DID YOU KNOW? The legend behind the Venetian island of Burano’s rise to fame for lace-making lies in a myth involving the sirens weaving sea foam in honor of the betrothed fisherman who they were unable to lure away from his wife. Nanfeldt’s collection begins with her father, who was from Pescara, Italy, and stationed in Rome when he met her Italian-American mother, who was visiting from Jersey City, New Jersey. Through her parents’ relationship, which began as handwritten letters and postcards, Nanfeldt stitches an extraordinary embroidery of heritage. While Nanfeldt brings us essays that we can all appreciate and identify with, she ultimately leaves her own children with what amounts to letters they will certainly cherish the older they grow. But again, she would be the first to agree that while these essays achieve their goal of bringing her children closer to their heritage, there is nothing quite like reading a handwritten letter like the ones her father sent to her mother before he was able to cross the Atlantic so that they could build a life together. FALL 2020
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A SPACE BETWEEN
By Anna Citrino Anna Citrino’s evocative, very affecting style brings poetry to the people. While her poems are distinct snapshots of Italian immigrant life, they are presented as stories and read—both individually and collectively—as a narrative. Readers will follow Gaetano and Luisa from Amantea, Italy—where they experience married life in Calabria at the turn of the 20th century—to Gaetano’s journey to San Francisco, California—where he works as a barber, saving money to eventually bring Luisa. Through their journey of tragedy and struggle, readers will see the suffering endured by immigrants followed by the gradual assimilation of the generations that followed them.
“Crime doesn’t have to be subtle when those in power want you silent.” Citrino’s poems will take readers into barber shops, steerage on the ships that crossed the Atlantic, and factories like the Del Monte Cannery. They will take readers through the superstitions and guarded views that developed in Calabria, devastating earthquakes like those in San Francisco and Messina/Reggio Calabria, and the relocation of Italian Nationals during World War II. Perhaps the most wonderful addition that Citrino brings to her poems is the appendix that elaborates on the historical references contained within each poem. This feature works extremely well, and through it, readers will learn about the wine-soaked blankets that helped put out the Great Fire, the first Green cards that were part of the Alien Registration Act of 1940, and the seven years that it typically took for men to raise the money needed to send for their families. With all of this, readers will come away from Citrino’s poems being emotionally affected and mentally stimulated.
DID YOU KNOW? After the United States, Brazil had the most Italian immigrants of all countries in the western hemisphere. Many of them were farmers or worked on coffee fields as laborers. ITALIAN AMERICA
On The Bookshelf Books by and about Italian Americans
Nonno, Tell Us a Story By Pietrantonio Lombardi Nonno, Tell Us a Story is a delightful memoir of a young boy’s life begun in the postwar Molise region of Italy and transformed when he immigrates to the United States just as he reaches adolescence. Real life episodes, from the town of Pagliarone/Villa San Michele to the city of Denver, are set against a backdrop of Italy’s history, art, folklore, and sports world. Often poignant and more often humorous, this portrait of family love throughout its struggles and successes in two worlds is as different from other books of this type as are the people who live and write about them. If you love Italian as well as ItalianAmerican culture, this is a must read that will be hard to put down.
Available on Amazon.com To order an autographed copy, email pietrantonio.lombardi@gmail.com
Recipes My Nonna Taught Me by Francena Hall
Celebrate Italian Heritage Month with a copy of my cookbook Recipes My Nonna Taught Me for the special sale price of $10 with FREE S & H.
Eggplant Dip This can be served hot, cold, or at room temperature with crusty Italian bread. 1 medium eggplant peeled and diced 1 medium chopped onion 2 diced tomatoes 2 cloves minced garlic Fresh basil (dried is fine, too) * Just remember you can use more fresh because dried is stronger. Salt and pepper to taste Saute eggplant, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and basil. Enjoy!!
Send $10 to:
With tears and Laughter By John C. Alessio (2020)
Francena Hall 125 Boyce Road Centerville, OH 45458 937-433-7313 francena514@gmail.com
Makes a wonderful stocking stuffer, hostess gift, and an addition to your cookbook collection.
With Tears and Laughter An Immigrant Voyage
John C. Alessio
As eighteen-year-old Lorenzo Adamani works his way down the Aspromonte mountainside toward the coastal town of Gioia Tauro, he is carrying a small hemp sack over his shoulder – a sack containing everything he owns. It is the beginning of a long journey into indentured servitude, arranged marriage, a large Italian family, and a confused American Dream.
Available at www.BarnesAndNoble.com Visit www.osia.org to find a selection of recent books written by OSDIA members! ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 21
ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 21
BY ROBERT FERRITO FALL 2020
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ITALIAN AMERICA (Joseph Sohm)
t
he Commission for Social Justice is the anti-defamation arm of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. The commission has, throughout the years, engaged in a wide variety of activities geared towards accomplishing its twin goals of promoting a positive image of Italian Americans and maintaining a strong conviction in fighting bias, bigotry, and defamation. The Commission for Social Justice is woefully attuned to the groundswell sweeping our country regarding the removal/relocation of Christopher Columbus statues and monuments. We find the tone of Professor Allison Mickel’s July 11 Your View commentary “Columbus is still killing people” inflammatory and hateful.
