Hidden Gems

For those of us who grew up in a world of Italian American music – from Guy Lombardo ringing in every New Year and TV shows hosted by Perry Como or Dean Martin- pride came in more forms than just cuisine.  Sinatra was our gold standard, using the name he was born...

It Was Always Rome

Emperor Napoleon III There was never any doubt that Rome would be the capital of a reunified Italy.  Just as the Jewish people in exile longed for the city of David and Solomon (“Next year in Jerusalem!”) Italian patriots of the 19th Century dreamed of restoring...

Pasta or Macaroni?

Before there was an Italic Institute I had fun with an imaginary organization named Istituto di Past’Asciutta (ah-SHOO-tah).  The name was even fun to pronounce, try it!  Literally the Institute of “dried paste,” the term covered all your boxed or bagged...

Sopranos: Year 2001

Apologies to General MacArthur: “Old mob shows never die—and they never fade away, either.”  In case you hadn’t noticed, the American media has ‘predictably’ gone gaga over the 25th anniversary of HBO’s The Sopranos, David...

The September Tragedy

On September 3, 1943, the Kingdom of Italy signed an “armistice” with the Allies.  Negotiations had been going on secretly for months with meetings in neutral Portugal by some Italian military leaders under orders of King Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini had been...