Known for Premium Cycles, Italy's Ducati Aims for a Broader Market
Italian Ducati-brand motorcycles have long been known as premium products, with a heritage of racing and sports bikes. Hardly a volume manufacturer, Ducati produces about 50,000 two-wheelers per year, with Italy as the biggest market and the U.S. as an important secondary. North America is 20 to 22 percent of global sales. The U.S. motorcycle marke...
What learning Italian did for me
As Italian-American Heritage Month continues throughout the United States, we are also set to celebrate one very special week beginning on October 21– La Settimana della Lingua Italiana Nel Mondo, which celebrates the impact the Italian language has had around the world. While learning Italian is something that many Italian-Americans choose to do t...
Before ‘Local’ Was a Trend, It Was an Italian American Way of Life
My Neapolitan-born grandma did not believe in eating out at restaurants. The only time she went out to eat was on the occasion she craved Chinese food. And once a year on Mother’s Day, we would treat her and my mother to a fancy dinner at a steakhouse. I won’t use the words here that my grandma used to describe restaurant food, but let’s just say,...
Italian American Heroes Who Made World War II History
World War II, the war to end all wars — more than any other event in U.S. history — exhibited the love, loyalty and patriotism Italian Americans held in their hearts for our nation. Italian Americans rushed to enlist to defend the U.S., and more than 1.5 million Italian Americans served in the armed forces during World War II, amounting to some 10%...
Trump defends Columbus Day, praises Mother Cabrini during event celebrating Italian heritage
President Donald Trump defended the Christopher Columbus federal holiday and gave a shout-out to Mother Frances Cabrini during a reception celebrating Italian heritage with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Wednesday night. Trump said as long as he’s around, the national holiday honoring the Italian explorer will not be replaced by Indigenous...
17 ways your eating and drinking habits change when you live in Italy
People's habits change in subtle ways when they move abroad, and in food-obsessed Italy the changes are most obvious when it comes to eating and drinking. When you rst move it's likely you'll still be craving foods from home or (if you're like me) pouring milk into your tea for some time. But sooner or later you'll nd you've ditched your old ways a...
A century-plus of Sinatra
On Dec. 12, Frank Sinatra would have been 104. In those 100-plus years, few people in modern history have been as iconic, with as much influence on popular music as he had. Sinatra's songs are timeless and his persona was legendary. I recently came across some vintage pix of "Ol' Blue Eyes" and it reminded me just how much he was a part of my "inne...
Italian Short Stories for Beginners
Italian Short Stories for Beginners, narrated by actress Lucia Grillo for Touri Language Learning, contains 10 easy-to-listen-to, engaging, and fun stories that will help you to expand your vocabulary and give you the tools to improve your grasp of the Italian language. Improve your comprehension, grow your vocabulary, and spark your imagination wi...
Howard Zinn lied about Christopher Columbus. Here’s how
Howard Zinn rode to fame and fortune on the “untold story” of Christopher Columbus—a shocking tale of severed hands, raped women, and gentle, enslaved people worked to death to slake the white Europeans’ lust for gold. Today, that story is anything but untold. Zinn’s narrative about the genocidal discoverer of America has captured our education sys...
The whole world should honor Columbus: Declare a UN holiday for the man who helped pioneer modernity
When it comes to transcendent historical figures, Christopher Columbus doth bestride the narrow world like a colossus. Like Gaius Julius Caesar, his ancient Italian kin, Cristoforo Colombo altered the course of human events. Columbus was first and foremost an explorer. In fact, he discovered more territories than Ferdinand Magellan. “As a master...
L’Amb. Varricchio su Columbus Day: rileggere la storia con logica di inclusione
Washington, 14 ottobre 2019. In occasione del Columbus Day l’Ambasciatore d’Italia Armando Varricchio partecipa alla cerimonia di deposizione di una corona di fiori al monumento dedicato a Cristoforo Colombo nella piazza antistante Union Station a Washington DC. Erano presenti anche l’Ambasciatore di Spagna Santiago Cabanas e la Vice Presidente del...
Holy Cannoli! These Cities Have the Most Italian Americans
Italian Americans may not set off Guinness-fueled celebrations every St. Paddy's Day like Irish Americans, or serve as an excuse for margarita madness on Cinco de Mayo like Mexican Americans. But with their heaping plates of spaghetti and meatballs, mobster flicks, and the unfortunate reality TV show "Jersey Shore," Italian Americans are a critical...