Columns

You will remember in my article some months ago of the possible changes in obtaining Italian citizenship for the Italian-American community. Now, a major change to Italian citizenship law is here — and it’s official. On May 23, Italy’s Gazzetta Ufficiale published Law No. 74, converting Decree-Law No. 36 into law, with immediate effect starting May 24. What does this mean? For many Italian Americans dreaming of reclaiming their ancestral roots through jure sanguinis (literally, by right of blood), the landscape has just shifted — dramatically. The new law introduces a generational limit on the transmission of Italian citizenship for …

Big news! Some of it great, some of it…not so good. When I was at the Rootstech conference in Salt Lake City in 2024, Familysearch was making a big deal about using “AI” technology to transcribe genealogy documents into searchable data. They gave us a taste by indexing words from wills and probate records which are typed on a typewriter rather than handwritten. My genealogy colleagues who need wills and probate records were all excited, and rightly so. My Italian genealogy colleagues were expectedly disappointed. I’ll try to explain this for people who are not tech nerds like me. The …

By the time I met Giorgio Pandone he was a very old man, but he was still chugging up the staircases to visit his paesani and sell jewelry and insurance. Tall, bald, paunchy and stately in his gray three-piece suit, with a gold watch chain spanning his ample vest, he looked like an Italian Alfred Hitchcock. He had lost a fortune in the crash of ‘29 and worked the rest of his long life to pay back what he owed and make a comfortable home for his daughter and himself after his wife died. Zi’ Giorgio (as my parents and …

Welcome to the July Petals from Roseland. After reading through my book, “Petals from Roseland. Fond memories of Chicago’s Roseland, Pullman, and Kensington neighborhoods,” I’ve decided to revisit one of my columns because it got so much attention from my readers. Published in July 2011, “Roseland wasn’t just Italian” was written in response to the many non-Italian residents of Kensington, Pullman and Roseland who weren’t happy about being left out of my columns. They had so much to do with growing up in Roseland. I decided to go ahead and include them in the column, which I present to you …

Picture this: you’ve just arrived on the Amalfi Coast. The sun is blazing brightly, painting everything in dazzling shades of white, yellow and Mediterranean blue. The scent of lemons drifts through the air, carried by the breeze from a nearby terrazza. You step into your boutique hotel where the lobby smells faintly of old stone and fresh coffee. Your sandals tap against hand-painted tiles worn smooth by decades of guests. Paolo at the front desk greets you with a warm “Benvenuta,” and hands over a heavy brass key. You reach your room, fling open the shutters and take in that …

Fourteen contemporary Italian films took center stage at the 24th annual Open Roads: New Italian Cinema series, hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà from May 29 to June 5. The event featured several North American premieres along with a delegation of filmmakers who introduced their works and engage in discussions. The series kicked off at the Walter Reade Theatre with Francesca Comencini’s “The Time it Takes,” a film that explores her experiences growing up with her father, Luigi Comencini, a prominent director of the commedia all’italiana genre. Following the screening, the film’s star, Fabrizio Gifuni, participated in a …

  Let’s Talk About…  Enjoying the Beach in Italy Whether your Italian vacation takes you to a stunning seaside resort or simply one of the many public beaches along the crystal clear Mediterranean sea, knowing Italian beach etiquette and some basic Italian phrases will allow for a day of relaxation and fun.  The  more Italian you know, the easier it will be to enjoy “la dolce vita” this summer! Which Italian region has the Best Beaches in Italy? A quick search of the approximately 7,600 miles of coastline along the Italian peninsula and its islands yields at least one beach …

I have a lot of very distant cousins. They are so distant that I never met them, yet they are in my family tree. I have closer cousins that I do not hear from, and there are people who have left our family due to divorce. Roughly once a year, I search to see if any of these people have passed away, so I can update my tree, and visit the grave or crypt if possible. Among all the sources we use, the death notice (sometimes called “obituary”) is a common resource and relatively inexpensive. Today, more notices are posted …

Do you remember the lyrics, “Summertime and the living is easy?” When we were young, we didn’t realize just how easy we had it. We didn’t have to worry about jobs bills or mortgage payments. Summers in were spent going to the show at the State or Roseland theaters free passes from the merchants. Or playing ball on the Little League diamonds or in the school yards. Or going to the beach where the guys and gals would have a great time swimming together. And who could forget swimming at the parks? There was Palmer Park, with its 3-foot depth …

The 2025 Cannes Festival has concluded, leaving a buzz around the Italian biopic “Fuori,” directed by Mario Martone. The film, which premiered at the festival, delves into a pivotal period in the life of the late Italian writer and actress Goliarda Sapienza. “Fuori” recounts Sapienza’s brief incarceration at Rome’s Rebibbia prison in 1980 for stealing jewelry after falling on hard times. The film speaks to her life following her release from prison, focusing on her friendship with two young women, including Roberta, a habitual criminal and political activist. Through this bond, Sapienza experiences a personal rebirth and resumes writing, which …