ITALIAN TIMES THE
Published 11 times annually by the Italian Community Center 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.ICCMilwaukee.com OCTOBER 2017 • VOL. 39, NO. 4
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Director-at-large seats up for grabs in ICC election
President Cannestra and other officers unopposed
by Thomas Hemman Times Editor While the election outcomes for the incumbent President Dean Cannestra and all of his fellow officers are certain as they are unopposed, decisions on who will win director-at-large seats rest with Italian Community Center members. Members will be electing four individuals from among eight candidates to fill the two-year director terms. The candidate who finishes fifth in the balloting will be appointed by the Board to fill an unexpired one-year term. The vacancy is the result of Ted Catalano’s forfeiture of his final year as a director to accept his nomination for the treasurer’s post. (The vacancy appointment process is described in Article IV, Section 9.b. of the ICC bylaws.) The eight candidates nominated to run for director-at-large seats are (in alphabetical order): Ralph Busalacchi, Mary Anne CerasoAlioto, Rose Anne Ceraso Fritchie, Edward Ciano, Karen Dickinson, Joseph Jannazzo, Jr., Gina Jorgensen and Ray Martinez. Busalacchi, Ceraso-Alioto, Dick-
inson and Jannazzo were on the slate presented to the membership by the Nominating Committee at the Aug. 17 general meeting. Members, attending the same meeting, added the nominations of Ciano, Ceraso Fritchie, Jorgensen and Martinez to complete the ballot. (The entire nomination process is laid out in Article V of the bylaws.) Among the eight candidates, Ceraso-Alioto is completing a twoyear term. Dickinson and Jannazzo have served on the Board the last year by appointment, filling vacancies that resulted from the 2016 election. Busalacchi and Ceraso Fritchie have previously served on the board. Busalacchi was a director from 2008 to 2013. Ceraso Fritchie was the organization’s secretary from 2004 through 2016. Ciano, Jorgensen and Martinez have not previously served on the Board. The Nominating Committee’s presentation of the slate of officers for the 2017-18 term – Cannestra for President, Joseph Emanuele for Vice President, Catalano for Treasurer, Susan (DeSanctis) Christiansen for Secretary and Joanne (Sanfilippo) Czubek for Sergeant-
At-Arms – was accepted without further nominations at the August general meeting. Cannestra was elected president
last year after serving two years as vice president and four years as a director-at-large. Emanuele was Please turn to page 6
On the evening of Sept. 18, Nominating Committee members, joined by two volunteers, worked on completing the preparations necessary to mail out the election ballots to all ICC members in good standing (those who have been members since at least Aug. 21, which represents 60 days prior to the announcement of election results). The election mailing was sent out for U.S. Postal Service delivery starting Sept. 22. Members should recieve their ballots by the week of Sept. 25. Shown here (l – r) are: volunteer Antonette Lo Coco, Christina Ziino, Suzanne Wypijewski, Election Committee co-chair Rosemary DeRubertis, Ann Zambito and Election Committee co-chair Sal Lo Coco. (Photo by Joe Zambito)
275 Italian heritage photos return to the walls at ICC, work continues on many others
ICC’s Holiday Boutique set for Nov. 25
Holiday boutiques are a most wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit – they inspire holiday cheer and provide shoppers with an opportunity to give a unique gift to the people in their lives. On Saturday, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Italian Community Center will host its third annual Holiday Boutique featuring artists and designers, showcasing their work in a festive atmosphere. The event will take place in the Please turn to page 8
Cosa c’è dentro? What’s inside?
President’s message
page 2
ICC volunteers seek donations for Thanksgiving dinner for poor page 2 Dan Amato donated vast Columbus book collection to ICC page 2 Student Culture Day planned for Oct. 2
page 3
Scenes from Casino Night fundraiser pages 4 & 5 If you have come to the Italian Community Center lately, it is likely you have seen the return to the corridor walls of some 275 of the organization’s Italian heritage photos. All of the photos were taken down during the extensive building remodeling that went on this summer.Here, members of the Italian Heritage
Photo Committee are shown here doing the inventory of photos in the ICC’s vast collection. From the left, are: Sophia Michalovitz, Rose Mary Jennaro, Yvonne Zarcone, Sheeda D’Amato and Marian Yoder. Find a story on the plans for the photo collection beginning on page 9. (Photos by Grace Natoli Sheldon)
50th anniversary of Pompeii Church demise page 10 Driving in Sicily
page 12
Pensions of Italian living abroad under assault page 13
A message from Dean Cannestra, Italian Community Center President First, I want to thank our members for expressing their confidence in me by granting me a second term as your President. I can tell you that I will continue to work diligently with our Board of Directors to keep our Italian Community Center growing and prospering so that our children and grandchildren can experience the pride we share and the fulfillment we get from being members of our organization. Secondly, I encourage all of our members to vote in the upcoming election. Ballots will be arriving in your mailboxes any day now. While all of our officers are unopposed, we have eight candidates running for the four open director-at-large seats with two-year terms. In addition, whoever finishes fifth in the balloting is going to be appointed to fill the unexpired term of Ted Catalano. Ted is vacating his final year as a director to become our new
treasurer. Speaking of the treasurer post, I want to sincerely thank and express our best wishes to our retiring treasurer Sam Purpero, who has served our organization with the distinguished commitment of his service and resources since its inception in 1978. Sam and his late brother, Phil, both past presidents of the ICC, exemplify the UNICO motto – “Service Above Self” – and we are forever grateful. I want to also acknowledge Pietro Tarantino, as he is completing his term of service as a directorat-large. Pietro has always shown his commitment to our organization and will continue to do so through his involvement – with his sister Enrica – in our Italian language classes.
Casino Night On behalf of our Board of Directors, I want to acknowledge Karen
and Bill Dickinson for chairing our 4th annual Casino Night. They did a great job bringing everyone who attended a fun and very enjoyable night. Thanks, Karen and Bill!
Italian Heritage Photos If you have been to the ICC in the last few weeks, you probably noticed that 275 of our Italian heritage photos have gone up on the corridor walls. We have a committee that is working hard to catalogue, clean, recondition and conduct research on the photos in the collection. They are also digitalizing the collection. One of their most difficult projects is gathering basic information to provide viewers with some details. This includes the names of persons in the photo and the circumstances around the photo. They have already put up two framed index posters that have thumbnail
prints of various photos that are already on the walls that carry that particular information. In some instances, the information is alongside a photo in a small frame. This is an ongoing process as the ICC has a lot of photos that have been donated to the organization over the years. Unfortunately, many of the photos were donated with little or no information. – Dean Cannestra ICC President
Support the ICC’s Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate
Tony Lupo, chairman of the annual Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate, announced that donations are now being collected for the 2017 meal. The dinner will once again be held at the Open Door Cafe, a meal site at St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Milwaukee. The date of the event is Sunday, Nov. 12. The feast will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. ICC volunteers, led by Lupo and vice chairs Tony Zingale and Ray Martinez, organize the dinner in consultation with the meal site director, conduct the fundraising to buy a complete Thanksgiving dinner and have the meal prepared
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PAGE 2 – OCTOBER 2017
and delivered to the Open Door Cafe. They also serve as volunteers at the event.
How to make a donation Anyone wishing to make a donation is asked to submit a check payable to the Italian Community Center. Donations can be mailed to the ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. Please list on the memo line of your check that this donation is for the “Thanksgiving Meal.” This will ensure that your donation is properly credited for the dinner. Envelopes should be directed to the attention of ICC Receptionist Valentina. She will accept donations at her desk during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Lupo, Zingale and Martinez will be on hand to collect contributions at the ICC’s general membership meeting on Oct. 19. “You might think that the vast majority of people fed at this dinner are homeless or jobless men, but that would be incorrect,” Lupo said. “Many of the dinner attendees in recent years are women and children. We are seeing more and more families each year that are homeless and desperately in need of everything many of us take for granted.”
Persons interested in volunteering to help out at the dinner are asked to contact Lupo, Martinez or Zingale. Bit of history This annual Thanksgiving dinner for the less fortunate has been
going on since the late 1970s. It was started by a group called the Ragione Club under the leadership of such men as the late Tom Busalacchi, Dr. John Balistreri, Mario Bartolotta and Bob Cefalu. Tony Lupo assumed the chairmanship after Cefalu’s death.
