Growing up in Verona, Penn., proved to be one of the best chapters of my life. We lived on the Verona hilltop, surrounded by an Italian neighborhood that underpinned my formative years.

My mother, Elisabetta Vescio, was born in Gizzeria, Calabria; and my father, Guglielmo Santucci, hailed from the mountainous area of Abruzzi. They fell in love and were married in 1934 in the States.  As a boy, I was not aware that each region in Italy had its own unique menus.