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The Italian-American community is about to embark on its most challenging and important project in recent history: the creation of a National Museum of Italian American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Italian Americans have made tremendous sacrifices while making monumental contributions to our country. A national museum would serve to memorialize our exceptional history and preserve it for the benefit of future generations. This initiative began last year when the Museum and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations recommended to me that we begin to explore the prospect of creating …

Directed by the Italian filmmaking duo Massimo D’Anolfi and Martina Parenti, “Bestiaries, Herbaria, Lapidaries” is an encyclopedic documentary that features non-human protagonists, offering reflections on humanity. The film is divided into three segments, each approximately 40 minutes long, focusing on a single subject: animals, plants, and stones. In this tripartite format, each segment pays homage to a specific genre of documentary filmmaking. The first volume, “Bestiaries: Cinema Invents New Cages,” is a found-footage exploration of animals and their representation throughout cinema’s history. The second segment, “Herbaria: The Cure,” is an observational documentary about the world’s oldest botanical garden, founded in …

For many Italian Americans with personal or business interests in Italy, a pressing concern is the length and cost of litigation when disputes arise. Italian litigation is infamous for its protracted timelines and substantial expenses. Court cases can drag on for years, accumulating hefty legal fees, administrative costs, and — if you are based abroad — the additional burden of international travel. However, few people realize that Italy, like the U.S., has embraced alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures that, in some cases, are not just advisable but mandatory. When mediation is legally required, parties involved in certain types of disputes …

In some of my recent columns, I have discussed some lesser-used resources, mostly because A) I have discussed the “most-often-used” resources a lot more, and B) I am finding out how useful these lesser-used resources can be. A recent example was the atti diversi, the records of stillbirths and orphans, with occasional deaths of adults in other towns that you might never have found otherwise. Today’s column concerns something very simple but very necessary sometimes. It is called the “indici decennali.” These are indexes for each town that cover a ten-year period. As we have gone over before, in every …

It’s been more than three decades since I last saw Aunt Achilla and Uncle Tony’s second-floor, three-room apartment on Hoffman Street, but its image often surges into my mind. Their building was on the corner of 187th Street, in the heart of the Arthur Avenue (or Belmont) section of the Bronx, a neighborhood often called “The Real Little Italy of New York City.” For the longest time, they didn’t have a phone, so we showed up unannounced, though they more or less expected us on Saturday nights or Sunday afternoons. Besides visiting my mother’s aunt, however, our frequent visits had …

This year, Easter comes relatively late in the season, giving me more time than usual to savor memories of the holiday. I recall it was always a major event in our household. The reason for this is that my brother Augie and I got to go to Robert Hall to get brand-new suits. The salesmen at Robert Hall really liked the fact that Catholics celebrated Easter by dressing up. They were very eager to see us come in for our annual visit. My dad worked hard to make his money as a house painter and so we often had to …

The Italian Verb Avere The Italian verb avere means to have, and, of course, is an essential Italian verb to know. Avere serves an important function alone and also as an “assistant,” or auxiliary verb, for  compound verbs. (A compound verb is created from two or more verbs.) In our last blog, we focused on the present tense of avere and gave the full present tense conjugation, noting that all forms are irregular except for the voi form. The present tense conjugation is listed again below.  The irregular forms are brown and the regular voi form is green.  The accented syllables …

Never underestimate the power of one person to make a difference, especially if that person has the vision, drive and reach of Pat Capriati. In a matter of months, Capriati was able to conjure an American-Italian Sister Cities relationship out of thin air, bringing together good people on both sides of the Atlantic who otherwise never would have met. It all started while Capriati was browsing through his Facebook feed. “A post by the Roselle Sister Cities Association Italian Committee caught my eye,” he explains. “I was aware of the committee but I didn’t know their counterpart in Italy so …

“Many hands make light work,” the Old Testament tells us, and that time-honored proverb is as true today as it was when the Jewish people rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls 2,500 years ago. For proof of that, you need look no further than Casa Italia during the holiday season. As many of you know, the village of Stone Park bought the property on which the Casa stands from the Missionaries of St. Charles in the waning months of 2024. Opinions may differ, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s a win-win-win situation. The Scalabrinians have been well compensated and the village has …

The Italian Verb Avere The Italian verb avere means to have and, given this definition, is an essential Italian verb to know. Avere serves an important function alone and also as an “assistant,” or auxiliary verb, for compound verbs (created from two or more verbs). For now, we will focus on the present tense of avere. “I have, you have, he/she has,” will be used often when conversing in Italian, and all present tense forms of this verb should be memorized and readily available for use. Avere is an irregular verb in all present tense conjugations, except for the voi form; …