An educational and informative collection of 24 books and printed material mostly pertaining to Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, his birthplace of Genoa (Liguria), Italy, and the Age of Discovery were donated to the library at the Italian Community Center this summer by Dan Amato of Columbus, Wis. The donation also includes two books on the Italian Resistance (1943-45) and one on the explorer Ponce de Leon. Dan and his wife, Rose, own and operate the Columbus Antique Mall and Christopher Columbus Museum in their hometown, which is about 28 miles northeast of Madison, Wis. The museum is located at 239 Whitney St., Columbus. The donation of books and printed material was made shortly after the completion of ICC’s celebration of its 40th Festa Italiana. Dan Amato provided a small display of his Columbus memorabilia to Festa’s salute of the Liguria region of Italy. That display included a wooden model of the Santa
Maria, the largest of the three ships that were part Columbus’s fleet during his 1492 discovery of the New World and memorabilia pertaining to the 1893 Columbian Exposition (World’s Fair in Chicago). Christina Ziino, manager of Festa’s Regional Exhibit, and Gina Jorgensen, ICC Culture Committee Chair, thanked the Amatos for sharing the display at Festa and the donation of books and printed material to the ICC. “We are extremely grateful to Dan Amato for providing an outstanding and much talked about display for our salute to Italy’s Liguria region and for making the donation of books and printed materials to the ICC library,” said Ziino. “With October designated as Italian Heritage Month, we encourage our members to check out the books and learn more about Columbus, Liguria and the Age of Discovery.” “Understanding the importance of the Italian Community Center Please turn to page 8
Columbus book collection donated to ICC by Dan Amato
THE ITALIAN TIMES
ICC’s multi-faceted Student Culture Day to be presented Monday, Oct. 2
Volunteers will join forces to present a day of Italian culture and education to local grade school students on Monday, Oct. 2. “Student Culture Day,” as it is known, is a key part of the lineup of activities that the Italian Community Center offers in its salute to the national designation of October as “Italian American Heritage Month.” Chairperson Gina Jorgensen said the program is scheduled to feature all of the learning experiences and components it included in last year. These activities include: • An Italian language class. • A homemade pasta-making class. • A history class on the Italian immigrant experience, focusing on those who settled in Milwaukee. • The Ellis Island immigrant experience. A re-enactment of the ex-
THE ITALIAN TIMES
631 E. Chicago St. Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916 (414) 223-2180 Published 11 times annually
Publisher . . . Italian Community Center ICC President . . . . . . . Dean Cannestra Newspaper Committee Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . .Blaise Di Pronio Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Hemman Advertising Sales Manager . . . . . . . . . . Thomas Hemman Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . Faye Ann Kessler Editorial Contributors, Reporters and Columnists . . . . . .Blaise Di Pronio, Barbara Collignon, Elizabeth Zizzo and Donato Di Pronio For advertising information, please call (414) 223-2180 or send an e-mail to: themman@iccmilwaukee.com. Copyright 2017 The Italian Community Center, Inc. All Rights Reserved
All advertisements must be in accordance with the rules and requirements as determined by editorial policy. Paid advertisements are not to be interpreted as an endorsement by the Italian Community Center or its newspaper, The Italian Times. In addition, the Newspaper Committee reserves the right to reject ads based on editorial policy approved by the Board of Directors of the Italian Community Center. The Italian Community Center is a member of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Visit Milwaukee and the Historic Third Ward Association.
During last year’s Student Culture Day program, Elena La Spisa provided fifth grade students with an overview of the Ellis Island experience for Italian immigrants who arrived by ship to America in the early 1900s. After listening to La Spisa’s overview, the students got to play the role of those early Italian immigrants. They received Italian names, met the American medical staff and registration and admis-
perience of Italian immigrants who landed at Ellis Island, N.Y. for entry into the United States with the students playing the role of the immigrants and the volunteers acting as the Ellis Island nurses, doctors and registrars. • A recreation lesson that teaches the students how to play bocce. The program will end with a spaghetti and meatballs luncheon provided by the ICC. Leading the history class this year will be Lucia Soldati, a professor of Italian language at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Jorgensen said, “We are planning to create a power point presentation to be presented while she is speaking.” Jorgensen also reported that the Student Culture Day program has received a $500 donation from Rose Purpero Spang. “We wish to thank Rose for her generosity and ongoing support for this educational program,” she said.
sion officials at Ellis Island. The latter roles were filled by ICC volunteers. While the experience for those early Italian immigrants was likely nervewracking and confusing, the experience for the students was much less stressful and purely educational. The students in this picture were from All Saints Catholic School in Kenosha. (Times photo by Tom Hemman)
This year, 102 fifth graders from the Academy of Accelerated Learning (AAL), 3727 N. 78th St., Milwaukee, will participate in Student Culture Day. AAL is an authorized International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Program. IB is a transdisciplinary international education program designed to foster the development of the whole child. AAL offers a rigorous curriculum that incorporates effective use of technology. The school has a music program that is in partnership with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra providing instrumental music lessons. The AAL staff welcomes parent involvement and community partnerships to enhance students’ educational experiences. Over the years, the ICC has of-
Nov. 30. Please submit schedules using any one of these methods: • Send an email to Tom Hemman at themman@iccmilwaukee.com. • Drop off the schedules in person at the ICC. • Mail them to Tom Hemman, ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. Groups that fail to comply with this request may experience difficulty in securing the accommodations they most desire. Please note: The Members Room can no longer be reserved for individual meetings and private parties. The room is available to members at all times that the ICC is open.
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With the holidays rapidly approaching, it is a great time to get your seasonal advertising in The Italian Times. To get the details, call (414) 2232189 or send an email to Tom at themman@iccmilwaukee.com.
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2018 schedules of Italian societies and organizations that regularly meet at ICC are needed promptly
The 2018 meeting and social event schedules of all of the societies, clubs and organizations that regularly use the Italian Community Center for their activities are needed by The Italian Times. ICC Business Manager Laurie Bisesi uses the information to coordinate room scheduling with Bartolotta Catering. Times editor Tom Hemman needs the information to provide an accurate reporting in the calendar published in each issue of the newspaper. All groups are asked to submit their schedules including the starting time of all events as soon as possible. The goal is to have the schedules from all societies, clubs and organizations by
fered this learning experience to hundreds of public and private schoolchildren, ranging from third graders to middle school students. In 2016, nearly 90 students from the Italian Immersion Program at Milwaukee’s Victory K8 School and All Saints Catholic School in Kenosha participated in the program.
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Casino Night fundraiser is all aces
For the fourth consecutive year, Karen (left) and Bill Dickinson have served as chairpersons for the Casino Night fundraiser, which is always an enjoyable evening. Seated with them here is Suzanne Wypijewski, who assisted at the registration table.
John Alioto gave the dice a roll at the craps table, which drew players virtually the entire evening. John and Sophia Michalovitz, who is standing next to John, played craps most of the night. You might recognize the gentleman on the other side of John. It’s ICC President Dean Cannestra.
Bea Ceraso and her grandson, Sam Alioto, tried their luck at one of the poker tables. Bea and Sam, who regularly attend ICC events, have yet to miss the Casino Night fundraiser since its inception in 2014. Seated at this blackjack table (from l – r): Ray Martinez, Mary Anne Ceraso-Alioto, Maggie Catalano and her brother, Ted Catalano.
Playing blackjack at this table ( l – r) are: Lena and Tony Zingale, Rosemary DeRubertis, Joanne Czubek, Catherine Lazzaro and Joe Lazzaro.
Tony Machi, the first ICC President (1978-80), was joined at the blackjack table by his daughter, Grace Lucretia Machi.
PAGE 4 – OCTOBER 2017
One of the more difficult casino games for novice players to learn is roulette. That, however, did not scare away (from the left) Carol Martinez, Barbara Lupo, Suzanne Wypijewski and Debra Howard.
Craig and Marie Lieber played blackjack.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
Casino Night raffle prize donors were thanked on a large poster that everyone could see as they registered to play. The donors included: Amelia’s Restaurant, Louise Au, Bartolotta Restaurant Group, BBC Lighting, Boston Store, Buca di Beppo, Ted Catalano, Ambrose Ciano, Corvina Wine Company, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Joanne Czubek, Bill and Karen Dickinson, Divino Wine & Dine (Dean Cannestra), Ewald’s Venus Ford, Falls Patio Players, Fazio’s Chocolates, Green Bay Packers, Jewelry Center, Sheila and Wayne Kitzerow, Milwaukee Admirals, Milwau-
Casino Night photos by Times Editor Tom Hemman
kee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Food Tour, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Wave, Next Act Theater, Northwestern Mutual Life (Steve Holter Agency), Papa Luigi’s Pizza (Sal Purpora), Reina International Auto (Joe Reina), Rose Purpero Spang, Sobelman’s Pub & Grill and Uptown Motors.
Welcome new ICC members!
The following persons became members of the Italian Community Center between August 10 and September 8, 2017. Benvenuto (Welcome!) Charles and Patricia Jurena Deiro of South Milwaukee
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Eight candidates vie for director-atlarge positions in ICC election
from page 1 elected a director in the 2015 election before winning the vice presidency in last year’s election. Christiansen served a total of nine years as a director before her election as secretary in the 2016 election. Czubek first won the sergeant-at-arms position in 2010 and has since been re-elected every year. Catalano, a director-at-large for the last three years, will be replacing Sam Purpero as treasurer. Purpero has held the post for seven of the last eight years. In the 39 years that the ICC has been in existence, Purpero has served the organization in every elective position, except secretary and sergeant-at-arms. He was the organization’s president in the 1982-83 term. As for this election, he opted out to deal with personal health issues. As a result of Cannestra’s uncontested election to a second term as president, Giuseppe Vella is assured of another year in the nonelective position of immediate past president. Vella served as president from 2014 to 2016.