The United States Government symbolically chose Columbus Day of 1942 as the day to formally remove the “enemy alien” designation that was applied to Italian immigrants during World War II. Professor Mickel is obviously among those who rebuke and dismiss the extraordinary accomplishments of Christopher Columbus and choose to promote a negative, false, and deceptive commentary with accusations of opportunism, ruthlessness, greed, cruelty, violence, and an all-consuming thirst for glory. These individuals would have people believe that every act of inhumanity and cruelty throughout the history of our nation began with Christopher Columbus, and the ills of mankind should rest squarely on his shoulders. This deception serves to undermine his reputation.
children of those early Italian Americans constitute the nation’s fifth-largest ethnic group. Italian Americans were declared a protected minority by Federal Judge Constance Motley Baker in a lawsuit brought against the City University of New York State (Scelsa v. CUNY). Professor Mickel questioned “if Columbus were in fact worthy of admiration.” The answer is a resounding and unequivocal yes. • Christopher Columbus accomplished extraordinary things during his life: • Columbus proved that it was possible to safely cross the Atlantic. • Columbus was the first European to realize the full importance of the Atlantic wind pattern called the prevailing Westerlies, which blew steadily east. • Columbus’s transatlantic route lay the foundation for future navigation in the region. His maps were used by Amerigo Vespucci, the Italian explorer for whom America is named. • The route across the Atlantic Ocean that Columbus charted in the 15th century is still used by sailors today. • Columbus introduced the principles of compass variation (the variation at any point of the Earth’s surface between the magnetic north and true north). • Columbus’s voyages marked the end of thousands of years of isolation between the Western Hemisphere and the rest of the world.
The Commission for Social Justice is determined to let our collective voices be heard with respect to the removal/ relocation of statues and monuments dedicated to the memory of Christopher Columbus. The arrival of Columbus in 1492 marked the start of recorded history in the Americas and the beginning of a cultural exchange between America and Europe. After Columbus, millions of European immigrants brought their art, music, science, medicine, philosophy, and religious principles to America. The creation of statues and monuments in the likeness of Columbus commemorate the arrival on these shores of Italian immigrants, with more than four million arriving between 1880 and 1925. Today, the children and grandITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 23
The Columbus statue that was vandalized in Providence, Rhode Island. In multiple cities and towns across the country, Columbus statues were vandalized. One was beheaded in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts, while others were torn down and thrown into bodies of water in Richmond, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 23
An examination of the historical record shows he was not guilty of many of the things his modern detractors claim: • Columbus was not a slave trader. He never owned slaves, nor did he bring any slaves to the Western Hemisphere from Africa. Columbus found slavery practiced in the Caribbean by the Caribs/Canibs, who made slaves of the tribes they conquered and may have tortured and eaten their victims. The Spanish arrival in the New World was the decisive factor that eventually ended human sacrifice and cannibalism. • Columbus and other Europeans brought with them Old World agricultural techniques, including crop rotation and animal breeding. They introduced new tools, including the wheel, as well as new plants and domesticated animals, including the horse. • Columbus was not a racist. No evidence indicates that Columbus thought the islanders he met were racially inferior in any way. According to Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem by Carol Delaney, in the journal of his first voyage, Columbus praised their generosity, innocence, and intelligence.
Columbus Day was first proclaimed a national celebration by President Benjamin Harrison in response to the 11 Italian immigrants lynched in New Orleans in 1891—the largest lynching in United States history. • Columbus did not commit genocide. No one knows exactly how many people were in the Western Hemisphere when the Europeans arrived. Many researchers believe the number to be around 40 million. Columbus made four voyages to the Caribbean in a 12-year period (1492-1504), spending from only seven months to two years and nine months (including the year he was shipwrecked on his fourth voyage). While there was armed conflict with the Spanish who came with Columbus and stayed after he left, there is no evidence of the kind of mass slaughter that was practiced later in Central and South America. • New medical research on pre-Columbian mummies in Peru, Chile, and remote areas far from the early European colonies reveals that tuberculosis, long thought European in origin, was present among the Native American tribes before the arrival of Columbus. FALL 2020
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A statue of Cristopher Columbus in Santa Margherita Ligure, a town in the Liguria region of Italy. (Roberto Lo Savio)
The Commission for Social Justice remains determined to continue the preservation of the memory of Christopher Columbus and the significant part he played in the history of the Americas. To Italian Americans, statues and monuments erected in memory of Christopher Columbus represent not only the accomplishments and contributions of Italian Americans, but also the indelible spirit of risk, sacrifice, and self-reliance of a great Italian icon. Robert Ferrito is President of the Commission for Social Justice of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America.
See Page 33 of this issue for how you can help the Commission for Social Justice and President Robert Ferrito defend and protect Columbus’s statues and legacy.
