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Antonio Sabetta, council president of Felitto, Italy, is fascinated by the community those who left Felitto for the U.S. have built in Old Forge. “Today we’re here to honor ancestors and to formalize the tie that our communities have,” he said in Italian in the council chambers of Old Forge’s borough building. His niece, Francesca Sabetta, translat...

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When you think of Lake Village, you might think of the Delta and agriculture. But thanks to an updated version of a beloved book and a new documentary, many people are learning more about the history of Italian culture in what was once known as Sunnyside. Libby Olivi Borgognoni, 89, the daughter and granddaughter of Italian immigrants who labored a...

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The Convention of Trentino Circles of North America is back starting today, September 5 in Pinzolo. Participants of the event organized by ITTONA (International Tyrolean Trentino Organization of North America) number 205 and the program includes a full immersion in Trentino culture and hospitality, with performances, exhibitions, special events, an...

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They came from the north, the smallest autonomous region in northern Italy. Small, but not without distinction. Vallee D’Aosta. The crazy warrior, Hannibal — a name you may remember from high school history — marched through the town of Aosta (founded in 25 BC) on his great winter march.  Several different governments claimed the Aosta Valley over...

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Housed within the Commenda di San Giovanni di Prè, the new MEI – National Museum of Italian Emigration spans three floors divided into 16 areas where visitors can explore the many stories of Italian migrations, from the time of Italian Unification (and even earlier) to the present day. Connected, both administratively and geographically, with the M...

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This August, I made the journey again, this time with my cousin Michael D’Imperio to visit our famiglia ancestral roots in Comune di Biccari (Region of Puglia-Provincia of Foggia). My maternal grandparents Aniello and Elisa (Basile) Lucera emigrated from Biccari to America back in 1902/1910 as part of the Great Arrival. My cousin Michael’s great-gr...

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World War II reached from end to end of the Italian peninsula, leaving devastation in its wake. With the Allies’ aid and support through the Marshall Plan in 1946, structural reconstruction and governmental reform began. The monarchy was abolished by popular vote. Benito Mussolini’s death minimized the Fascist Party. America supported the democrati...

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This weekend I had a moment of simultaneous panic and joy. My book, The Italians of Newark: A History, is now available for pre-order. I’ll be honest, when I saw it online, I felt the blood drain from my face. It has been 16 months since I signed the contract with The History Press, and another eight to twelve months of research before I made my pi...

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When I was growing up in Humboldt County, I did not learn much from my parents about their lives in Italy; however, I was exposed to the Italian language every day, especially at mealtimes when my father and mother spoke in the dialect of the Trentino region of northern Italy. Although I always spoke to them in English, my memory stored the Italian...

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Nick DiMatteo grew up in the 1940s in a little town by Naples, Italy and made his way across the Great Pond to America while in his twenties. He set up his first shop in Saratoga Springs the late 1970s, more than half-a-lifetime ago.   “I got to Ellis Island September first in ’68,” DiMatteo says, seated in his shop at number 119 Church Street, whe...

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