Election procedures The Nominating Committee, whose members include Rosemary DeRubertis and Salvatore Lo Coco, co-chairs, and Suzanne Wypijewski, Joseph Zambito and Christina Ziino, has confirmed that, based on Article V of the bylaws, all of the candidates nominated at the Aug. 17 general meeting are qualified to run for their respective offices. The committee has also conducted a drawing for the positioning of the candidates’ names on the election ballot. That was done on Aug. 28 in the presence of this reporter. Qualified voters will receive an election ballot in the mail. According to Article III, Section 1 of the bylaws, a qualified voter is anyone who has been a member a minimum of 60 days prior to the election. For the upcoming election, a ballot will be mailed by the Nominating Committee to each person who has been a member since Aug. 21, 2017. Article V, Section 9 stipulates that the ballots must be sent to voters within eight days of the September general meeting. That meeting was Sept. 21, so expect your ballot to arrive shortly thereafter. The envelope with the ballot (or ballots, in the cases of couples) will also include two other envelopes, one in which the ballot (or ballots) are inserted and a larger envelope, addressed to the ICC. Members are asked to follow the election procedures. Write-in candidates are not allowed. Vote for one candidate for each officer position and no more than four candidates for director-at-large positions. Insert your ballot (or ballots in the case of couples) in the smaller envelope and check the box showing whether that envelope contains one ballot or two. Then, insert this envelope into the large envelope, on which you provide the postage, and send it to the ICC. By following these procedures, you can assure the secrecy of your ballot(s). The mailing of the ballots is the last duty of the Nominating Committee. Only those ballots in the return envelopes that are postmarked on or before Thursday, Oct. 12 will be eligible to be counted. Ballots received with envelopes postmarked after Oct. 12 will be saved but not
PAGE 6 – OCTOBER 2017
counted. The timetable for returning ballots is spelled out in Article V, Section 9. Oct. 12 is a week before the ballots are tabulated and election results are announced. Section 10.a. of Article V states that the current ICC President must appoint tellers – a chairperson and members – who will meet prior to the October general meeting “to confirm the validity of all returned ballots.” Cannestra has appointed Joseph Zambito as the chairperson of the election tellers. Section 10.b. explains when the tellers will open and count the ballots. It states, “The tellers shall meet on the day of the October general membership meeting (which is Oct. 19 this year) and open all valid ballot envelopes received. The tellers shall tally all ballots and shall report the election results to the membership prior to the adjournment of the October general membership meeting.”
Seeking your vote As an informational service to the ICC membership, The Italian Times asked the director-at-large candidates to complete a questionnaire. After stating their name, occupation, title and employer, each candidate was asked to answer three questions. The first question asks about their ICC and/or Festa Italiana involvement during the last year. The second question asks about their other local community involvement. Both of these questions requested responses of 50 words or less. The final question asked the candidates to describe in 150 words or less what they are going to do to help the ICC if they are elected. The candidates’ responses are presented here in the same order as their names appear on the election ballot.
Candidate #1 1. Name: Raymond Martinez 2. Occupation: Retired. 3. Title: Industrial Engineer 4. Employer: Harnishfeger Corp. 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Festa, Volunteer Tent volunteer. • ICC Taste of Italy volunteer. • ICC Election Committee 2016. • ICC Student Culture Day volunteer. • Co-Chair, Thanksgiving Dinner for the needy. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? • Usher, St. Joseph Church,
Grafton. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? I will support the President and the entire Board. I will take part in issues that will benefit the entire membership. I will take in problem solving and be involved in the decision-making process that will make a favorable impact in the growth and future of the ICC.
Candidate #2 1. Name: Karen A. Dickinson 2. Occupation: Retired 3. Title: Sales Representative 4. Employer: Nordberg Mfg. Company 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa in the last year? • ICC Board of Directors. • ICC Membership Chair. • Co-Chair, Taste of Italy Raffle. • Chair, 4th annual Casino Night (originated, organized, secured monetary support/raffle prizes). ICC fundraiser, enjoyed and profitable. • Chair, 3rd annual Holiday Boutique (originated, organized, secured vendors, managed). ICC fundraiser, enjoyed and profitable. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? • Vice President, Board of Directors – Pompeii Women’s Club. • Board of Directors, Parliamentarian – South Shore Yacht Club. • Past State President, Educational Chair for Southeastern WI – P.E.O. Sisterhood (an international philanthropic educational organization for 6,000 Wisconsin women and 250,000 internationally). • Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee, Fund Development Director. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? I have been a member of the ICC for 11 years and have enjoyed being on the Board the past two years. I have attended 100% of the general membership meetings and board meetings this past year, as I continually try to be an integral part of the Center and work for its betterment. I have attended the majority of the Finance Committee meetings as Membership Chair the past five years. I’ve had the pleasure of serving on several committees. I will strive to make the Center enjoyable through providing opportunities for members to gather and a place where the Italian heritage will be preserved.
This coming year, I will promote a mass mailing in the Third Ward to attract the neighboring residents to join the ICC. My membership at the ICC is very important to me, and I enjoy the “family like” atmosphere.
Candidate #3 1. Name: Rose Anne Bertucci (Ceraso) Fritchie 2. Occupation: Human Resources 3. Title: Human Resources Manager 4. Employer: Everbrite, LLC – South Milwaukee Facility 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Member, Avanti Committee, hostess of Gallery Night and Day. • Coordinating and running the ICC Children’s Christmas Party and the Children’s Easter Party. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organization? • President, Milwaukee Chapter of UNICO National. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? After 12 years as Secretary of the ICC and managing golf carts at Festa, I took the last year off to recharge. Now it’s time to get back to the business of the ICC. I believe we need to keep the ICC moving forward while maintaining the vision of our founders, by getting back to the days when we were more of a Community Center and people worked together to preserve and present our Italian American history and culture. Planning and running the ICC and Festa needs to be transparent and collaborative; our members have a lot of good ideas which need to be heard. If you want to make changes, you need to step up and take ownership to make those changes happen. I believe in fairness and equality for all members. I have demonstrated service above self when supporting our ICC events. I will make a positive difference.
Rose Anne Ceraso Fritchie
Ray Martinez
Karen Dickinson
Candidate #4 1. Name: Mary Anne CerasoAlioto 2. Occupation: Business Sales 3. Title: Account Manager 4. Employer: Spectrum Enterprise 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Board of Directors, 2015-2017 Continued on page 7
THE ITALIAN TIMES
from page 6 • Festa Wine Booths Co-Manager • Culture Committee (culture booth volunteer, Holiday Folk Fair, volunteer for Festival di Danza e Cultura) • Fundraising Committee • Bocce League • Children’s La Befana Holiday and Children’s Easter parties • Representative on Fox6 for Taste of Italy • Sponsor, Hoop Dance Fitness Class 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? • Make-A-Wish Golf Outing Committee. (For 8 years-plus, I’ve worked with community leaders to plan and organize outing raising $100,000-plus.) • Lake Park Fourth of July Committee Fundraising Leader. (Plan and organize event attracting 2,000-plus participants. Oversee fundraising to supplement and support event. Support day’s operations, from set-up, ice cream distribution, games, contests and fireworks.) 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? My goal in pursuing election to the ICC Board of Directors continues to be a simple one. MEMBERS FIRST. Over the past two years, we have made many difficult decisions to change the path of the ICC enabling us to set forth and advance the culture and traditions of the Italian American in Milwaukee. I strongly believe that we must continue to be diligent, making sure that as an organization we maintain and follow our Bylaws. I feel strongly that we must continue to be engaged as representatives of the membership. I will pursue opportunities for members to celebrate and learn about our culture by working with the Culture Committee, bringing more events to the ICC for their members to participate in. My desire is still to ensure that future generations of Italians have the opportunity to know their rich background and have a chance to celebrate our traditions.
Mary Anne Ceraso-Alioto
Candidate #5 1. Name: Joseph O. Jannazzo, Jr. 2. Occupation: Agency Manager for COUNTRY Financial 3. Title: Agency Manager 4. Employer: COUNTRY Financial for over 19 years. 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • ICC Fundraising Committee (including new naming rights program for ICC rooms) and the ICC Bylaws Committee. • Festa beer tent volunteer. 6. Have you recently been active
in any other community organizations? • Ambassador, Waukesha County Business Alliance. • Advisory Board for Leadership Waukesha Program, Waukesha County Business Alliance. • Member, Order Sons of Italy in America/Filippo Mazzei Lodge. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? As your board member, my objective will be to modernize the ICC as an organization of the future, while protecting the great heritage and traditions of past. I would like to continue working with the Fundraising Committee to support programs at the ICC. I have experience working with Chambers of Commerce, community networking and grassroots marketing that I can use to help integrate new approaches for Italian Americans to connect here in Greater Milwaukee. By implementing these ideas, we can build on the forward thinking of the past few years and continue development of new partnerships moving forward. I am a third generation Italian American living in Waukesha. My wife, Jennifer, and I have four daughters, Gillian, Mia, Gianna and Isabel.
