I was stunned to read in the New York Times that in the town of Lodi, Italy, children who are no longer eligible for lunch subsidies because of new draconian rules, and therefore had to bring a lunch from home, have been barred from eating in the lunchroom with their classmates. The new regulations and … Continue reading 53. Lunchtime
Every ten years, we have a fight about the census. Who and what should be counted, and how should it be done? For most of us, it is of passing interest: clearly important in theory, but not so much on a personal level. Yet the census can provide us with all sorts of very granular … Continue reading 52. The Melting Pot
For my daughter Maria's birthday dinner, we went to Bamonte, an old-school restaurant in the former Italian neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Open since 1900, it is the primo of Italian-American cuisine, what would be called a "gravy restaurant" in Philadelphia. On offer was every item one might expect at an American Italian restaurant, ranging from … Continue reading 51. Comfort Food
I just finished an amazing book, War in Val D'Orcia, by Iris Origo. Iris was an Englishwoman married to an Italian marchese. During World War II, they turned their 15th-century Tuscan farm estate, La Foce, into a home for refugee Italian children whose homes were in populated areas that were susceptible to bombing, or who … Continue reading 50. War Times
Saturday night, the Swarthmore College community got a message from the Provost regarding Indigenous Peoples Day, formerly known as Columbus Day. She wrote: "... the choice to celebrate Columbus served multiple purposes in the United States: to many, it was aspirational in attempting to end anti-Italian and anti-Catholic bigotry while simultaneously to many others, it … Continue reading 49. Columbus Day
I received this email from my cousin Anna Abbruzzese on September 27, which would have been my father's 98th birthday: "When I noticed today's date, couldn't help but remember the sweetest man I had the privilege of growing up with. With all the homework, etc, that your Dad had to do to keep up with … Continue reading 48. Chain Migration
I knew my daughter Maria had just moved into an Italian neighborhood in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, when I saw the giant Virgin Mary shrine on her neighbor's porch. But any lingering doubts, if I had them, would have been expelled by the multiple expressions of ethnic pride one sees just walking down the street. From the … Continue reading 47. Ethnic Pride
Naples is filled with iconic sights. There's Mount Vesuvio overlooking the Bay of Naples. There's the treasures in the National Archeological Museum. There's the food, ranging from pizza to sfogliatelle. But I think ranking in the top ten would be the characteristic sight of narrow streets festooned with laundry hanging from the balconies. In Italy, … Continue reading 46. Laundry Day
Italians love babies. Not like the Americans who give phony lip service to family values and protecting the innocent, but then don't want to spend a nickel on their actual well-being, or even necessarily want to be around them. I mean really love them. Babies seem to always be out and about with their families, … Continue reading 45. Baby Love
Oh, no! Say it ain't so! I opened the New York Times on Wednesday, to see a full-page announcement from Starbucks that they were opening a shop in Milan. This first is a special "Roastery" shop, to be followed by four regular, Frappuccino-serving stores in the near future. As the ad suggests, Howard Schultz, Starbucks' … Continue reading 44. More coffee talk
Gigi's Italia 