Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
Casa Italia and the Italian American Studies Association will present “Italian American Servicemen in World War II” at 10:30 a.m. on June 6. The Zoom presentation will analyze the Italian American servicemen’s experience and their representation in Hollywood films. Italian Americans were likely the largest ethnic group within the U.S. armed forces to fight in World War II. Their service not only significantly contributed to the Allied victory, but also played a crucial role in destigmatizing the approximately 700,000 Italian American nationals living in the United States after Mussolini declared war on the U.S.
Presenter Matteo Pretelli, associate professor of North America at the University of Naples, will discuss the enduring bonds that many of these soldiers experienced when visiting their Italian relatives and ancestral villages. Pretelli has held various fellowships, including a Fulbright at the University of Minnesota and a visiting professorship at New York University. Professor Peter Belmonte, retired Air Force officer and military historian; and Professor Gary Mormino, University of South Florida St. Petersburg, will serve as commentators.
The cost is $20. All proceeds will benefit the English translation of “Soldati e patrie: I combattenti alleati di origine italiana nella Seconda Guerra mondiale,” which examines Allied combatants of Italian origin in World War II. Pretelli and co-author Francesco Fusi received the 2025 Willi Paul Adams Award from the Organization of American Historians, recognized for the best book on American history published that year in a language other than English.
To make you reservation, click here.
