A streetside Mass provided one of the most moving moments of St. Anthony’s Feast in Boston for me this past weekend. The outdoor Mass in honor of St. Anthony is held the Saturday evening of St. Anthony’s Feast, where Via Di Santa Lucia and Via Di Sant’Antonio meet. This year’s Mass was presided over by Fr. Michael Della Penna, the pastor of the Nor...

Growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, an area with a vibrant Italian American community, Stephanie Longo first became intrigued by her heritage when she was five years old when her mother took her to Dino and Francesco’s restaurant in Clarks Summit, PA, which had a large map of Italy on their placemat.  While they were there, her mother, Ann Mar...

We are celebrating Italian-American Heritage Month! Stephanie Longo is a historian who focuses on the Italian-American heritage in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania.  She says the region is rich in Italian-American history, being that many people migrated to NEPA from Italy many years ago. Longo has researched the ancestry between the two count...

We’re in North Eastern Pennsylvania, to explore the Italian American side of the city of Scranton and the surrounding areas! We’ll meet the people behind one of Italian America’s most unique Feasts, visit monuments to religion and the arts, and try some of the best Italian food around… including a memorable meal in the self-professed “Pizza Capital...

Dear friends, it is my honor to unveil the final version of the Italian American map ofScranton, PA: the Electric City! This morning's post was a draft, but this is the official one-- I hope this can be used as a teaching tool regarding the contributions of Italian Americans to the landscape of the City of Scranton. Our area's Italian American hist...

Working as a “Professional Italian American” might sound like a dream job, but for author and historian Stephanie Longo, it’s a fitting job title. Stephanie has dedicated her career to celebrating her heritage and preserving immigrant history, both on a local and national scale. She’s written three books on NEPA’s Italian American history and has m...

October 12 2020 Roma, Italy / The United States

October is National Italian American Heritage Month in the United States. According to the United States Census, there are 17.8 million Americans who claim Italian origin, with 1.4 million of those living in Pennsylvania. According to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties take up five spots among the top 20...

“I hope and trust that this monument will be the means to bring in touch the people of Italy and that of America.” It was with these words that Frank Carlucci, master sculptor and president of the Christopher Columbus Monument Association, presented the Columbus monument that stands on Scranton’s Courthouse Square to the city on October 21, 1892 du...

The podcast is more and more now an effective, new, fun communication tool. You can listen to it on any device, and in the world of Italian Americans there are now many different ones. Even We the Italians started his, first in video and then also in audio. The first podcast of the Italian-American world was born a few years ago. I was lucky enough...