House of Tucci

Part Two of Season Two of CNN’s Searching for Italy began on Sunday, October 9th, the day before Columbus Day. And the first episode was auspicious: the series’ star and tour guide, actor Stanley Tucci, visited the ancestral region of both sets of his...

Islands in Between

Christopher Columbus was a deluded man – thank God!  He convinced himself that he could island-hop his way to Asia.  And many fellow Italians provided the maps that fed his delusion. It started with his own experience as a young sailor venturing out into the...

Mafia, Behind the Times

Think America has a problem with Mexican drug cartels, Chinese fentanyl, random street violence, computer hacking, and scam artists fleecing the feds for billions?  Think again.  The NYTimes recently did half a page on “Nine Charged in Scheme Tied to Mafia...

The Breaking-the-Sound-Barrier Standard

In an era allegedly dedicated to “wokeness” – that is, being attuned to how an American’s race, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality are portrayed in the media – it’s truly astonishing how Americans of Italian heritage continue to slip under the...

No Questions Asked

Ever wish you had asked a parent or relative about things in their past?  Do you regret a lack of curiosity about the world while you were young?  “If only I had asked… ” ” I wish I could go back and find out why…” At my June...