First Person

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 …

I can’t be the only Italian American who watches movies well after they’ve ended to search for Italian surnames in the credits. Do you do it, too? As the film’s countless contributors scroll by, I feel a twinge of pride every time a paesan appears among them. Often there are quite a few, holding positions ranging from best boy, stunt double and key grip to writer, producer and director. With so many Italian Americans helping to put the sparkle in Tinseltown, one has to wonder: Why does Hollywood continue to treat us so shabbily? Our enormous positive impact on the …

After more than 30 years of editing Fra Noi, I thought I knew a thing or two about the challenges our ancestors faced in America at the turn of the 20th century. I’ve learned from countless articles about the crowded tenements and abject poverty, the dangerous jobs at scant pay, and I can enumerate the Sicilian-born laborers lynched by a New Orleans mob in 1891. But to know is one thing and to understand quite another. My eyes were truly opened to the gross indecencies our forebears endured when I attended a preview screening of “Cabrini” on Oct. 24 at …

The readers of Fra Noi never cease to amaze me. Any time I’ve asked you to lend a hand in times of need, you’ve come through in spades. When you learned a couple of months ago that inflation had taken its toll on our bottom line, you didn’t miss a beat. Hundreds upon hundreds of you — more than 10% of our total readership — opened up your hearts and your pocketbooks, filling our coffers with funds sufficient to cover a mind-boggling 80% of our projected deficit for the year. Week after week, white envelopes have flooded into the Fra …

I don’t mean to brag, but I may have the best job on the planet. Let me count the ways. I work with a small but mighty staff that dispatches its duties with professionalism and pride. Our crack team of correspondents are as passionate as they are talented, delivering engaging features on a dizzying array of topics. Our publication is so beloved by our readers that they renew their own subscriptions and give them as gifts at an unparalleled rate. Our fiercely devoted advertisers lend their financial support month in and month out, providing the fuel that drives the magazine …

To edit Fra Noi is to live in a time warp in which months fold in upon each other, and the present and future blur. As I write this column for the January issue, Thanksgiving is two days away, Christmas decorations are about to emerge from their boxes in the basement and the New Year seems like a distant dream. In the midst of this befuddling cocktail of holiday spirits, it’s hard to know which tone to strike. Should I be thankful? Joyful? Resolute? One thing is certain, though: When I think of our advertisers, it’s easy to feel all …

Fra Noi readers are nothing if not devoted. You demonstrate that every month in the remarkable rate at which you renew your subscriptions, the little notes of thanks and praise you send with your payments, and the inspiring number of gift subscriptions you give. In the last several weeks, you’ve taken that devotion to a whole new level, responding to our fundraising appeal with a tidal wave of generosity. Nearly one in every five of you answered the call with contributions ranging from $5 bills to a mindboggling $2,000 check. With donations still flowing in at press time, the wave’s …

I’m ceaselessly amazed by the ingenuity and tenacity we show in the face of adversity. A half year ago, the coronavirus had us against the ropes, sending us scurrying for shelter and forcing us to cancel every blessed event we were so blithely planning. Yet here we are today, with COVID-19 still bearing down on us, back in the middle of the ring bobbing and weaving as we find ways to celebrate community and culture while keeping the pandemic at bay. For the past 16 years, a cavalcade of authors and scores of enthusiasts have gathered in the Florentine Room …

Time sure does fly when you’re on a lifelong adventure. I can’t believe it’s been 30 years since I put the finishing touches on my first issue as editor of Fra Noi. I still recall how thrilled and terrified I was. To be honest, I was on pretty shaky ground for the leap I was about to make. All I had to stand on was a journalism degree, some freelance work and brief stints at a pair of community newspapers. But the publisher at the time saw something in me — perhaps a passion for my heritage or a drive …