ITALIAN AMERICA
Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America ® Online Business Directory Advertise on www.osia.org today! Gold
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Call the OSDIA National Office at (202) 547-2900 or visit www.osia.org/business-directory for more information about how you can advertise your business online FALL 2020
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ITALIAN AMERICA
OSDIA NATION
OSDIA LODGES AT WORK
RHODE ISLAND The Salvatore Mancini Lodge #2440 of North Providence celebrates the life of Emma (nèe Rotondo) Pezza, who was born on March 30, 1911—quite possibly making her the oldest active member of the Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America at 109 years old!
expanded and would eventually employ over 100 workers.
Emma’s parents, Frank and Tarmina, immigrated to the United States from Presenzano, a town in the Province of Caserta in the Campania region. Her parents settled in Johnston, Rhode Island, and had ten children, the fifth one being Emma. One of Emma’s earliest memories was of the 1918 Influenza pandemic and some of her family members falling victim to it.
In addition to having a long and successful career while caring for her family, Emma found time for the Mancini Lodge, serving as treasurer for four years. In fact, she still attends functions to this day!
After graduating high school, Emma started working as Bookkeeper at a local manufacturing company, where she worked her way up to Se-
In 1997, after 66 years of marriage, Emma lost her loving husband (and ballroom dance partner). She continued working as Vice President of C. Pezza & Son, Inc., overseeing operations all the way until the age of 93!
A picture of Emma that was taken just last year! nior Bookkeeper. In 1931, she married Carmine Pezza, and they had two children: Leonard and Virginia. She and her husband started a business of their own, establishing a small sand and gravel company with just one truck. With their mutual skills, the company
“Having had the pleasure of knowing Emma for the past 16 years,” said Lodge President Rose Marie Capalbo, “I can tell you that Emma is quite the fun-loving person. On behalf of myself and the entire Salvatore Mancini Lodge, we wish Emma all the best on her way to her 110th birthday next March!”
NEBRASKA Last February, the Christoforo Colombo Lodge #1419 of Omaha reopened their hall after a long threeyear recovery and rebuilding period following a devastating fire. With their reopening came the highly anticipated return of their popular pasta lunches on Thursdays. Unfortunately, the
The line of cars extending down 10th Street, waiting to pick up their Italian food from the reopened Christoforo Colombo Lodge in Omaha. FALL 2020
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pandemic shut things down just four weeks after their grand reopening. With about 600 pounds of Italian sausage still on site, they decided to find another way to distribute the food and launched a day for driveup service, selling the sausage in three-pound bags for $15 per bag. Through email, their website, and their Facebook page, they alerted their members and the surrounding community about the Saturday sale that would start at 9:00 a.m. That morning, cars began lining up before 8:00 a.m., extending out of the parking lot and down 10th Street for three blocks. The sausages sold out in 20 minutes.
Inspired by such success, the lodge decided to run similar sales once a month. The following month featured a package of eight meatballs and a quart of sauce for $15. Once again, they sold out in under half an hour, a line of cars again stretching down 10th Street. With each sale, the lodge earned enough money to pay monthly bills while at the same time eliciting a lot of goodwill in the community. “It certainly was fun for me to direct traffic and kibitz with members and neighbors,” said Dan Matuella, President of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska. “All the while, fielding questions about the next sale and when we will reopen.” The lodge hall reopened on September 17. ITALIAN AMERICA
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
NEW JERSEY A new women’s lodge—The Mother Cabrini Lodge #3003— formed in Hammonton and will be installed by the Grand Lodge of New Jersey this fall. The new lodge already has 95 new members! The lodge’s first president, Kendal Apalucci, explains what inspired her to open the women’s lodge: Growing up in Hammonton, a town who once led the nation in Italian Americans per capita, Italian pride has always run strong. Whether it was our family Sunday dinners, the town’s long running Mt Carmel Festival, or the weekly ‘malocchio’ checks done by my grandmother, I grew up following tradition. One tradition I yearned to be a part of was the local Sons of Italy lodge, which is an all-male lodge that was very involved in our town. I remember wanting to be a part of something that showcased my beliefs and carried on this strong Italian pride, but I couldn’t because it was a fraternity. Recently, I was having dinner with my parents and told them
how even now, as a young adult, I wish there was some way I could be a part of it, and my dad said, ‘Well, make your own.’ It was as simple as that. My wheels started turning, and I started asking my girlfriends, their moms, cousins, neighbors, etc.—and it all blew up! Apparently I wasn’t the only female in town who always wanted to be involved in something like this, and now here we are, 95 members later, with our very own club! It is very exciting, and the outpour of support really has made me so happy to be amongst these other women and share our traditions for generations to come. We have many wives and daughters from the Sons of Italy, and with their blessing, The Mother Cabrini Lodge is off to a wonderful start. My Vice President, Deanna Mascioli, is just as passionate about our heritage and traditions as I am, and together, we really put in the work and have created something that we hope will be around for our children and their children and even more generations to come!
(L. to R.) Vice President Deanna Mascioli, Recording Secretary Kayla Piccari, and Lodge President Kendal Apalucci.
