Columns

After more than three decades of Italian research, I thought I knew it all. Actually, I know I don’t — know it all — but I also don’t spend a lot of time looking again at the same records I have already reviewed and set to rest. Recently I saw a YouTube interview by Bob Sorrentino on his “Italian Roots and Genealogy” channel. I was interviewed for this channel about a year ago on the topic of “Researching Triggiano to Chicago.” A number of notable Chicagoans like Dominic Candeloro and Carla Simonini have also been on this channel. But a …

At this time of year, my thoughts begin to focus on what I have done this summer and what I’ve yet to do. I also look back at the summers of years gone and some of the more memorable events from those happy days. There were Roseland’s July Sidewalk Sale, St. Anthony’s Carnival and St. Willibrord’s Carnival and Talent Show, and more recently the joining of Roseland’s Catholic parishes, culminating with the merging of Holy Rosary with St. Anthony’s. Hopefully, my memories will kickstart yours to help you recall highlights of your Roseland summers. Being a teenager in Roseland provided …

Known for her striking resemblance to Anna Magnani, Neapolitan actress Lucianna De Falco has ignited the imagination of modern Italian filmmakers who have played on the similarities, allowing her to interpret the style of a cinema icon. “The physical resemblance to Anna Magnani has been a constant, especially at the beginning of my career, and I was scared of it,” said De Falco in a 2019 interview with Fra Noi. “Then I started working, and about 10 years ago, I finally played her in a short film where Magnani and Bette Davis meet, titled “The Big Lie.” I won several …

The Irish Dominican nuns at St. Rita’s in the South Bronx were tough, even the pretty ones. After Sr. Catherine Michael would finish speaking with a parent at our first-grade classroom door, her broad lovely smile darkened into a scowl as she turned to face us. We had inevitably been chattering behind her back, and she immediately rearmed herself with the pointer or yardstick she had left on her desk. Richie, my first friend in school, had a markedly oblong head and would tremble with excitement in anticipation of fun, such as when we played Americans against Germans in the …

Italy recently passed the Salva Casa (Save the Home) decree, a legislative package with the potential to revitalize the country’s housing market. The decree tackles a surprising hurdle: A large portion of Italian homes (estimates suggest up to 80%) have minor irregularities or deviations from building codes. These often insignificant irregularities, like an unpermitted balcony enclosure or a slightly misplaced internal wall, can significantly complicate selling a home, obtaining financing or accessing government assistance. The decree seeks to streamline the process of rectifying these minor issues. This could involve a simplified amnesty program where homeowners pay a penalty based on …

Say “Some” in Italian with the Partitive To speak fluently in another language, it is important to know how to describe a group of things in a general way. In some cases, the number of things in a group can be counted, but we may want to describe only a part of the entire group. In other cases, the number of things in a group cannot be counted — either due to difficulty in dividing the group into individual parts or due to a seemingly infinite number of things within the group. In short, all languages bypass the problem of …

Recently, I was asked to do a presentation on Cook County Vital records. For anyone who has relatives in Chicago and the suburbs, this is an essential part of research. Vital Records are a specific subset of the many types of records available to genealogists. No matter what part of the country or the world you research, vital records are: Birth certificates Marriage Licenses Death certificates Because they form the backbone of our research, we need them the most. Before there were web sites, we used to have to order copies of these documents from the Cook County Clerk’s office. …

June always meant a break from school when we were growing up. There was always something to do and, most of the time, we kids were in charge of filling our days. Roseland will forever be remembered for “The Ave” — Michigan Avenue — which was the shopping strip mainly from 111th to 115th Street. All you’d have to say is “I’m going down the Ave” and people would know where you were heading. That little sentence covered a lot of territory: were you meeting friends or were taking a solo stroll down the Ave? Maybe, you were going to …

A few years ago, we featured a unique collection of videos available on Vimeo that showcase the heritage of Sardinia. Accessible through the Ethnographic Institute of Sardinia’s on-demand platform, “ISRECINEMA,” the collection been updated since then. The collection includes photo essays, documentaries, short works and animated films. The platform contains the institute’s earliest works from the late 1970s as well as the most recent productions, all of which were filmed on the island of Sardinia. Some works have achieved significant acclaim, such as Paolo Zucca’s “The Referee,” which earned the David di Donatello Award for Best Short Film. One compelling …

I was a reasonably docile child who misbehaved only occasionally, though among the first things I did when I could grasp a pencil was to use it to punch holes in the faces of all the photos in our family album — one in the mouth and one in the eyes. I also acquired the habit of sticking my tongue out, and my father once love-tapped me on the lips to discourage it. After that, I still did it, but only while cupping my hand over my mouth and crouching on the far side of the washing machine from my …