Today is a national holiday in Italy, la Festa della Repubblica, celebrating the referendum in 1946 that dumped the Savoy monarchy and made Italy a republic. It was a close vote—54% for a Republic, 46% for Monarchy—but not without irregularities ...

One of my favorite among humorist Mark Twain's many famous quotes is, "Travel is fatal to prejudice." Basically, he meant that traveling opens our eyes, hearts and minds, connecting us to our fellow human beings, live and in-person. Stereotypes and ...

Contrary to Ken Burns’ recent documentary on the American Revolution, it was a band of Italians, the ancient Romans—not the Iroquois—who served as the model for our fledgling republic. Those are Roman fasces mounted in the U.S. House of Representatives ...

Alfred E. Smith Who were the pioneer U.S. government officials with Italian roots? The answers are more than names that belong in history books. In a tangible way they provide a measure of how far Italian-Americans have come in the ...