NEW YORK The Constantino Brumidi Lodge #2211 of Deer Park—through its catering company, Brumidi Catering Corporation—cooked meals for 700 healthcare workers over the course of a three-phase operation. Phase 1 provided 300 homecooked meals to the nursing staff at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Facility in Smithtown. Phase 2 involved assisting the Suffolk County Conference Knights of Columbus to provide 200 meals at the Maria Regina Nursing Home in Brentwood. Phase 3 again involved working toITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 27
gether with the Knights of Columbus to provide another 200 meals at Our Lady of Consolation Nursing and Rehabilitative Care Center in West Islip. The meals included penne alla vodka, sausage and peppers, beef bourguignon, flank steaks, pork with rice, and potatoes and vegetables. The food was carefully packed for three work shifts: the day shift, the 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift, and the midnight shift. Lodge President Carmine Soldano (far right) delivers food to the administrative workers at Maria Regina in Brentwood.
Carmine Soldano, President of the Constantino Brumidi Lodge and (Continued on page 31) ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 27
BY MILES RYAN FISHER
When Bruno Serato received a phone call in the middle of the night on February 4, 2017, telling him that his restaurant was on fire, he thought the call was a joke. Just a few hours earlier, he’d been at the Anaheim White House, preparing invitations in celebration of his 30th anniversary of ownership. As he walked through the ashes of the restaurant, he thought that his life in America was finished. Then, as he continued through the damage, he discovered one cherished possession that had survived the blaze: his rosary blessed by Pope Francis. That, Bruno said, was the first miracle. Hailing from San Bonifacio, a small town in Italy about six miles from Verona, Bruno immigrated to California in 1980, arriving with just 200 dollars in his pocket. He did, however, have one advantage: family. His sister had married an American, and so Bruno had decided to join her. When he did, he started out as many Italian immigrants before him: washing dishes. “In Italy, I was like the manager of a restaurant. I come to America, and I’m a dishwasher again,” he said. FALL 2020
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Bruno was born and raised on a farm in northern France because his mother and father left Italy in 1945 after World War II. In 1967, they returned. “It never scared me. I never felt out of place in this country because I saw the love that America has for Italian people.” Bruno worked his way up every rung of the restaurant ladder—from dishwasher to busboy, busboy to waiter, waiter to manager, and manager to maître d’—all in five-year’s time. After just seven years, he owned the very restaurant where he’d started. The key to such quick ascent, Bruno explained, was his loyalty to the restaurant itself. Even when he was offered more to work elsewhere,
he stayed. “I always tell the young generation today: Stay with the good people around you. Stay with the loyal people around you. And someone will help you one day,” he said. It was out of this loyalty that the opportunity to buy the Anaheim White House came to Bruno, who hadn’t even considered owning his own establishment at that point. “The manager of the restaurant kept asking me, ‘The restaurant is for sale. Are you going to buy it?’ And I said, ‘Are you crazy? I don’t have a million dollars to buy a restaurant.’ ITALIAN AMERICA
the Christ Cathedral and cooked pasta for the children. “For a few hours, I forgot the Anaheim House was on fire,” Bruno said. “It helped me to emotionally and mentally keep going. The kids said, ‘Thank you, Chef Bruno, for all the pasta you give us.’ But the kids helped me more.”
Bruno and Caterina’s Club celebrated serving pasta to their one millionth child in March 2015. But he told me that the owner was a nice man, that he and his wife are very kind, and you never know. And he was right.” Bruno spoke with the owner, who told him how much he wanted for the restaurant and asked how much Bruno had. When Bruno replied that he didn’t have anywhere close to the asking price, he looked in Bruno’s eyes and said, “I like your honesty. I will help you.”
Thirty years later, Bruno treaded through the ashes of the restaurant into which he’d poured everything he had. As he did so, his thoughts shifted to something other than his personal tragedy. ‘How can I cook pasta for the children?’ he thought.
At that time, Bruno had been cooking pasta for hungry children for more than a decade—all thanks to none other than his mother, Caterina. On April 18, 2005, while Bruno was visiting the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim, he met a seven-year-old boy who was eating a bag of potato chips. The director of the club told Bruno that that was probably the boy’s dinner. The boy, he told Bruno, was living with his mother in a motel room and eating whatever prepackaged food he managed to get. That’s when Bruno’s mother, who was visiting from San Bonifacio, stepped in. “My mom is an Italian mom,” Bruno said. “What did she say?
As the sun ascended on the morning after the fire, he received a call from the Bishop of Orange, Keith
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
- Mother Teresa
The Anaheim White House, which is a national historical landmark, was built as a residence in 1909. It was converted to a restaurant in 1981. ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 29
A. Vann, at Christ Cathedral in Orange County, California. The bishop knew about the thousands of hungry children that Bruno was feeding on a daily basis. “We have a kitchen over here that is available for you until you can reopen your own,” he told Bruno. This, Bruno said, was the second miracle. So that day, the very day his restaurant burned down, Bruno went to
Bruno with a portrait of his mother, Caterina, who inspired his mission to feed pasta to millions of hungry children. ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 29
contributions. All of these contributions help him in a battle that has grown even more difficult now that the coronavirus pandemic emerged just three years after the fire that razed his restaurant. “The restaurant was set to have its best year ever,” Bruno said. When the coronavirus took over, once again he thought he was finished. Yet once again, in the face of such personal tragedy, his thoughts traveled to the children. What about the children? he asked himself.
Through the pandemic, Bruno has served even more pasta to those in need than ever before.
