Columns

How I learned to say “this” and “that” in Italian   As a child in an Italian-American household, I learned snippets of Italian from my grandmother, who would pepper her conversation with Italian phrases that always sounded so much more expressive than their English counterparts.  And, since they were a part of my everyday interactions,  these Italian phrases easily became a part of my vocabulary. For instance, take the demonstrative adjectives questo and quello.  Because my  grandmother used questo and quello often to point things out,  I knew what these adjectives meant and how to use them before learning the …

I am an only child. And I am not married. Why does this matter? It has forced me to be completely self-sufficient, having no siblings or spouse or children to rely on. I do not delegate or collaborate well. Ask my co-workers! As a genealogist, I find that I do not trust the research of others, so I stick to only what I have found myself. That’s partly because that I do not know anyone in the immediate area who is also working on the same ancestors as I am. My relatives, rightly so, are happy to see the results …

The Hotel Florence in Pullman is well known in architectural circles for its association with the Queen Anne style. Chief among the many examples is the Hotel Florence. She is “Our Fair Lady” and the gem of Pullman. From a curving veranda that extends across its entire red brick façade, to its mansard roof, the hotel has always cut an impressive figure, which was George Pullman’s intention. As a man of wealth in the 1880s, impressing others with opulence was practically a requirement. Working with Solon S. Beman, he certainly accomplished that goal with Hotel Florence. The Hotel Florence maintained …

As the Venice International Film Festival looks to spotlight the cinema of tomorrow, its Venice Classics program turns attention to the past and to the work required to keep film history relevant for new generations. Part of the festival since 2012, Venice Classics returned at the 83rd edition of the Venice International Film Festival with world-premiere screenings of significant restorations completed during the previous year. The program’s goal is to rediscover overlooked or undervalued films while also preserving important works of cinema history. This year’s lineup included 19 restored films from around the world. Among the Italian titles selected were …

  In July 1923, my future grandfather Pietro D’Epiro, 23 years old and married but traveling solo, landed in New York on the Guglielmo Peirce. The passenger list described him as 5’3’’ with a rosy complexion and chestnut hair. When I first met him in July 1960, during my family’s trip to Italy, he was a handsome and vigorous late-middle-aged man with captivating gray-blue eyes. As I write about him, I’m glancing at a framed parchment I inherited that proclaimed him a Cavaliere dell’Ordine di Vittorio Veneto, honoring him for his service in the frozen Alps of Italy during the …

Working from Tuscany: Can You Keep Your American Job and Live in Italy? For many Americans, remote work has changed not only how we work, but also where we imagine we could live. If your office is essentially your laptop and your colleagues are already scattered across different cities and nations, the thought is tempting: why spend another Chicago winter at home when you could be working from a house in Tuscany, an apartment in Rome, or perhaps the small Italian town your grandparents left generations ago? Until recently, Italy did not have a specific immigration route designed for non-EU …

Do you ever wonder why, despite mastering Italian verb conjugation and the art of matching Italian noun/adjective endings, it is still difficult for you to understand Italian while traveling in Italy? Or why you can’t seem to comprehend certain phrases while streaming an Italian TV show or watching an Italian movie? It is not simply that Italians speak quickly, or even that accents vary from region to region. The reason is that all native speakers use idiomatic expressions! An idiomatic expression is one in which the entire phrase has a meaning separate from the individual words in that phrase. To …

  There are plenty of genealogy T-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. that read something like, “I am completely finished with my genealogy … said no one ever!” Most of us who take this seriously truly do not know when to quit. Any hobby can start small and get out of hand over time. There’s nothing wrong with determination to find something difficult and be diligent in having evidence to back up your findings. There are a lot of addictions worse than genealogy! That said, we should know when to quit, on a small scale. Our research can go in many directions …

With this September column we are entering the waning weeks of summer, which also marks the beginning of a personal celebration for me. But before we get to that, a quick look back. Pullman’s summer has been marked by several public events. July was the busy month, beginning with the Neighborhood Taste of Chicago and ending with Pullman Railroad Days. All of this while Pullman neighbors and benefactors talked about the upcoming $85 million investment in the Hotel Florence. The Redline Extension is becoming a hot topic of conversation, now that the elevated track support columns are being built along …

Jewels from the personal collection of legendary actress Claudia Cardinale were auctioned in June by Christie’s, drawing global interest from collectors and fans. The sale featured 24 pieces, including stunning creations by Cartier, Bulgari, and Van Cleef & Arpels — brands that epitomize elegance and glamour, much like Cardinale herself. The sale grossed €826,262, with the highest priced item going for €203,200. Known for her iconic roles and friendly public persona, Cardinale was also an ambassador for Italian fashion houses, particularly Bulgari. In an interview with Christies, Cardinale’s daughter, Claudia Squitieri, said, “Bulgari was one of my mother’s favorite brands. …