If elected to the Board, I’ll work to continue to improve communication and transparency to the membership. I’ll be open to listening to any new ideas members may have and presenting them for discussion. In regards to membership, I’d work to reintroduce the Italian Community Center to a missed generation by working to attract younger individuals and families to be involved. I’m proud of my Italian heritage. I’m willing to put in the work needed to continue our great traditions such as Festa Italiana and to be part of creating new traditions as we move forward.
Gina Jorgensen
Edward Ciano
Joe Jannazzo
Candidate #6 1. Name: Edward (Eddie) Ciano 2. Occupation: Milwaukee Police Officer 3. Title: Community Liaison Officer 4. Employer: City of Milwaukee 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Festa Drivers Manager. • 2016 Vice President of the Italian Conference Center Board. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? As MPD Liaison Officer, I work closely with organizations such as Safe & Sound, United Health Care, Sojourner Family Peace Center, Milwaukee Archdiocese, Dominican Center, Messmer Schools, The Light House, Halyard Park, RiverWorks BID, 30th Street Corridor, Historic King Drive BID #8 and Mentor – MPD Ambassador Program to solve community problems. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? It would be an honor to be elected to the Board of Directors. As a child, I grew up attending functions at the ICC on Hackett Ave., from UNICO Spaghetti Dinners to Friday Fish Fries. This Center has been an important part of my life for a long time and it means a lot to me.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
ganizations to enhance, embrace and celebrate our heritage. Although the financial stability of the ICC is vital to our future, we must also continue to create opportunities to celebrate our heritage or what is the reason for existing at all. Think about all the fond memories you have from growing up, that is what I pan to nurture.
Candidate #7 1. Name: Gina Marie Jorgensen 2. Occupation: Art Teacher 3. Title: Art Teacher/Specialist 4. Employer: Milwaukee Public Schools 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Italian Community Center members, 2006-present. • Chair/Member, Culture Committee, 2010-present. • Past President (2009-2011), Current Vice President (2011-present) and dance member, Tradizione Vivente, (2000-2017). • Festa Parade Manager, 20162017. • Built Floats for Festa Parade, 2012. • Archival Photo Committee, 2017. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? • Board Member (Milwaukee and ICC Representative) and Education Committee, WisItalia, 2011present. • CIOFF member, 2012-present. • Government County Member, Italian Immersion School, 20102016. • Holiday Folk Fair Chair, 2009present. • Italian Folk Art Federation of America member, 2000-present. • Costume Committee – Tradizione Vivente, Italian Dance Group. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? I strongly desire to bring my love and passion for the Italian culture to celebrate our heritage through language, art, music, food and other facets of our rich culture. Our Italian pride must live on through our youth so they one day continue to share our culture. I want to be part of sustaining this legacy. I will help create opportunities to grow our community through cultural engagement in and out of the community center. I desire to strengthen and/or build partnerships and friendships with local Italian or-
Candidate #8 1. Name: Ralph A. Busalacchi 2. Occupation: Quality Control, Printing Inks 3. Title: Production 4. Huber Group 5. How have you been involved in the ICC and/or Festa during the last year? • Festa Manager – Security, Wheelchairs and other. • ICC Taste of Italy Security. 6. Have you recently been active in any other local community organizations? • Order Sons of Italy in America/Filippo Mazzei Lodge. • Pompeii Men’s Club. • For the last seven years, my neighbor and I have an annual barbeque outing for the Hunger Task Force. 7. If you are elected to the ICC Board, please describe in 150 words or less, what you are going to do to help the organization? I will support in any way that I can to keep the ICC on the right track for growth. We need to maintain the same respect for our organization with newer ideas to raise money and awareness to the community. I will try to encourage more to join our organization, to maintain and improve.
Ralph Busalacchi
LET’S MAKE A DEAL! There are lots of ways you can save on advertising in The Italian Times. Get the details. Call (414) 233-2189 or send an email to Tom at themman@iccmilwaukee.com.
OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 7
Italian Community Center to host Holiday Boutique on Saturday, Nov. 25
from page 1 Festa Ballroom. Admission is $2 per person. “It has been a fantastic event the past two years, and we’re anticipating a greater response from our members and the general public this year,” said Karen Dickinson, who is chairing this fundraiser. The ICC Holiday Boutique boasts a number of artisan booths where shoppers will find a magnificent variety of goods – handcrafted goods, unique items and gifts that you won’t find in stores. For those with a sweet tooth, there will be homemade Italian cookies and gourmet chocolate goodies.
“We will offer package check, so you don’t need to carry your purchases while you continue shopping or having lunch,” Dickinson said. There will also be a silent auction, where you will win an artist’s donation if you are the highest bidder. List of artists Maria Berghauer – Fiber, silk, wearable art Bill Dickinson – Original acrylic paintings Karen Dickinson – Jewelry Trina Frost – Letter word art Peter Gustin – Rustic furnishings John and Trudie Heckel –
Functional woodcrafts
from page 2 and in honor of Festa Italiana, I choose to make the donation,” Amato said. “These were key books in my museum, for which I had duplicate copies. In my mind, it was only appropriate that I should donate them to the ICC for its library.” Amato added that the books, particularly those by Paolo Emilio Taviani and Douglas T. Peck, true scholars on Christopher Columbus and his voyages, are essential to any library which Italian history is treasured. The book and printed material donation includes: • The Voyages of Christopher Columbus: The Great Discovery, Instituto Geografico De Agostino, 2volume set. • Cristoforo Colombo: God;s Navigator, Douglas T. Peck, 2 copies.
• Cristoforo Colombo: Genius of the Sea, Paolo Emilio Taviani, 2 copies. • Christopher Columbus: General Reference Bibliography on Christopher Columbus Scholarship, L.F. Farina and P.E. Taviani, 4 copies. • Città di Genoa: Colombo, in both English and German. • Ponce De Leon and the Discovery of Florida, Douglas T. Peck. • Breve Storia della Resistenza Italiana, Paolo Emilio Taviani, 2 copies. • Christopher Columbus, Volumes I, II and III, Paolo Emilio Taviani. • Columbus and the Age of Discovery, Zvi Dor-Ner. • A Maconesi: Terra di Colombo, poems and commentary, 3 copies. • Columbus Museum program honoring Paolo Emilio Taviani, 1995, 3 copies.
Editor’s note: Taviani (19122001) was an Italian political leader, economist and historian of the career of Christopher Columbus. He was a partisan leader in Liguria, a member of the Italian Resistence, the Consulta National Assembly, which gathered to direct the transformation of the Italian monarchy into a Republic, the Constitutional Council, and the Italian Parliament from 1948 until his death. Several times, he held ministry positions in the Republic’s government. He was an author of studies on economics and important works on Columbus, university professor and journalist.
Jenni Hopfinger – Handpainted functional glass tableware Karen Kerans – Watercolors Bill Lang – Photography Judith Lesniewski – Handpainted ornaments Dawn McDermid – Quilted items Linda Mielke – Exquisite sweatshirts Evelyn Mubasa – Clothing Stephanie Olsen – Fiber/clothing Victoria Patterson – Original handcrafted candies Sarah Perlishek – Upcycled clothing
Alexandra Polletti – Soaps and lotions Annette Smiszek – Watercolors Lynn Sobye – Gourmet chocolates Mary Spencer – Stained glass Tradizione Vivente, the Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee – Italian cookies Barry Vandergriff – Wood turned pens Debbie Will – Wood signs and windows Jessica Zalewski – Pendants featuring photography Guests are encouraged to have lunch at Cafe La Scala, which is next to the Festa Ballroom.
Columbus book collection donated to ICC by Dan Amato, owner of Columbus (WI) Mall & Museum
Columbus Museum The Christopher Columbus Museum is a history museum that displays quality souvenir memorabilia pertaining to both the voyages and life of Christopher Columbus and celebrations of Columbus, particu-
larly Chicago’s 1893 World Columbian Exposition. Educational exhibits include: library, statues, lithographs, paper, glassware, china, porcelain, taperies, metals, silk ribbons, cloth, bronze and many types of souvenirs. The museum covers 300 feet of wall space, 80 cases with 2,000 items in 3,000 sq. ft. Many items are rare, one of a kind, a broad collection of diverse and unique items that bring to life the period from which Columbus burst forth. The collection honors the Columbus Quincentennial Celebration (14921992). The museum is open everyday, except Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a suggested $2 donation for individuals over 18. For more information, visit: www.columbusantiquemall/#expo or call 920-6231992.