With the Boys and Girls Clubs closing all around him, he began to re-
Bruno empathizes with them. After all, personal tragedy is nothing new to him. He endured the 2008 recession. He endured a fire that burned his restaurant to the ground. Now, he is enduring a pandemic—and still feeding the kids. Through it all, he’s never missed a single day since his mom told him to feed them pasta. Having received more than a hundred awards for his charitable work, Bruno still goes back to that day in April that started it all. “My mom is the one who told me, ‘Feed the kids pasta.’ She’s the one who deserves all the awards.”
‘Why don’t you feed him pasta.’” After all, Bruno’s mom knew the power of pasta. She’d raised seven children on a meager income by feeding them pasta every day. And so it began with one child in one location in one city. A decade later, this single mission to feed one child pasta had blossomed into Caterina’s Club, an organization that served 5,000 kids in 90 locations in 30 cities every day. In March 2015, just ten years after he’d fed that very first child, Bruno and Caterina’s Club served pasta to their one millionth child. “If we all put our hands together, we can fight this war on hunger,” Bruno said. “I don’t need missiles. I don’t need guns. I don’t need a nuclear arsenal to win the fight against hunger. I just need pasta.” Of course, there are many helping to arm Bruno—from Barilla Pasta, who donates tons of pasta every year, to the many individual donors across the countr y who visit Caterina’s Club’s website and make monetary FALL 2020
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Bruno with his pasta in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City. organize the way he distributed pasta, giving out the meals outside in an open drive-through. What had been 1,000 pounds of pasta and 25,000 meals per week prior to the pandemic, skyrocketed to 5,000 pounds of pasta and 60,000 to 80,000 meals per week. Now it’s not only children, Bruno said. Now it’s also about families and people who have lost their jobs.
“Viva la mamma!” he exclaimed. “Viva la pasta!” To contribute to Bruno’s mission and aid him in his fight against hunger, visit www.caterinasclub.org Miles Ryan Fisher (mfisher@osia.org) is the Editor-in-Chief of Italian America magazine. ITALIAN AMERICA
FROM THE NATIONAL
WHAT NATIONAL DOES FOR YOU
From the President’s Desk
By Nancy DiFiore Quinn
Although we found it necessary to cancel our August Plenary Session in Chicago because of COVID, we were able to run a very successful one-day “Zoom Plenary Session.” I would imagine it is the first of its kind in the hallowed halls of National OSDIA! Thanks so much to all of the National Officers, State Presidents, and guests who attended and added to the presence of the 69 members on the call! We were able to discuss membership issues, especially the need to keep in contact with our current members while at the same time trying to entice new members to join. Many are worried about keeping their numbers up for 2021 since we have not been able to meet on a local level and remind members in-person that their dues are due. If you are a member of a local lodge, please make every effort to pay your dues for 2021. This would be extremely helpful for your Local Lodge and the Grand Lodge of your state. I sincerely hope that you were able to watch the great Facebook interviews from Season 1 of our OSDIA Live Interview Series. Season 2 is already in progress! Keep watching with family and friends. These interviews are a great public relations tool to keep OSDIA in the limelight.
lodge member, we encourage you to join us online at www. osia.org. Our founder, Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro, urged us to stay united and help each other in order to carry on our beloved Italian language, traditions, and culture. Don’t stop writing and calling your elected officials about keeping our Columbus Statues where they are and not changing Columbus Day to any other celebration day. Columbus Day is our holiday and we need to protect it with all our might so that we can continue to celebrate on October 12th! Our students are either back to school or learning through Zoom. Teachers and students are understandably frustrated, but we must continue to keep our children and grandchildren’s spirits up. We are strong Italians and can work our way through anything. With all the challenges around us. I really feel that we are holding our own and keeping the “Lion on the Move!” At the present time we have no idea what the future holds for us but if we stay together, there must be a light at the end of the tunnel. Please stay safe and stay well. Enjoy the fall weather and continue to wear your mask and keep social distancing until we are told otherwise.
