Mayor Thomas Menino presided over what has been called the “Boston Renaissance” (1993-2013).  The state of Massachusetts itself also produced two Italian American governors: John Volpe, who later became President Nixon’s Transportation Secretary, and Paul Cellucci, who guided the state in the late 90s and early 2000s. And anyone who studies labor history knows the names Joe Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti, who led the 1912 “Bread and Roses” textile strikes in Lawrence, Massachusetts. 

In my previous blog, I wrote about my recent trip to Italy. For readers who can’t afford such a trip—although going “off season” (April or September) is much easier and less expensive—you can always find a little bit of Italy in the U.S.

Take the East Coast, for example—no, not New York/New Jersey but states like Rhode Island and Massachusetts, both of which I had the privilege to revisit last week. 

People are shocked when I tell them that Rhode Island has, per capita, the second highest population of Italian Americans per state (15%). It follows right behind Connecticut, a state which I wrote about in 2022 when I visited the famous pizzerias in New Haven (Frank Pepe’s and Apizza). 

And though it may be wee in size (you can drive across it from East to West in about 50 minutes), the Ocean State has produced some political giants in the Italian American community, namely Senator John Pastore (past) and former governor and current Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (present). The late mayor Charles “Buddy” Cianci, credited with reviving the city of Providence (as well as its Little Italy, “Federal Hill’) and congressman David Cicilline, who left office in 2023 after six terms  to become CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation, also have their cheerleaders. 

And nota bene: The TV news show 60 Minutes recently did a very positive profile of Ms. Raimondo, labeling this Rhodes scholar and Yale and Harvard law school graduate as possible future presidential timber.

Stay tuned! 

As for Bean Town: Merely hanging out in terminals in the city’s Logan Airport reminds you of the city’s rich sports history, much of it the product of home athletes of Italian heritage, to wit: boxer Rocky Graziano; Angela Ruggiero, considered the greatest female hockey player in history; and Mike Eruzione, captain of the champion 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.

Even the late African American boxer Marvelous Marvin Hagler is profiled. Italian American? No. And he’s not even a native; he’s from Newark. But Italian American coaches nurtured him to greatness. And he spent the last 20 years of his life living in Italy, a nation he adored. He even became a popular star in Italian action movies. Spike Lee, listen up!

Little Italy? Boston has one of the best in the U.S—the North End. It has far surpassed its bookend on the other side of the US map, San Francisco’s North Beach. Indeed, the North End seems to grow bigger with each passing year. 

Culture? It produced poet and professor John Ciardi, translator of Dante. Education? It boasts the bustling I AM Books, the first Italian American bookstore in the nation and the brainchild of Italian native Nicola Orichuia. 

Politics? To this day, the 20 year reign of Thomas Menino is looked upon with affection. When he took over in 1993, Boston wasn’t doing very well. It was beset by pollution and crime. When he left office in 2013, Menino—the city’s first Italian American mayor—had an 82% approval rating via his efforts in reviving the city. A year later, dying from cancer in a hospital, Menino urged fellow citizens to stay “Boston Strong” after a terrorist bombing at the famous marathon. 

The city was also where immigrant Charles Ponzi initiated his famous money schemes, although, in his defense, his pyramid earnings were penny-ante compare to latter-day fraudsters like Kenneth Lay (Enron) or Bernie Madoff. Is it really fair to keep labeling every get-rich scheme since, even in 2024, with Ponzi’s Italian surname? Answer: It is not. 

Endless anti-Italian prejudice directly affected Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two anarchists convicted in a 1927 trial in Boston. Their executions made world headlines and remain a sobering example of anti-immigrant bias in the US.

The state of Massachusetts itself also produced two Italian American governors: John Volpe, who later became President Nixon’s Transportation Secretary, and Paul Cellucci, who guided the state in the late 90s/early 2000s. 

As I go to press, I note the passing of Frank Stella, the painter and sculptor, born in Malden, Massachusetts. Stella’s father was a gynecologist and his mother a painter. Francis Ford Coppola and Marty Scorsese, you listen up, too! 

For those who still can’t move beyond “food” as the ultimate mark of Italic excellence—despite my non-food examples above!—there is the famous “Prince Spaghetti” TV commercial from the 1970s. In it, an Italian American mother calls out from an open window to her son Anthony, who races through the streets of the North End to enjoy a family meal. 

Tourists continue to do so every day in the North End. Espresso beans have definitely replaced Boston Baked Beans. 

Progress!  -BDC