Calendar of Events September 26 – October 25, 2017
Tuesday, Sept. 26 • Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO Board meeting, 6 p.m. • Live Music in the Courtyard with Leroy Airmaster with Lil’ Maddie (Blues), 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 27 • Pompeii Women’s Club general meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 28 • Final 2017 Live Music in the Courtyard concert with The Classics (Rock and Roll), 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2 • Student Culture Day, 9:30 a.m. Details in this issue.
Wednesday, Oct. 4 • Pompeii Women’s Club Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 9 • Italian Community Center Finance Committee, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 10 • Abruzzese Society meeting and spuntino, 2 p.m. • Milwaukee Chapter UNICO National meeting, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 12 • Italian Community Center Board meeting, 6:30 p.m. • Società Santa Rosalia general meeting, 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 • Abruzzese Society social, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 17 • Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO general meeting, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 18 • Filippo Mazzei Greater Milwaukee Lodge #2763/Order Sons of Italy in America general meeting, 6 p.m.
PAGE 8 – OCTOBER 2017
Thursday, Oct. 19 • Italian Community Center membership dinner, 5:30 p.m. Reservations necessary by Monday, Oct. 16. Call 414-223-2180. • Italian Community Center general meeting, 6:30 p.m. Election results announced. Details in this issue. Wednesday, Oct. 25 • Pompeii Women’s Club general meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Daily and weekly classes and activities • Bocce leagues. The fall season is underway with leagues on Monday and Wednesday nights and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The season will end with the champion playoffs on Monday, Nov. 13.
• ICC Italian classes. The fall semester of Italian I and Italian II classes are underway and will continue on Tuesday nights through Nov. 14.
• ICC free Children’s Italian class. The fall semester for children. ages 6-12, is underway and will continue on Saturday afternoons through Nov. 11. • I Bei Bambini, The Children’s Italian Dance Group. This children’s folk dance group practices weekly on most Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. at the ICC. New dancers are welcome. For details, visit: www.tradizionevivente.com. Breaks are taken during the holidays.
• Tradizione Vivente, The Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee. This folk dance group practices weekly on most Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. at the ICC. Visit: www.tradizionevivente.com for details. Breaks are taken during the holidays. Ballate con noi! Dance with us!
• Hula hoop dance fitness class. Every Tuesday night, 5:45 – 6:45 p.m. in the bocce court room. Everyone is welcome. Cost: $5 per member, $10 per non-member. No classes during the holidays.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
275 Italian heritage photos return to the walls at ICC, work continues on many others
by Thomas Hemman Times Editor If you have come to the Italian Community Center lately, it is likely you have seen the return to the corridor walls of some 275 of the organization’s Italian heritage photos. All of the photos were taken down during the extensive building remodeling that went on this summer. The work to organize an attractive display is being done by a volunteer committee, chaired by Christine Conley. Conley told The Italian Times that the Italian Heritage Photo Committee has been working many hours to catalogue, clean, recondition and initiate research on the hundreds of photos in the collection so that viewers not only look at the photos, but ascertain basic information such as the identity of people, the place where the picture was taken and what kind of event is shown in the photo. The majority of the photos that have been donated to the ICC by descendents of Milwaukee’s early Italian American families have little or no background information.
“People who look at our photos are curious,” said Conley. “They want to know the circumstances around our pictures. I found that out being the manager of the photo collection that we put up at Festa Italiana. One of my personal goals has been to start collecting the stories behind the photos. I have a list of people, excited to see a family photo exhibited at Festa, who want to share with us some information
about the event or the people in the photo.” Conley volunteered to take over stewardship of the photo collection shortly after the death of longtime ICC Historian Mario A. Carini on July 7, 2015. She had worked previously with Carini for many years on the Festa photo exhibit. She and Susie Christiansen have been in charge of Festa’s Italian Heritage Exhibit the past three years.
Project details Since assuming the project, Conley has put together a committee that has inventoried, catalogued and refurbished all of the photos, including repairs to and replacement of frames and hanging apparatus. The collection has been catalogued twice before but hasn’t been updated in 25 years. Conley and Christiansen have taken the time to digitalize the inventory so that they can easily see what the ICC has in its collection and what photos they might want to display. One of the immediate tasks of the committee is to determine if there might be a better system to display the photos. “We would like to have the flexibility of easily changing photos or to do a special exhibit on a particular theme,” she said. “We want to maintain the general appearance but research if there is a more suitable way to display, maintain and vary the presentation of the gallery photos. Space is also a concern. The additional framed photos and the mounted photos from Festa have exceeded our storage capacity. Our future plans include seeking addi-
Maya Hamdan (left) and Grace Natoli Sheldon put up both of the framed posters on the south wall of the west end of the building containing thumbnail prints of and information on themed photos hung in sections of those walls. The framed poster outside the entrance to Conference Room 1 contains thumbnail prints and basic information about the baby pictures, which can be seen immediately west of the poster. The second framed poster has thumbnail prints and basic information about the wedding photos hung on the far west end of the building.
tional photo donations, but we need to create criteria for the collection. We have started transferring photos to digital storage and may be able to accept photo donations in a digital format. We hope to have the process in place by the first of the year.”
In the meantime, the committee is doing research to get more information on the photos already in the collection. “The investigating to obtain the names of people, the places and the events will take time,” Conley said. Please turn to page 11
Committee members are like the people who view the photos that appear on the walls at the ICC. A particular photo can stir curiosity or a fond memory. That’s what seemed to be going on here as (l – r) Yvonne Zarcone, Sheeda D’Amato and Marian Yoder looked at this framed photo.
Sophia Michalovitz, Bil Dickinson, Rose Mary Jennaro and Yvonne Zarcone.at work.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
Bill Dickinson and Aggie Collura looked at one of the photos in the collection that drew their interest.
OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 9
Remembering Our Lady Pompeii of Church on the 50th anniversary of its demise
by Thomas Hemman Times Editor October 9, 1967 will always be remembered with great sadness in Milwaukee’s Italian American community. That was the day when demolition of their beloved Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church commenced. The “Little Pink Church,” as it was affectionately known, had been the heart of the city’s Italian American community for more than 60 years. Located at 419 N. Jackson St., the church was torn down to make way for an off-ramp to Interstate 794. The Milwaukee Journal, in a story it published on July 19, 1967, reported on the church’s swan song. Bearing the headline, The Last Days of Pompeii Church, the article stated: “It has had a slow death, but now the sentence is irrevocable. It was the first building selected as a landmark by the Milwaukee Landmark Commission. In the late1950s, when most of the old Third Ward was razed for urban renewal, the church was spared at the request of its parishioners.
“For several years it stood, its belfry like an old lighthouse, amid the rubble. Then, as new construction replaced the old, it remained, a shrine to the history of the area since 1892. That year a disastrous fire drove the Irish residents from the ward. Italians came in their place to live in the houses left standing and to build others. “The first citizens from Italy who moved into the ward had no church of their own; 10 years after the fire, they collected the money to build one. It was named for an Italian church built on the strange, lava covered land on the road to Pompeii.” The article also mentions that the final Mass would be conducted on July 31, 1967 and offers these comments on the interior of the church: “The ornately decorated interior reflects a rich past. Statues of St. Joseph, the Madonna and the Sacred Heart dominate the main altar. Carved moldings and winged angels’ heads add to the old world feeling. “A painting of St. Francis of Assisi was one of 16 murals installed
Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church in the mid 1950s. (Italian Community Center photo)
in the church in 1944. The murals, all copies of works of famous masters, were painted by a Chicago artist, John Cangelosi, who also painted the murals in St. Rita’s church on N. Cass St. “Attention to detail is evident in the church’s stained glass windows. Soon, the organ and church bell will be silent and the pigeons will no longer coo softly in the steeple. The Little Pink Church will be only a memory, replaced by a freeway ramp.”