As you know, our fundraising efforts have been put on hold due to our current situation. If you are not a local
“If a year was tucked inside of a clock, then autumn would be the magic hour.” – Victoria Erickson (Continued from page 27) Treasurer of the Suffolk County Conference Knights of Columbus, oversaw the delivery of the food. “This is a great example of how two great organizations can help each other and work together to show our gratitude to our healthcare workers,” he said. The Constantino Brumidi lodge also looked out for its own members and the community at-large during the height of the pandemic. The lodge kept in close contact with its members through emails, phone tree messaging, and their website to ensure everyone was safe. Should a ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 31
member require assistance, the lodge was there for them. The lodge also provided discount “take-out” meals to its members and the community. Every two weeks during June and July, a new Italian take-out menu was released, and members could phone in their order for a delicious home-cooked Italian meal and pick it up at a specified time as part of the lodge’s “Meals on Wheels” program. “Our Lodge helped both our members and our community,” Carmine said. “I am so proud of our members who worked hard during these unprecedented times.” ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 31
THE SONS OF ITALY FOUNDATION ®
HELPING THOSE IN NEED
The Foundation Focus By Joseph Sciame, President
During these abnormal times, times of a “new normal” brought on by the pandemic, the Sons of Italy Foundation continues to forge ahead. The SIF continues to show just how magnanimous Italians are even during times of hardship. Over the summer, despite the cancellation of our annual National Education Leadership Awards Gala in May, we distributed about $70,000 to some truly promising students that will certainly go a long way toward helping them in their pursuit of higher education. In addition to this, we have continued to contribute to various worthy projects, both large and small. As you will see below, we recently made a donation toward a music project that will benefit the Saint Pio Foundation, an organization with a wonderful mission. This is an excellent example of the many projects that we are proud to support, though they may not be nearly as large as some other projects involving earthquake relief or our national charities. I am proud to report that, owing to prior funds raised through our local lodges and grand lodges, we have also sent funds to support The V Foundation for Cancer Research ($15,000) and the Ronald McDonald House New York ($10,000). In addition to these wonderful charities, we have also approved the contribution of another van to
Help Our Military Heroes in the coming year. This will be our eighth van donated in the past eight years. Recently, the SIF’s incredibly striking calendar went out through our direct mail program—with many vibrant photos of Italy. For those of you who contribute annually to the SIF and enjoy receiving this calendar, you will notice that this year’s calendar includes some additional noteworthy dates—those of Italian holidays and of our Grand Lodge formations. If you did not receive the calendar, please contact the national office at (202) 5472900 or nationaloffice@osia.org and make a donation in order to receive one. With the donation, you will not only receive the calendar but will also be put on our mailing list so that you can receive the wonderful items we send throughout the year. In spite of these difficult times, the SIF continues to stand tall and continues to give—all due to the generosity of individuals like you as well as our local lodges and grand lodges who take great pride in our Italian heritage and culture. It is through the SIF that we represent our heritage to the highest degree: by giving back. What is even more important is that we are passing a legacy on to younger generations in our spirit of giving to worthy projects and efforts. Let us keep it up!
Sons of Italy Foundation Co-Sponsors COVID-19 Music Project The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) co-sponsored the “Meraviglioso” music project, a project aimed at helping The Saint Pio Foundation, a national charitable organization that promotes the teachings and legacy of Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, the much-celebrated saint who was canonized June 16, 2002. Envisioned by acclaimed actor and singer Robert Davi, the music project consists of recording the song “Meraviglioso” and making it available in an mp3 format at $1 per download via the Saint Pio Foundation’s website. The full proceeds of each mp3 sold will be donated to the Saint Pio Foundation.
ian American Podcast. As in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the song “Meraviglioso” tells the story of a man in deep despair, about to end his life by throwing himself off a bridge. He gets stopped by an angel, who is disguised as a human and convinces the man not to jump, but to look around instead and see all the beauty that the world has to offer. The song is a perfect hymn of life and faith.
With producer Lee Curreri joining Davi, the music project was produced by Luciano Entertainment through the support of the Sons of Italy Foundation and the Ital-
For more information about the music project and to download the recording in mp3 format, please visit www. saintpiofoundation.org/meraviglioso
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The “Meraviglioso” music project focuses on providing an antidote to hopelessness in the form of caring and belonging. It also serves to promote and support collaboration and friendship between the United States and Italy.
ITALIAN AMERICA
THE COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE ®
FIGHTING DEFAMATION
The CSJ Perspective
By Robert M. Ferrito, President
As you can tell by this fall edition of the magazine, the Commission for Social Justice and the Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA) have been on the front lines of the fight to preserve Columbus’s legacy and protect the statues that our ancestors erected. And as you can see on page 4, we have joined four other national Italian-American organizations to form the National Columbus Education Foundation (NCEF). We’ve united the largest Italian-American organizations to harness our full power in defense of Columbus and our Italian heritage. One of the main things that the NCEF will be focusing on is combatting the misinformation being distributed about Columbus. While we play a large role in this with the NCEF, we have also launched our own campaign to educate others on Columbus. I must say that we have not seen such a united front of Italian-American organizations in a very long time. I am proud to be associated with these organizations and their leaders.
and the local Italian-American communities who have rallied to—both collectively and individually—put pressure on local public officials. Meanwhile, some of our Local Lodges—and our Grand Lodge of New Jersey—also managed to provide refuge to threatened Columbus statues by ushering them onto their private property. That way, any vandals would certainly be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. While we can all agree that it’d be ideal for the statues to remain where they are, I commend the proactive measures taken to protect our statues and continue to display them proudly until we get past these times and restore them to their rightful place. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the individuals who made donations to the Commission for Social Justice so that we can continue leading the way to protect our Italian heritage. It was empowering to see just how many donations arrived in the mail in response to the summer issue of the magazine. This certainly makes one thing clear: Our Italian heritage is alive and well—and together we plan to keep it that way.
While things have seemed to quiet down since the onslaught a few months ago, I would like to point out that we were successful in protecting Columbus statues in several cities, such as White Plains, New York, and Bridgeport, Connecticut. Of course, such success would not be possible without the help of our OSDIA members
Stay focused, be patient, and we will prevail!
YES! I would like to help Save Columbus Day.
