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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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My name is Katherine Perry, Kate for short, and I am a senior at Cape Henlopen High School. I am a fifth-generation Italian American on my mom’s side (the Perry side), and on my dad’s side (though the generation may not be the same). I have never thought about this concept much before nor took an interest in it till recently. I never knew that I ha...

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When: Saturday, Jan. 27 from 12:30 to 2 pm - Where: Casa Belvedere, The Italian Cultural Foundation, 79 Howard Ave, Staten Island, NY 10301 The non-profit Italian Genealogical Group started a project of collecting immigrant stories of our relatives, to keep the stories alive for future generations. The collection of stories in the book represents 1...

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For all of my life, I’ve been told I was Italian. Sicilian and Calabrese if you really want to know. I have a large and very loud Italian family. For most of my childhood, I remember spending lots of my time in either my house or one of my aunt’s houses, with everyone gathered around the table. With my Papa at the head of the table, he would grab m...

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In the heart of the Mediterranean lies Sicily, an island where the past lingers in the sun-drenched landscapes and the names of noble families echo through the ages. Here, ancient bloodlines and storied surnames weave a rich tapestry of history and power. This is a place where being a noble meant being a patron of the arts, a leader in commerce, an...

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Joe Caniglia was born 92 years ago during the Santa Lucia Festival in Omaha, NE. “When I was growing up I thought it was a big birthday party until I got old enough to realize it wasn’t,” he said. The festival and a birthday party do have something in common: family. “The whole neighborhood came from Carlentini,” said Caniglia. “And we’re all proba...

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