Church history Mario A. Carini, the late ICC historian and author of Milwaukee’s Italians: The Early Years, reported that planning for the Pompeii Church began shortly after the first major influx of Italian emigrants to Milwaukee. “In the
early-1890s, Milwaukee’s Italian pioneers had no church of their own as did the more established ethnic groups of the city. No doubt frustrated in not being able to hear the word of God delivered in the melodic tongue of their native Italy, a handful of immigrants collected the necessary funds to open a mission on Clybourn St., which they dedicated to the Sacred Heart. But the mission soon proved too small to accommodate the ever-increasing flood of their fellow countrymen to the city. “A church, ethnically Italian in nature, was seen as the only solution to their problem. “A building committee, headed by Giovanni Battista Catalano, Antonio and Giovanni Busalacchi and Vito and Giovanni Battista
The demolition of the church was well underway when this photo from October of 1967 was taken. (Italian Community Center photo)
PAGE 10 – OCTOBER 2017
Guardalabene, was formed, and, by the winter of 1899, the necessary legal documents had been filed in Madison to incorporate the church. The mission’s name was officially changed to ‘The Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii.’ “By the fall of 1904, funds to defray the building costs were met. Construction of the church on Jackson Street, and a rectory for the newly arrived pastor, Rev. Domenico Leone, commenced. “Bound and determined to have the church completed as soon as possible, the men of the parish not only dug the foundation, but also helped in its construction. With much pride and joy, they dedicated their new church on May 14, 1905.” The late Theodore Mazza, a leader in Milwaukee’s Italian community and one of the founders of UNICO National, stated in an article he wrote for The Italian Times in the July 1979 issue, that the Pompeii Church was “a landmark of Milwaukee, now resting in the bosom of eternity. “At 419 N. Jackson Street, the passerby was invited to stop and admire a stately brick structure rising up to the skies. The church was built and first opened to the worship of God in 1905, as we could see on the cornerstone of the building. “The thousands of people who stopped to pray in the historic structure during its 62 years of existence may not have noticed the minute details of the church proper. But everyone knew then and still remember today that it was the ‘Pompeii Church.’ The name was brought to the four corners of the city by the thousands of American citizens of Italian origin who clustered and lived around the church like a big family united in a common bond of community, executed by customs, traditions, language and religion. “The outsiders used to call it ‘Little Italy,’ but to our people, the Pompeii Church was a ‘landmark’ that could not be forgotten no matter where one lived. “Here were treasured their fondest memories. Here they lived the first years of the great emigration decade. To them, the Pompeii Church and its surrounding neighborhood, in the near downtown section, was their Milwaukee at its best. It was their America, their promised land, their new ‘Home Sweet Home.’ “It’s a pleasure to go through the church registries beginning with 1905 and read the names of the families who baptized their children and married their young ones at the Pompeii Church. “There was adequate provision for the catechetical training of the children. It was taken care of, indeed, here and there, after a fashion; but more was needed, and more was wanted. This need was answered by the Carmelite Sisters who came to Milwaukee from Indiana a year or two after the completion of the church. After several years, they left Milwaukee. “In 1916, the Catholic Instruction League was started. This organization deserves great credit because it was an important factor in aiding the parishioners to get acquainted with their religion and the practice thereof. Eventually, Miss Stella Frye came into complete charge of the CIL. Through her efforts, her courage and perseverance, the league continued its religious activity in the parish until Continued on page 11
THE ITALIAN TIMES
How you can help the ICC’s Italian Heritage Photo Committee
from page 9 The Italian Times is attempting to help with the committee get the identifications for some of the photos. In this issue and upcoming issues, the Times will be presenting one or more photos for which the committee would like identification. We start with a photo of the Bedami, Serio and Maglio families from 1921. The information left behind with the donated photo just lists the last names. “We would like to know the first names and anything else about the photo,” Conley said. The committee has had an inquiry from someone looking for additional information for personal family history research, she added. If anyone can help identify the people in this photo, please email the information to chistineconley71@gmail.com or send the information to the ICC, c/o Christine Conley, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202.
October 9, 1967: a day of great sadness in Milwaukee’s Italian American community
from page 10 1937, when it was disbanded. “In July 1933, the Sisters of Charity of St. Giovanna Antida came to Milwaukee to take charge of the children’s instructions and other duties which relieved the pastor of many cares and permitted him to pursue his pastoral work with ease.”
St. Rita’s, an outgrowth of the Pompeii Church Mazza further wrote in the same article about the role the congregation of Pompeii had in establishing St. Rita Catholic Church (now known as St. Rita of Cascia and part of Three Holy Women Parish). Mazza stated, “A most important factor in the broadening and rejuvenation of the entire parish was the appointment of Rev. Fr. Ugo Cavicchi in July 1935. Due to his fine priestly spirit, his splendid ability and untiring energy, a new life became evident. “A glance (by Fr. Cavicchi) at the situation revealed the necessity of three objectives: a new school and church in the First Ward, the organization of a church, committee of laymen for purposes of moral and financial aid and the infusion of the spirit of self-reliance. He set about the task in a quiet way, gradually approaching his objective. In July 1936, he began the publication of the Vita Parocchiale, a monthly bulletin to stimulate the people and keep them informed about the affairs close to his heart. “In 1936, a group of 40 men was selected to assist the pastor in the material administration of the parish. Action followed. To this committee, Fr. Cavicchi broached the subject of a building. “A decision was reached to build a combination church and school building and the site for the proposed structure was acquired at Pleasant and Cass Sts. In March 1937, the pastor offered the first Mass in the basement of the new building. That fall, it was decided to go ahead with the building of the superstructure. “In the midst of this important
building program, Fr. Cavicchi was transferred to a larger parish in New York City. At his leaving the membership of the Pompeii parish and its mission was estimated to reach the number of 1,200 families. “Work on the superstructure was resumed in October 1938 and the mission church was solemnly dedicated by His Excellency, Archbishop Samuel A. Stritch, on June 11, 1939. Three years later, St. Rita’s became a parish.
“The Pompeii Church of the Sixties was not the Pompeii Church of its heyday (1914-1930). A wholesale change came over its neighborhood — the people were forced to move out of the parish. Redevelopment took its toll. It destroyed a well-knit community of people who knew each other for many years.
“Such mass moving became a real sadness and the Little Pink Church found itself deserted. It would have been nice if the powers in charge would have preserved the church, where so many of us received our early religious education and where we spent so many happy days,” Mazza concluded.
Thousands received the sacraments Carini, in his book, stated: “Altogether in the history of the church, from the turn of the century until it was razed in 1967, there were more than 15,000 baptisms, 9,000 first communions, 8,000 confirmations and 6,000 marriages. The recipients of these sacraments were predominantly Sicilians and other southern Italians. However, the church was also the spiritual home of a sizable number of compatriots from both central and northern regions of Italy, especially during the first two decades of the church‘s history.” Carini also wrote in his book, “In February 1967, the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii Church became Milwaukee’s first historical landmark. Eight months later, the church built by the loving hands of Milwaukee’s early Italians was bulldozed to make way for an
THE ITALIAN TIMES
expressway.” With its destruction, a very important chapter in the history of Milwaukee’s Italian American community ended. Today, on the same side of Jackson Street, a small memorial marker exists to remind people of the existence of the church and its proud congregation. How-
ever, for many, the Pompeii Church – its memories and its spirit – lives on forever in their hearts. It should be noted that the 40th Festa Italiana, organized by the Italian Community Center, paid tribute to the Pompeii Church in displays and the Mass and procession on July 23.
ICC Members: Planning to attend the dinner before the General Meeting on Thursday, October 19th?
If so, you are kindly asked to make a reservation on or before Monday,October 16th. Call 414-223-2180. Your reservation will help the culinary staff of Bartolotta Catering prepare sufficient food for the buffet.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Catering OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 11
The ugly, the bad and the good...of driving in Sicily
by Blaise Di Pronio In borrowing my headline from that great Spaghetti Western, I reversed the order of the adjectives to save the “good” parts for last in order to end this article on a positive note. I had occasion to be in Sicily this summer and these are some assorted piques and observations. The “ugly” of driving took place mostly in the Palermo area and its surrounding communities such as Sant’Elia, Porticello and Bagheria. What is ugly is the styles and methods of driving. The most obvious is the bumper car syndrome with a good measure of playing chicken thrown in. Driving in these areas is not for the fainthearted. It is cardiac inducing for the novices. You are always milliseconds and millimeters away from a collision. Legal full stops are non-existent. Rolling through signs is the norm. Last second maneuvers and stops are nerve-wracking. Brakes and clutches don’t last long. Add to this
Deadline for November 2017 issue
All advertising copy, news stories and photos for publication in the November 2017 issue of The Italian Times must be submitted to the editor no later than Tuesday, Oct. 10. All materials can be emailed to editor Tom Hemman at themman@iccmilwaukee.com or sent to The Italian Times, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. For further information, call 414-223-2189.
the narrow winding streets and alleys and dodging cars, humans and animals is a full time endeavor. Adding to the ugly chaos is the obscene amount of detritus (waste and garbage, folks) found everywhere you drive, in curbs, sidewalks and in front of buildings. Bursting plastic bags, filled diapers, assorted plastic bottles and lots of broken glass. I’ll forego the accompanying odors and nocturnal vermin. No one seems to care as the piles get bigger and not smaller. Call this the “everyone else is doing it” syndrome, so “why not me?” attitude. The “bad” aspects of driving include the occasional wave or pull over signal by the polizia usually for a document or insurance check with a seat belt violation included for your pleasure. If an officer waves a little round paddle at you, it’s not a friendly Italian greeting. It means pull over or get chased. What is also bad is taking a tollway and being given a timestamped receipt and then, when exiting the autostrada, finding out you’ll be a recipient of a speeding ticket since you made it to your exit
And now, a word from Italy
by Blaise Di Pronio Brief: Short in time, length or extent. It comes from the Italian abbreviare which means to shorten or make smaller and the Latin brevis or little/short. Root for ‘abbreviation’. Note: A legal brief is never brief.
Our apologies to Mussomeli family for mistake made in surviving relatives
In the obituary article appearing in our September 2017 issue for Sal Mussomeli, we made a mistake on the last name of one of surviving relatives. Sal was the brother of Josephine (late Vincent) Crivello, not Carini, as we reported.
