Q&A

In his award-winning book “Crying the News,” Vincent DiGirolamo brings the fast-fading history of 19th- and 20th-century newsboys back into focus. The shopworn stereotype of the newsboy — some rosy-faced rascal hoisting the Five-Star Final above his head, shouting “EXTRA! EXTRA!” —  is all most Americans know of this once-ubiquitous urban icon. Then, along comes Vincent DiGirolamo to tackle their story with the passion and precision of a front-page scribe. In “Crying the News: A History of America’s Newsboy” (Oxford University Press), DiGirolamo shines a light on this once-vibrant milieu, in the process preventing it from disappearing from our cultural …

Approaching architecture with heart as well as smarts, Luciana Burdi he crafts airport spaces that soothe the soul while they hasten you on your way. Most of us don’t think of buildings beyond their mere function. Whether they’re made of steel, stone, concrete or glass, they provide us with places to live, learn, work, heal and have fun, and that’s about it, right? But have you ever considered how buildings can flow with us, taking us from stress to rest while getting us from point A to point B? Dr. Luciana Burdi has. As the deputy director of capital programs …

In his tireless dedication to the downtrodden, Anthony D’Urso follows in the footsteps of his heroic parents. New York City was no place to land alone in 1960 without a job, high school education or social safety net. Now imagine not speaking a lick of English when you stepped off the plane from Italy at the age of 21. What was a young man to do? For Antonio D’Urso, answers came, one after another, in terms any immigrant would understand. Work hard. Learn the language. Get an education. And not just any education in D’Urso’s case, but a 16-year academic …

A native of Toronto, Joseph Yanuziello is the master craftsman behind some of the world’s most sought-after guitars. In the boutique guitar marketplace, where instruments routinely command $5,000 or more, Joseph Yanuziello’s instruments have become so popular you might think his company’s motto is “sold out.” As fast as he can build his stunning instruments — which draw universal raves for their sound, look and feel — they’re gone. Working from a shop outside his native Toronto, Yanuziello builds stringed instruments that reflect a singular vision. While so many companies outsource parts from overseas, he builds his own. While many …

In her bilingual musical for young adults, Simona Rodano breaks artistic boundaries while tackling a topic of importance and poignancy. One well-worn cliché where adventurous artists are concerned centers on how they “follow their own muse.” But Simona Rodano is far more driven than that. Working within the four disciplines of music, theater, environmental science and education — spread out over two languages no less — this native of northern Italy has created what she calls an “edumusical” titled “Sempreverde: Evergreen.” Where anything environmental is concerned, Rodano knows whereof she speaks: A scientist by training, she deftly avoids the trap …

A respected travel and hospitality expert and author, Robert Allegrini now takes on a one-of-a-kind role as honorary consul for the republic of San Marino. When Michigan Stadium is sold out for a Wolverines football game, it fits three times as many people as live in all of San Marino — a nation within Italy that’s so small, it’s referred to in geographic terms as a “microstate.” Its 33,000 residents, spread out over 24 square miles, occupy the fifth smallest country in the world. It also stands alone as a priceless curiosity, with a style of government and copious architectural …

In her memoir, Eleanor Foa addresses her family’s power, passion and paradox, and discovers deep literary significance in her Italian-Jewish ancestry. Being so strongly identified with Catholicism, Italy may strike the casual observer as inextricably connected to Christianity. But a closer look reveals that Italian Jews had much to do with the region’s history, culture and proud traditions. How much so? As Rabbi Barbara Aiello explained in a past Lou&A column, the very name “Italia” is of Hebrew origin. The first of the Jewish diaspora, on seeing the peninsula’s beautiful, misty coast, exclaimed “Aiee-tal-ya!”, a Hebrew phrase that means “the …

Lisa Cini’s design revolutions bring an Italian-American accent to improving Alzheimer’s and dementia care. “Nursing home” is a contradiction in terms for many Italian Americans, for whom the word “home” conjures images of Sunday dinners surrounded by friends, family and, of course, food. Lisa Cini grew up amid such celebratory weekends and today fights to bring some of that warmth and spirit to adult care. As an interior designer of long-term care facilities, Cini has become an expert in how design can positively impact those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. She’s also cared for a grandparent with those very conditions — …

In her book “Lipstick Brigade,” Dr. Cindy Gueli brings to light the almost-lost history of World War II’s ‘Government Girls.’ It’s one thing to document history by encountering it through antiquities, long-lost archives and dead-end trails left for an informed imagination to reconstruct. Then comes the history that remains so real, it lives, breathes and speaks through the women who made it. In those instances, the historian blossoms into a dynamic preservationist: working to record, for all time, remarkable stories and deeds that hide in plain sight. That mission becomes all the more critical when the history-makers in question — …

Through her Allegro Dance company, Anna Pishner Harsh turns Italian traditions into a cultural treasure to preserve and pass on. The traditions of Italian dance — like those of any traditional art form — only have two places to go: either the dusty confines of museum exhibits and history books, or back into the spotlight to live in real time. Picking the latter requires much more than just pluck. You have to take on the multiple roles of ambassador, preservationist and electric artist, all propelled by indomitable passion. Anna Pishner Harsh — director, founder and choreographer for the Allegro Dance …