Please accept my tax-deductible donation to support the Commission for Social Justice’s mission. To donate online, visit www.osia.org/csj To donate by phone, call the National Office at (202) 547-2900
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ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 33
Commission for Social Justice, 219 E Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
ITALIAN FALLAMERICA 2020 33
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Letters to the Editor I just finished reading “The Last Word” in your summer issue. Now I understand better your connection to Ithaca (and Cornell). Small World Story: My parents took me to Ithaca to visit Cornell when I was a junior in high school. My father wanted to eat at the same restaurant where he had eaten during the war—and we actually had dinner at the “Lehigh Valley” restaurant to celebrate my 16th birthday on July 27, 1964. Great food! I remember it well because my mother stuck a match in the dessert and my parents sang “Happy Birthday.”
I loved the “Campania: From Ruins to Romance” article and photos. My grandparents—Andrea and Rosina—lived in Avellino, where they met, fell in love, married and came to America on the steerage ship to Ellis Island around 1899. He was a tailor and they had ten children. One day, I will travel to the Amalfi Coast and Avellino to witness the beauty and love of Italy. Rose Lictro Blauvelt, New York
Carol Ann Linder Italian Heritage Lodge #2517 Arlington, VA
Corrections for Summer 2020 issue Regions of Italy (page 5) The region of Campania produces 1.5 million tons of tomatoes annually, not 1.5 tons.
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT AND CIRCULATION (required by Act of August 12, 1970: Section 3685, Title 39, United States Code). ITALIAN AMERICA MAGAZINE (ISSN 1089-5043) is published quarterly at 219 E Street, NE; Washington, DC 20002. The annual subscription price is $20. The complete mailing address of Known Office of Publication is located at 219 E Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. The general business offices of the publisher and the editor are at same address as above. Publisher: Order Sons of Italy in America, same address as above. Editor: Miles Ryan Fisher, same address as above. Owner full name is Order Sons of Italy in America, 219 E Street, NE; Washington, DC 20002. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees and other Security Holders Owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. Tax status: has not changed during preceding 12 months. Publication Title: Italian America. Issue Date for Circulation Data below: SUMMER 2020. The extent and nature of circulation is: A. Total Number of Copies (Net press run). Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 29,925. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 29,500. B. Mailed OutsideCounty Paid Subscriptions. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 29,300. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 28,987. C. Total Paid Distribution. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 29,300. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 28,987. D. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County. distribution by mail, carrier or other means. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 300. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 200. E. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution. Average number of copies each issue during preceding 12 months: 300. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 200. F. Total Distribution. Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 29,600. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 29.187. G. Copies not Distributed. Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 325. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 313. H. Total. Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 29,925. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 29,500. I. Percent Paid. Average number of copies of each issue during preceding 12 months: 97.91%. Actual number of copies of single issue published nearest to filing date: 99.31%. I certify that the statements made by me above are correct and complete. Filed August 27, 2020. Miles Ryan Fisher, Editor-in-Chief.
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ITALIAN AMERICA
Italian America®
Italian America Magazine is produced by the national headquarters of the Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America®, 219 E Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 202/547-2900. Email: nationaloffice@osia.org Chief Operating Officer Joseph J. DiTrapani Editor-in-Chief Miles Ryan Fisher Director of Finance Adam Jacobs Program Director Emily Knoche Managing Director Justin Smith Italian America is the official publication of the Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America® (OSDIA), the largest and longest-established organization of American men and women of Italian heritage. Italian America provides timely information about OSDIA, while reporting on individuals, institutions, issues, and events of current or historical significance in the Italian-American community nationwide. ®
Italian America (ISSN: 1089-5043, USPS: 015-735) is published quarterly in the winter, spring, summer and fall by OSDIA, 219 E Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. ©2015 Order Sons & Daughters of Italy in America. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any method without permission of the editor is prohibited. Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily imply an opinion on the part of the officers, employees, or members of OSDIA. Mention of a product or service in advertisements or text does not mean that it has been tested, approved or endorsed by OSDIA, the Commission for Social Justice, or the Sons of Italy Foundation. Italian America accepts query letters and letters to the editor. Please do not send unsolicited manuscripts. Italian America assumes no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Annual subscriptions are $20, which are included in dues for OSDIA members. Single copies are $4.95 each.OSDIA MEMBERS: Please send address changes to your local lodge. Do not contact the OSDIA National Office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Italian America, 219 E Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Subscriptions are available through the OSDIA National Office, 219 E Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. OSDIA membership information is available at (800) 552-OSDIA or at www. OSDIA.org. Archives are maintained at the Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn. Printing by Printing Solutions Inc., Sterling, Va. To advertise: Contact ItalianAmerica@osia.org (202) 547-2900. Also see www.osia.org for advertising rates, specs, demographics, etc. ITALIAN FALL 2020 AMERICA 35