Our apologies to the Mussomeli family. We also did not list that Sal was also the brother of the late Frances (the late Peter) Maniscalco, however, that wasn’t in any of the information available to us at the time the article was written.
The officers and directors of the Italian Community Center wish to thank and acknowledge all those who pledged, fulfilled a pledge, or made a contribution to the nonprofit organization. To obtain information on how to make a pledge or a donation, please call 414-223-2808. The following donations were received between August 10 and September 8, 2017.
In memory of Rosalia “Rosa” Alioto Jimmy and Linda Spataro
too soon which means you must have been speeding along the way. (See the “good” below on how to avoid this dilemma). Another bad is the Palermo freeway’s median strip which contains many overgrown bushes, flowers and plants that hang over and jut out over the left lane creating a hazard if you can’t veer into an occupied right lane in order to avoid them. So, in light of the above gripes, what is possibly “good” about driving in Sicily (and Italy as a whole)? How about silky smooth freeways and major roads missing our cracks, potholes and teeth rattling asphalt/cement bulges. Also, an apparent lack of road rage possibly because everyone is stuck with the same issues mentioned. And then, there is the beauty and ease of correctly using the left/passing lane. You want to pass? Get in the lane and blink your lights at anyone in front of you, and they immediately move over. No slowing down out of
Yes, driving in Sicily and Italy can be at your own risk and unpleasant but, it can also be exhilarating with the right road, right car, right scenery and the right Auto stop.
Forty-two percent of Italian people aged 6 and over (24 million est.) have read at least one book in the last 12 months for purposes other than school or work, a recent survey reports The figure is stable as compared to 2014, after the decline started in 2011. Some 9.1% of the Italian households do not own any books, 64.4% own 100 books at most. Women show a higher familiarity with books: 48.6% of women are estimated to be book readers, as op-
posed to 35% of men. Book readers’ share is over 50% among those aged 11 to 19. It shows a decrease in later age groups. The age group that read the most is 15-17 year olds. School isn’t the only reason. Family is a key factor: 66.8% of youngsters aged 6 to 14 with both parents who read books are book readers too, vs. only 30.9% of those whose parents do not read books. Book reading remains much less frequent in the south of Italy, Continued on page 13
spite or rage, no finger signs or profanities. But be prepared to be so signaled and shoved over by someone behind you in a faster car, but then you might enjoy the good experience of having a Lamborghini or a Ferrari roar past you at the speed of sound. I must admit, in and of itself, a guilty pleasure of mine. Zoom!
How about that speeding ticket awaiting you for making believe you were driving an Alfa 4C instead of your little Fiat Punto and getting to your exit too soon? Well, what is “good” is being able to pull over at one of many Autostops which are fully stocked with food, cocktails, espresso and aperitifs and wait out those pesky speed timing problems in leisure until it’s safe to exit..
Book reading in Italy
Word Search: Milwaukee’s Italian neighborhoods by Blaise Di Pronio
Thanks for your donations to the ICC
In memory of Peter Frank Sorce Peter T. and Kathy M. Sorce Christina Sorce
In memory of Salvatore A. Mussomeli Julianne Ardellini
PAGE 12 – OCTOBER 2017
In memory of John L. Sanfilippo Salvatore and Donna Agnello
In memory of Fred Boggio Jimmy and Linda Spataro George and Judy Menos Pompeii Men’s Club Gino A. Dentice In memory of Margaret Balistreri George and Gina Manning
In memory of Phil (Philip) Polizzi Anthony T. Machi
In memory of Thomas Lorino Joseph and Virginia Besasie
Find Word Search answers on page 14
THE ITALIAN TIMES
Pensions for Italians living abroad under assault
by Italian Senator Ron Turano For several weeks now, Italy’s Parliament has been debating about retirees living abroad and their pensions.
Tito Boeri — the president of INPS, the Italian equivalent of Social Security — has decried what he sees as an anomaly: the payment of certain “assisted” services abroad. According to Boeri, the INPS should only pay out to those residing in Italy. Boeri underlined the fact that INPS pays 1 billion euro in pensions to retirees living abroad, contending that they have contributed few taxes to the Italian state. The system is not balanced, said Boeri, and amounts to more spending than the country can sustain. Furthermore, he argues, these expenses do not translate into more wealth in Italy, as most spending is done abroad. In other words, Boeri believes pensions sent abroad are a waste of money.
Boeri doesn’t stop there. Reminding everyone of a new law that introduced a mandatory bonus payment to retirees and public sector employees, Boeri pointed to a 131% increase in the number of beneficiaries. The news spread fast in Italian media, and in some places was given front-page coverage with titles such as “Privileged Italian pensioners living abroad.”
For a long time now, I have been trumpeting the ridiculously small impact that pensions sent abroad have on the national budget. I would also like to remind President Boeri of all the remittances and investments made by our compatriots living abroad.
necessary to gain access to a pension, both countries still recognize the contributions made, applying them to any hospital bills. All those who have the right to a pension from Italy must present a formal request through a local Pa-
tronato. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of Patronati and their service to the communities of Italians living abroad. In closing, I’d also like to make a distinction between older-generation immigrant retirees and newer immi-
grants who might be leaving Italy for taxation purposes. We shouldn’t confuse the two categories so as to not offend the millions of Italians living abroad who contributed to a positive commercial balance for Italy thanks to their remittances.
where fewer than one out of three people (28.8%) has read at least one book in the last year. In Sicily and Sardinia, readers come to 33.1%, an increase from 31.1% as recorded in the previous year. In metropolitan centers, the estimated percentage of book readers is 51% compared to 38.1% in areas with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. “Strong” readers, i.e. people who read on average at least one book per month, are 13.7%, the survey reports. (They were 14.3% in 2014.) Data confirms that nearly one reader out of two (45.5%) is a “weak” one, having read no more than three books in one year. Those who read or downloaded books or ebooks in the last three months are
from page 12 estimated to be 4.5 million: 8.2% of the total population while 14.1% of those surfed the internet in the last three months. Book reading and cultural participation go hand-inhand among book readers. Shares of those who practice other cultural activities and sports and surf the web are regularly higher than those of non-readers. Book readers also showed higher levels of satisfaction for their leisure time participation (71% vs. 64% of non-readers) and their economic situation (56% vs. 42%). Between 2011 and 2012, 37.8% of the foreign citizens living in Italy reported they read at least one book, an indicator of a lower familiarity with reading as compared to
Italians (52%). Nearly half of the foreign respondents read at least one newspaper per week (48.6%) and 29.5% weekly or periodic magazines. In 2014, Italian households spent 3,339 million euros for books and 5,278 for newspapers, printed matter and stationery, ranging from 11 to 18 euros per month or 0.4% and 0.6% of their total expenditure for final consumption. Between 2010 and 2014, household expenditure for books, newspapers and magazines decreased by 18%, that for stationery by 31%. That reduction is much higher than the one recorded by the expenditure for goods and services as a whole (6%). – Source: www.istat.it
Book reading in Italy
ICC Membership Dues – 2017 Benefits of Italian Community Center Membership
There are certainly a few areas in which we can improve. For example, we must come up with a better system to keep track of retirees’ deaths. Social contracts and bilateral agreements also need to be fine tuned, as does the lag in activating a new pension after it is requested. Boeri’s words only risk creating confusion without solving anything. Italians living abroad receive pensions from Italy because they paid taxes to the Italian government during their working years. These pensions often add up to a handful of euro, and many retirees still pay taxes in Italy where requested.
Without forgetting the tremendous contributions of our compatriots in promoting “Made in Italy” across the world and boosting Italian exports, I do agree with President Boeri that we need to clarify some aspects of our pension system. But we have to be careful not to muddy the water just for some media attention while offending entire communities in the process. I’d like to remind everyone that the pension relationship between Italy and the United States is based on bilateral agreements of social security. This agreement between the two countries has been in place since Jan. 1, 1986, and is applicable to all workers and their families. In order to access the pension system in Italy, one needs to pay taxes for at least 52 weeks of employment, while that number goes up to 78 weeks for those wanting to access the U.S. pension system. When it comes to health insurance, which is included in every Italian’s tax payments, the payments made to the U.S. system (Medicare, Medicaid) can be translated into payments for the Italian health insurance program. Even when a worker has totaled less than the 52 or 78 weeks
THE ITALIAN TIMES
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OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 13
by Blaise Di Pronio Many a race has been won by one. Jimmy Durante built and made a career singing praises to his. Cyrano’s love life suffered because of his huge and noble example. Some famous singers attribute great voices to theirs. Others go to “great lengths” in reshaping the one they were born with. It is known by many names (snout, schnoz, sniffer, snoot, proboscis, etc.) but let’s just call it what it is: the nose, as a nose by any other name would not smell the same, right? As our kind readers should know by now, this writer is forever extolling all things uniquely Italian but now even anatomical features? Well, yes. Of the many prominent protrusions throughout history, none is more famous than the so-called “Roman” nose. What exactly makes this most common of human appendages evolve into one of strictly Roman variety? A Roman nose “sticks out” among others with its length and a high and arched bridge resulting in an appearance of being slightly bent. Its examples are most evident in the plethora of Roman statuary and paintings. Since such Roman art was usually of those in power or of social prominence, their uniquely
And now, a word from Italy
by Blaise Di Pronio Accident: An unexpected and undesirable event. It comes from the Italian cadere or to fall and accadere or occur. Thus, the occurrence of a fall is an accident.
