May 6, 2009
Maruggi's "Remembrances" Anthology reviewed by Rob Marchesani
Book cover
Edward Maruggi collected dozens of vignettes from Italian American writers of their "Remembrances" of Mamma. Rob Marchesani offers this review and I am delighted to host this essay on my blog in time for Mother's Day---DC
Rob Marchesani reviews Edward Maruggi's collection "Remembrances: Sixty Tales of Growing Up with Italian Mothers, Grandmothers and Godmothers." It is as much a walk through the reader's own history as it is through the history of those in the stories that are told.
Internet Star @ Least 473 Years Old
THE NEW YORK TIMES NEWS BLOG. Because it is used in every e-mail address and many tweets, you might be forgiven for thinking that the remarkably common symbol @, which English-speakers know as the “at sign,” but Italians call a “snail,” and south Slavs know as a “monkey,” is a fairly recent invention. In fact, a Florentine merchant named Francesco Lapi used the symbol @ in a letter written 473 years ago today, on May 4, 1536.
Francesco Lapi’s letter was sent from Seville to Rome and described the cargo on three ships that had just returned to Spain from Latin America: “There, an amphora of wine, which is one thirtieth of a barrel, is worth 70 or 80 ducats,” Mr. Lapi informs his correspondent, representing the amphora with the now familiar symbol of an “a” wrapped in its own tail. (Read the blog post by Robert Mackey)
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The Food and Wine of the Alto Adige
The Cuisine of the Alto Adige-Deciedly Austrian with a Wink to Italy
Alfano Announces Italian Relief Fund For Earthquake Victims
Threevillagetimes. Assemblyman Tom Alfano announced a comprehensive Italian Earthquake Relief fund that is collecting donations for the families. The NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund, which has been established by the National Italian American Federation, will help victims and their families who perished from the recent earthquake in the town of L'Aquila and other small towns in central Italy in the region of Abruzzo. (Read the article)
Comedic actor and cookbook author Dom DeLuise dies at 75
DAILY NEWS. Brooklyn-born Dom DeLuise, the roly-poly movie foil to best buddy Burt Reynolds during a comedic career that spanned the last half-century, died Monday in Los Angeles. He was 75. (Read the article)
May 5, 2009
The Food and Wine of the Alto Adige in New York City
Charles Scicolone
Chef Niederkofler preparing risotto with Dolomite pine needles & breast of guinea fowl
The Cuisine of the Alto Adige-Deciedly Austrian with a Wink to Italy
Italian mob using cash to snap up businesses
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. While businesses around the world are hunkering down for survival, the Italian mob is living a golden moment. Italy's various organized crime syndicates - often lumped together colloquially as Mafia Inc. - are gobbling up gas stations, muscling in on supermarket franchises, making loans to cash-starved businesses, taking over trattorias and acquiring buildings in swank neighborhoods in Rome and Milan, investigators say. These mobsters have lots of what is in short supply for many businesses these days - liquidity - as well as centuries-honed expertise in preying on the vulnerable, whose ranks are swelling in the financial crisis. (Read the Article)
Fiat gets $35 million if Chrysler deal crumbles
FREEP. Italian automaker Fiat S.p.A. isn’t putting any cash into the alliance with Chrysler LLC – but if the deal falls apart or some other rescuer swoops in, Fiat will get $35 million from Chrysler.
While such breakup fees are common any time one company purchases another, Chrysler’s rescue by the Obama administration through bankruptcy court is anything but common. Chrysler’s attorneys have asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez to approve the fee as part of the sale process, a motion the judge will begin considering later this afternoon.
Chrysler said the fee was necessary for Fiat to take part in the deal. (Read the Article)
Investigation into Mafia control of Italian windfarm biz
THE REGISTER. Mafia-busting Italian magistrates have launched a major investigation into crooked windfarm projects in Sicily, according to reports. It is suggested that large sums in government support have been collected for wind power stations which in many cases produce no electricity. The Financial Times reported on the green energy scandals in Sicily over the weekend. Italy has a very strong system of incentives for wind power, in which guaranteed prices of €180 ($240, £160) per kilowatt-hour are offered to producers. A normal European retail price for electricity is in the region of 10p. (Read the Article)
Why They Came – Italy’s Shame
Americans of Italian descent should demand that Italy apologize for the dehumanization and exploitation of our grandparents and build memorials of contrition and appreciation to those mighty people at all ports of embarkation.
May 5, 2009
Why They Came – Italy’s Shame
“26 million Italians – the largest migration in recorded history”
Americans of Italian decent should demand that Italy apologize for the dehumanization and exploitation of our grandparents and build memorials of contrition and appreciation to those mighty people at all ports of embarkation.
Music. Marco Calliari. Universal “Italianità”
Marco Calliari will launch the new album “Italia” by Putamayo at Joe’s Pub on May 18. The project is a tribute to classical Italian music of the 1950s and features a collaboration among Italian contemporary singers. We interviewed Marco, a Canadian artist of Italian origins that believes in the universality of the feeling of “italianità”.
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