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I was fortunate to grow up in the Bronx alongside my Italian grandmother, Millie—formerly known as Emilia—a petite, spirited woman steeped in old-world tradition and a romantic view of the world. She had a jubilant aura shaped by teenage summers spent in Italy eating pasta, riding her bike, and lounging on the beaches of Torre Annunziata. Millie wo...

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I was born the second child of three to my parents, Laurette Nana Kawasumi and John Lewis Montesanto, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Originally from Los Angeles, both my parents were the descendants of relatively recent immigrants to the United States — my mother being second generation, or nisei, Japanese American and my father being fourth generation Ital...

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Today it's hard to imagine the United States without pizza. It's the ultimate comfort food, the first takeaway choice, the party starter, and overall a delicious treat. Along with hot dogs and hamburgers, pizza is among the most beloved eats in America. We have Italian immigrants from sunny Naples to thank for bringing this dish to the US. One of t...

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In 1889, members of the Italian community in Wooster Square, led by Paulo Russo, decided to establish their own parish instead of continuing to have to attend mass at St. Patrick's Church on Grand Avenue. They dedicated it to St. Michael the Archangel. The church occupied several sites before the edifice on Wooster Place, which had served as a Bapt...

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This in an exciting year to have Italian roots. Italy designated 2024 as the year of Roots Tourism, a 20 million euro project, backed by the European Union called “Integrated Strategy for the Revival of the Tourism Sector in Post-COVID-19 Italy.” That’s a lot! What does that mean to us here in the United States with Italian roots? We’re among more...

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As the firstborn son in the family, Fred Cappello’s father originally named him Salvatore after his grandfather. But his mother deeply wanted her son to “blend in” so she paid a nun 50 cents to change his name to Frederick. This wasn’t the first name change the family faced, although not at Ellis Island as one may think, but at St. Philomena’s elem...

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Kristina Knighten and her husband, Paul Cordier, were living in the United Arab Emirates and working as TEFL-certified teachers when they decided they were serious about buying their first home in America. Knighten, 38, was raised in the Chicago suburbs, and Cordier, 45, was raised in London but loved the idea of living in the Windy City after havi...

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After a four-year journey, an Italian-American immigrant family landed in Wooster Square Park on Monday, pointing to both the past and the future. The family — representing the Italian-American immigrants who settled in New Haven a century ago and transformed Wooster Square into the city’s Little Italy — is depicted in a solid bronze statue entitle...

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The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Senator John Heinz History Center and its partners at the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University to support and grow the Italian Diaspora Archive Resource Map project, which catalogs archival materials that document the Italian American experience in Western...

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Dear friends, Next June 4 will be a very important date. Exactly 80 years earlier, on June 4, 1944, troops of the American Fifth Army entered Rome, liberating it from Nazi oppression and war. The people of Rome took to the streets, finally free and happy, to celebrate, hug and thank the American soldiers. These are scenes of happiness that all us R...

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