BY MILES RYAN FISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ITALIAN AMERICA MAGAZINE
A couple of months ago, a teammate of mine from my adult baseball league sent me an old article about the Italian groundskeeper who grew tomatoes at the Baltimore Orioles’ old Memorial Stadium. The story got us talking about our hobbies beyond baseball. He mentioned how he’d seemed to inherit the gardening gene from his late Italian grandfather, which prompted me to tell him that it wasn’t until years after I’d left home—and the homecooked meals my mom made—that I grew interested in cooking. It took many cans of pasta through my college and post-college years before I began learning some very basic recipes. Then I graduated to more involved recipes, and I started asking my mom for advice. I can still hear the surprise in her voice when I began asking questions about cooking and her recipes. “But you never cared about this before,” she said. And it was true. All of the homecooked meals I grew up eating, and I never once stood in the kitchen to learn how they were actually made. I speculated to my teammate that there may be a gene—either inherited at birth or imparted when you’re young—that stays planted inside of you until you’re old enough for it to sprout. Fortunately for me, my mom, who baked professionally when I was young, has her recipes written down so they would never be lost to her children. Much to my dad’s surprise, she sent me a few of those recipes— secret ones that she never shared with anyone. Through many trials in the kitchen, I finally managed to perfect the recipes. I began attempting all sorts of recipes, and with the ones that I thought were worth making again, I began compiling a recipe file of my own. Then, a few years ago, I was invited to a private dinner event that raised money for Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. So I decided, for the event, I would make one of my mom’s secret dessert recipes—the one I liked best: her peach torte. At the dinner, the owner of a well-known Italian restaurant simply couldn’t get enough of the dessert and wanted to know the recipe. “The joy of cooking is sharing the recipes,” the owner said. Of course, I politely declined. I knew that I could never share one of my mom’s secret recipes with anyone other than my wife. But I also know that somewhere, hidden from the outside world, I’ll keep the recipe written down for our children to have when their own cooking gene surfaces. Between my wife and me and our love for homecooked meals, cooking will certainly be in our children’s blood. And awaiting them will be some secret recipes that are meant to stay in the family.
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PIACERE! PLEASED TO MEET YOU, LEAH
Leah Remini INTERVIEW BY FELICIA MARIANNA NAOUM
Leah Remini is an actress known for her role as Carrie Heffernan on CBS’s King of Queens (1998-2007). Her career includes recurring roles and appearances on several classic television shows, including Who’s the Boss, Saved by the Bell, Cheers, and Friends. She recently co-starred with actress Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy Second Act (2018). She is the author of New York Times bestselling book Troublemaker (2015), which delves into her former life in the Church of Scientology, and was followed by her Emmy Award Winning A&E series, Leah Remini: Scientology and The Aftermath (2016-2019). Leah’s great-grandfather, George (Giorgio) Remini, was born in Mussomeli, Sicily, and immigrated to New York City in 1894. How has your Italian heritage shaped you, particularly your Sicilian roots? My grandmother, Mary, was feisty and strong. She embodied tradition even though she was born and raised in New York City. She spoke Italian often and was rich in tradition. She represented family in a way that was of another time and place. No one ever went without when you were at my grandmother’s house. She made meals for a small army every day—just in case—and made everyone feel like they had a place. She lived in Little Italy in New York in a tiny apartment where the bathroom was basically in the kitchen and yet, when I was there, which was often, I felt I was rich—rich in that I belonged to this special woman who made even toast taste special. Everything she did just felt like it was from another place, a place I wanted to be. The Italian dishes you post on social media look absolutely deliziosi. Do cooking these dishes keep your heritage alive? My grandmother always had a pot of sauce going. She never gave me the recipe. She would always say, “Ohh I don’t know, it’s a little bit of this, a little bit of that.” I think she did not want to give us the recipe so she could make it for us. I loved the feeling of “home” in her apartment and hope to make my daughter feel that when I cook. Tell us about some ways your husband’s Spanish background and your Italian background have influenced each other. Both cultures are rich in their traditions, music, and food. My husband has childhood Puerto Rican favorites and staples, as do Sicilians. When I cook his traditional FALL 2020
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foods, he will stand over me saying, “That’s not how my mother or Tia Titi did it.” And I do the same to him if he attempts to make me anything Italian and isn’t doing it the way I’m used to. It’s safe to say you speak your mind publicly and even with the characters you play. Where does your courage to do so come from? I don’t know if it’s courage or rather just what I know. There was a lot of yelling in my house. No one really held anything in, so it is just what I know. There would be yelling and then a meal or yelling at a meal, all the while saying, “Pass the bread.” So, showing emotion and being heard amongst very loud and vocal people was just part of my life. My formative years were spent in an Italian Catholic/ Jewish neighborhood, where it was all about taking care of each other. I am attracted to family and community. I think that stayed with me. Anyone who follows you knows how big your heart is. You regularly promote charities, especially in times of crisis. Why is it so important for you to give back? I feel a sense of accomplishment when I help someone. Even when I post a motivational quote on Mondays, I look at the comments, and when I see “Thank you Leah, I needed this today,” I feel I have done something for someone. They have no idea that they made my day by saying that. We all have our circles of influence. You don’t need to be a celebrity or rich to help people or to help someone through a rough time. Just calling someone to check in on them, saying you love them for no reason but just to say it, can literally change someone’s day. Felicia Marianna Naoum is a celebrity feature writer from Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). Her maternal greatgrandparents are from Calabria, Italy. ITALIAN AMERICA
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