About nine months ago I received an email from Lou Del Bianco telling me that he was looking for a publisher to publish the story of his family’s 25-year fight to gain recognition for his late grandfather Luigi Del Bianco, who they believed was the Chief Carver on Mount Rushmore. I read the email and was intrigued. I had remembered interviewing Lou back on Episode 23 and remembered being really excited and interested by his grandfather’s story and his family’s efforts. I responded and asked … [Read more...]
IAP 49: Preserving Italian enclaves through inspiration and photography with Ray Guarini
In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we talk with Ray Guarini, founder of Italian Enclaves, about the memories he is creating to help preserve Italian American culture. In the Stories Segment, we hear from one of our listeners, Joseph Blanda Pintacuda Sciame, who tells us an inspiring story about going back to his ancestral village — and the warm reception he received. Episode Quote “Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.” ― Gustav … [Read more...]
A surprise dedication shared at Grandma’s kitchen table
https://youtu.be/A4LJ8Hysa3I The video above captures me bringing a copy of my newest book, Forty Days in Italy Con La Mia Famiglia, to my grandmother’s house. My grandma was instrumental in the book, as many of the stories and information in the book came from conversations at her kitchen table. The book provides a framework that all Italian Americans can follow to discover their Italian roots and travel to Italy to find living relatives, or at least experience the villages their … [Read more...]
IAP 41: The emotional aspect of visiting your ancestral villages in Italy
In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we talk with Cassandra Santoro from Travel Italian Style. We talk about the mental and emotional aspects of reuniting with family in Italy or just visiting one of your ancestral villages, especially those in southern Italy. In our Stories Segment, we play a recording from one of our listeners, Antoinette Merenda, who tells us how her family immigrated here, where they came from, and some of the extraordinary research she has done. … [Read more...]