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Not everybody wants to spend 30 years trying to take their family tree back to Adam and Eve. Or Vito and Nunzia. After spending 30 plus years doing this, I understand how they feel. I feel the same way about taking up a musical instrument. I’ll never be good enough or have time to learn enough to be any good at it, so why put all that time and energy into it. I know plenty of people who simply don’t care about family that they never met, or about their ancestral history. Despite how close-knit Italian families typically are, I …

During my Bronx childhood in the ’50s and early ’60s, we ate outside our home only at relatives’ houses, on picnics, at outdoor religious festivals or at wedding receptions at nearby catering halls. The ritual of those marriage celebrations was as carefully choreographed as Sunday Mass or the initiation ordeal of medieval knights. After the bridal party was liberated from the extensive (and expensive) photo shoot behind the scenes, the emcee announced them and then belted out, “And now, for the first time anywhere, it is my honor to present to you … Mr. and Mrs. X!” Thunderous clapping and …

The Italian preposition per means for in English, and in most cases the use of these prepositions is straightforward in both languages. The difficulty lies in the nuances of expressing time in Italian, which can lead to per being replaced by another preposition in some situations.  In Italian, a simple preposition can change the meaning of an entire sentence! Use the Italian prepositions “Per”  vs. “Da” to say “For” Per means for and is used with the passato prossimo form of the past tense to describe a past action that has been completed. The description of time may be general, such …

Here we are with a new year and a new opportunity to create an exciting life or a sedate life. The choice is ours! Looking back on our lives in the larger Roseland community, we can find plenty of examples of both lifestyles. When I was a child back in the 1950s, my mom would have us kids tag along whenever she went shopping or visiting her friends. From that perspective, I got to know a lot of sedate people! Of course, you must keep in mind that I was my mother’s last child and was born when she was …

People across the globe were shocked and saddened to hear about the death of actress Diane Keaton on Oct. 11. Keaton had a way of connecting with audiences of every walk of life and Italians were among her biggest fans. Keaton captivated Italian audiences with her lively personality and immense talent, but she became even more popular when she played Sister Mary in Paolo Sorrentino’s 2016 HBO series, “The Young Pope.” In the show, Sister Mary is a hip American nun who raised the orphaned Lenny Belardo, aka Pope Pius XIII, played by Jude Law. Sorrentino spoke to Keaton’s dramatic …

Moving to Italy is a dream for many — and not just for the food or the sunsets over Tuscany. But between housing, residence permits, and endless paperwork, one question always comes up sooner or later: “What happens if I get sick?” Italy’s healthcare system — the Servizio Sanitario Nazionale (SSN) — is often ranked among the best in the world. According to the World Health Organization, Italy consistently places in the top 10 for quality of care, accessibility and life expectancy. The SSN is public and universal, funded through taxes and designed on one simple principle: healthcare is a …

Upon hearing the news of Claudia Cardinale’s passing on Sept. 23, film fans throughout the world expressed their sorrow at the loss of an elegant, down-to-earth icon who always greeted fans with a warm smile and embraced her stunning beauty with humor and sophistication rather than conceit. Cardinale was born in Tunisia in 1938 to Sicilian parents. Her maternal grandparents were originally from the Sicilian island of Trapani but settled in La Goulette, Tunisia, where a large Italian community was established. Her early life seems something of a fairytale, but success brought its share of problems. As a young girl, …

When talking with other Roselandites, the topic of “The Ave” (Michigan Avenue) is never far away. If the conversation continues for a while, talk always turns seasonal. Typically, we chat about cruising The Ave to check out who was hanging out; then about shopping at the different stores; then about dining at the pizza places and restaurants. July Sidewalk Sale would then come up, inevitably followed by Christmas on The Ave. The Ninth Ward Aldermanic Office, run by either Alderman Lupo or Alderman Adducci, would send workers up and down The Ave hanging huge red-and-white candy canes with lines of …

There are two events that take place every ten years. The first one is that I get the chance to finally take a nap! The other is the United States Federal Census. The Census is used to measure how many people are in each area of the country, and then to divvy up the federal funds to do the most good. The Constitution requires it, and a census has been done every ten years since 1790. U.S. Census records contain many pieces of data that help us, and there are many problems. We can find out the country of birth …

Since the early 1980s, Italian Christmas movies, or “Cinepanettone,” have been an integral part of the Italian culture. These movies are intended to be lighthearted, romantic comedies, which take place at ski resorts or other exotic locations frequented by wealthy Italians during Christmas week.*  Hence, the moniker coined for this frivolous genre combines the Italian abbreviation for “film,” “cine,” with the beloved Northern Italian Christmas sweet bread, “panettone.”* The comedy of every  Cinepanettone movie has its roots in Italian stereotypes. The vacation set-up is used to caricature and poke fun at Italian families from different walks of life, who meet …