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Your family history is part of our Italian-American community’s story. Together, we can preserve and celebrate those stories for future generations. As part of the ongoing renovation of the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa, which will be completed in Fall 2026, a brand new Genealogy Room is being created. This space will offer resources to...

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This podcast is dedicated to Italian Genealogy, finding your Italian Roots and how to navigate through Italian records. Your host has over 12 years of experience and we will have excellent guests that will discuss a variety of genealogy topics. Please subscribe! In this engaging conversation, Bob Sorrentino speaks with Maria Teresa Quaranta about h...

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Orange doors, geometric balconies and triangular chimneys: these are some of the features that distinguish the mid-century modern houses designed by architect Don Tosi. The homes he built in Naperville and elsewhere represent a journey to the past — specifically, to a post-World War II era that offered a promise of a bright future for young familie...

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Sometimes, finding family information begins in a non-suspecting way! Flight attendant Raymond DiBiasi was having a discussion with his mother about the family lore of being Armenian since having Italian cousins living in Sicily appeared to be a dead issue according to his late grandfather. Raymond’s grandfather implied that there were no relatives...

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It is every researcher’s dream to discover historical material, untouched by others, just waiting to be shown the light of day. Heirlooms hidden in basements, pictures in old dust-covered photo albums, and letters stuffed in books can all lead to discoveries of great personal and academic importance. Jo Ann Cavallo, Professor of Italian at Columbia...

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Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, my great-grandfather Frank Fiorentino was one of 5.5 million people who moved out of Southern Italy to escape the mob, poverty, and disease—and they've been leaving ever since. While tourists flock to Venice and the Amalfi Coast, half of Italy’s small towns are already in an advanced state of abandonment or a...

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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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The year 2024 is poised to be the year of Roots Tourism, an emotive journey “back to one’s roots” for Italian migrants and their descendants. This trip takes them back to the places they, or their intrepid ancestors—parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents—left behind for a new life in America, embarking on this monumental journey without know...

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In a world with an app for everything, and the ever-increasing presence of artificial intelligence, what happens when technology can’t answer our questions or solve our problems? Sometimes it pays to remember how to do things the old-fashioned way! From raising kids without parenting books and bedtime routines to eating carbs and fats for a healthi...

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Valerie Bertinelli thought she knew her paternal grandfather — until she traced her ancestry and discovered that he was harboring some big secrets. The actor appeared on Season 10 of latest episode of PBS' hit series "Finding Your Roots" and made two shocking revelations while chatting with host Henry Louis Gates Jr.  Valerie Bertinelli came on the...

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