Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity Archives

4Jun

By Gabriel PiemonteNo Comments

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

I Am A Cuban Sandwich

The life and origins of an Italian-Cuban-Spanish Floridian by Mary-Ellen and Richard DiPietra Editor's note: What follows is an excerpt from I Am A Cuban Sandwich. NONNO In the Pais Vasco, the Basque Country, a small region in the rugged mountains of Northern Spain, a young girl spoke to a young man, words that would change everything. “Yes” She said. Then she did something no one in her tight-knit family had ever done before. She left….for America. At the same time stone mason from Alessandro della Rocca, Sicily had just come over to the states and landed somehow in Kankakee, IL, when he received word from relatives that a new movie house was being built in Tampa, Florida. This grand palace was to be in a Mediterranean design and they were looking for Old World craftsmen w...

Elena Ferrante and Me. I Don’t Know Her, She Knows Me

25May

By Pummarola3 Comments

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

Elena Ferrante and Me. I Don’t Know Her, She Knows Me

by Sara Marinelli I had to wait five long years for Elena Ferrante’s next book after her last one, The Lost Daughter (2006). My Brilliant Friend, the first volume of what became the world famous quartet, came out in Italy toward the end of 2011. I had moved to San Francisco from Naples about two years earlier, and among my dearest belongings I had carried Ferrante’s books in my suitcases for fear of losing them in the shipment boxes that would join me later. My next visit to Italy was planned for the summer, and I couldn’t wait any further to read her new book. I called a friend in Italy and asked him to mail me the book as soon as it hit the bookstores. A week later, winning the battle against the Italian mailing system, my object of desire made it to my door in San Francisco. The ...

28Jan

By Gabriel Piemonte1 Comment

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

Benedicaria – The Blessing Way of Southern Italian Folk Medicine

by Gail Faith Edwards Editor’s note: This article republished by permission from gailfaithedwards.com In the remote mountain villages of Southern Italia, like ours, the old ways still thrive. We are a tribal culture, an indigenous people, descendants of the ancient Lucana Tribe; we are remembered as the People of the Sacred Wood, of the White Light. Our animal totems are the wolf and the deer. Our sacred traditions have been passed along orally, for many thousands of years. We speak a variation of the Neapolitan dialect, use hand signals and glances, wear protective charms and amulets, and recite secret prayers that have been handed down through our family lines for generations. We pray with a string of beads called a rosary. We light candles when making offerings, petit...

28Jan

By Gabriel Piemonte3 Comments

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

Who’s Allowed in the “Melting Pot?”: The Impact of Whiteness on the Assimilation of Italian Identities

by Frances Bartolutti (They/She) It’s fascinating how literally wearing your culture on your sleeve for a day can open up a can of worms you’ve never considered. This fall, the school where I work on the West Side of Chicago had a Cultural Heritage spirit day for our Homecoming week. As a teacher, I try to participate in all the school-wide activities I can, so I wanted to go all out for Cultural Heritage day. I dug my Italian flag out of the closet and wore it as a cape for the entire day. During my 3rd period class, one of my students told me that I was the first Italian person he’d ever met. While I seriously doubt that since I know at least three other Italian-American staff members at North-Grand, his statement stuck with me, and not for the reasons you might suspect. His labe...

28Jan

By Gabriel PiemonteNo Comments

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

Benedicaria – The Blessing Way of Southern Italian Folk Medicine, Part 1

by Gail Faith Edwards Republished with permission from gailfaithedwards.com. In the remote mountain villages of Southern Italia, like ours, the old ways still thrive. We are a tribal culture, an indigenous people, descendants of the ancient Lucana Tribe; we are remembered as the People of the Sacred Wood, of the White Light. Our animal totems are the wolf and the deer. Our sacred traditions have been passed along orally, for many thousands of years. We speak a variation of the Neapolitan dialect, use hand signals and glances, wear protective charms and amulets, and recite secret prayers that have been handed down through our family lines for generations. We pray with a string of beads called a rosary. We light candles when making offerings, petitions, prayers and blessings. We ...

The Autumn and Fall of Italian Workerism

16Jul

By StaffNo Comments

Bella Figura: On Italian American Identity

The Autumn and Fall of Italian Workerism

by David Broder Originally published in Catalyst Vol. 3 No. 4 Winter 2020 Across the West, the last four decades have been marked by the large-scale collapse of the labor movement. Not only have trade unions withered but so have, with few exceptions, the social-democratic and communist parties and their roots in working-class life. Neoliberalism has not only created new market structures, reduced welfare provision, and privatized industries, it has also pulverized the social basis of many old working-class institutions. Yet as crisis-struck neoliberalism continues to spark all manner of social revolt, many activists insist that the fall of the mass parties is not such a disaster. Their demise is either celebrated — a liberation from bureaucratic control, opening up space for mo...