Smell like an eagle shaped noses became associated with symbols of power, authority, nobility and courage. The Roman nose is also referred to as being aquiline (from the Italian aquila or eagle) or eagle-like as it looks somewhat like the curved beak of an eagle, itself, a symbol of power, strength and resolve. An eagle makes its own path. It leads and does not follow. Some may think that a Roman nose is unattractive. This belief might give credence as to why those with aquiline noses “tend” to develop outstanding characteristics and forceful personalities in order to make up for and compensate for the erroneously perceived lack of beauty. Thus, making that Roman nose look good on you after all. It is, in fact, a marker of classical beauty and nobility and so, it should be worn and borne well by those possessing one.. There are many examples of famous Roman nose bearers. From the Caesars to Renaissance Masters and on to Abraham Lincoln and, more recently, Josef Stalin and Margaret Thatcher. You do begin to note a connection and common denominator between noses and personalities. Do you not? So, those of you lucky enough to have an eagle’s nose: embrace it, show it proudly and flaunt it at every opportunity! I know I do.
Nov. 1 and 2 are special religious days in Italy
November 1 has long been a standing holiday on the Italian calendar for the observance of All Saints Day (“Tutti i Santi Ognissnati”). It is a national holiday. Some towns across Italy have public celebrations, but, in most places, the day is designed for fam-
Luigi del Bianco officially recognized as chief carver on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial
On Saturday Sept. 16, the National Park Service dedicated a long overdue plaque to Luigi Del Bianco, chief carver on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The plaque was designed by sculptor Michael Keropian. An unveiling ceremony was held at the iconic memorial. “CBS Sunday Morning” carried a special segment on the ceremony on Sept. 17. Del Bianco, an Italian immigrant and classically trained stone carver, was hired by designer Gutzon Borglum to be his only chief carver in 1933. Borglum charged Luigi with carving the “refinement of expression” in the faces of the four presidents. “He will have complete charge of the practical ways and means of dealing with the finesse of carving and instructing the other carvers,” Gutzon Borglum, sculptor/designer stated in a report that was uncovered. When the “Carving of Mount Rushmore”, by Rex Alan Smith, was published in 1985, Luigi’s son, Caesar, was shocked to find that his father wasn’t mentioned once. Luigi’s grandson, Lou, discovered on a trip to Mount Rushmore that his grandfather was just a name on a giant plaque listing all 400 “workers” equally, regardless of their role and contribution. Years of research by Caesar and Lou at
PAGE 14 – OCTOBER 2017
the Library of Congress unearthed a treasure trove of primary source documents proving once and for all Luigi’s vital and singular importance to the work. The National Park Service has traditionally credited all the workers on the memorial as one team and has recently weighed the appropriate way to share Del Bianco’s story in light of the historical evidence. To make a final determination on appropriate recognition, the National Park Service sent historians Bob Sutton and Tim Good to Port Chester, N.Y. in October 2015 to review the 75 documents stored by Lou Del Bianco. They were impressed by the evidence and ultimately recommended that a plaque be installed at the memorial to recognize the gifted immigrant artisan, who, in his last interview, said that being Mount Rushmore’s chief carver “was a great privilege granted me.” Lou has written a book about his grandfather entitled, “Out of Rushmore’s Shadow: The Luigi Del Bianco Story”. The book details Luigi’s immigrant experience, his adventure at Rushmore and the 25year struggle his family took on to get him the recognition he deserved. It has been published by Niche Content Press and is now available.
ilies. All Souls Day, which is not a national holiday, is observed on Nov. 2. Italians bring flowers to cemeteries to honor deceased relatives.
Words in an Italian name
by Blaise Di Pronio How many words can you make with the letters in “Napoli” (Naples)? Answers on page 19
Word Search:
Milwaukee’s Italian neighborhoods (resolved) from page 12
THE ITALIAN TIMES
by Barbara Collignon Italian operas will dominate the Metropolitan Opera schedule in 2018. While Bellini’s Norma is presented early in October, Puccini’s Tosca will be the featured opera in January and Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore in February. In March, two Italian operas will be performed: Rossini’s Semiramide and Mozart’s Cosi fan tutti. Luisa Miller by Verdi will be performed in April. They can be enjoyed in HD at the North Shore Theatre in Mequon. Milwaukee’s own Florentine Opera will feature operas in German and English but none in Italian for the 2017-2018 season. Verdi’s Rigoletto is being performed by the Chicago Lyric Opera in October through Nov. 3. Inspired by a play by Victor Hugo, Le Roi s’amuse, Verdi had to make drastic
Opera insights
changes in the story in order to make it acceptable to the censors. Once the revised story line and title were agreed upon, Verdi wrote the music in just 40 days! (Rossini perhaps set the record at writing The Barber in 13 days.) The censors called Hugo’s play scandalous, “a repugnant example of immortality and obscene triviality,” so Verdi moved the action from the court in France to Mantua, an Italian dukedom no longer in existence; the king is reduced to a mere duke and a bedroom scene was deleted. A new title was chosen. When the opera premiered in 1851, it was a great success and it remains a 21st century staple of operatic repertoire and ranks #9 on the opera base list. Hugo himself was not fond of Verdi and when Rigoletto was per-
Request from ICC for cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses
By Susie Christiansen Social networking websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as e-mail and cell phone texting, are currently the most common methods of communicating for people. Using those avenues, we want to develop a way to reach out to our membership to inform you about upcoming events organized by the Italian Community Center, such as Il Grande Carnevale, A Taste of Italy and Festa Italiana. We can even email you a copy of The Italian Times. When the ICC hosts wine tastings, musical events and cooking classes, it would be helpful to everyone involved to be able to send an e-mail blast or a cell phone text blast to ICC members and as many non-members as possible. Right now, committee chairs and event planners here don’t always know what advertising options are available to them and how to reach out to you. Without spending a ton of money, we just aren’t sure how to let the people out there know about upcoming events at the ICC. ICC members can be placed on
an e-mail list and a cell phone list when they sign up for or renew their membership. Our application includes a place for your email address and cell phone number. Our membership contact list is extremely private, and we will continue to keep it that way. We do not distribute our address, phone or e-mail lists to anyone. Rest assured your contact information will be retained by the ICC and only the ICC, and you will only be sent messages on a limited basis. We simply want to inform you. We want to tell you about the fantastic events, activities and ethnic experiences that the Italian Community Center has to offer. These are the other options available for submitting your cell phone number and e-mail address: 1. Our website: www.iccmilwaukee.com – use the Contact Us Form (the last tab on the site). 2. By e-mail: susie@iccmilwaukee.com. 3. Call Constance Palmer at the ICC – 414-223-2808.
Members: Please notify ICC of a change of address; noncompliance is costly for organization
Any member of the Italian Community Center who has a change of address is asked to notify the ICC promptly so that mailings from the Center are sent to the correct address. Since the ICC uses nonprofit bulk rates to mail The Italian Times, the United States Postal Service is entitled to charge a fee, starting at 59¢, for each newspaper that is returned to the ICC and deemed undeliverable due to an incorrect address. Even if you are temporarily away from your permanent residence and are not receiving mail at that address, you need to notify the ICC of your temporary address so that your newspaper can be delivered to that address and so that the ICC is not charged 57¢ for each failed attempt to deliver the publication to your permanent resi-
dence. “We’ve had a number of members who have gone to Florida or another warm weather location for the winter and these people did not supply us with their temporary change of address; hence their newspaper was returned to the ICC with the service fee due for each newspaper,” Editor Tom Hemman said. Nonprofit bulk rate mail is not forwarded to a new address, which means those members who neglect to inform the ICC of their change of address will not receive the newspaper. Please send change of address information to: Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916 or email Constance Palmer at cpalmer@iccmilwaukee.com or call her at 414223-2808.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
formed in Paris, he attended only after being persuaded by his friends to do so. Then he was full of praise and, especially moved by the quartet, he exclaimed: “If only I could make four characters in my plays speak at the same time, I would obtain the very same effect.” Rather unlikely, four voices speaking all at once in a play cannot be as effective or as magical as four voices raised in music composed by a genius like Verdi. The melodrama deals with deformity, immorality, assassination and an ominous curse…. truly the stuff of opera. Only Verdi could move us with a singing hunchback, a deformed court jester who mercilessly humiliated people in the court. Unfortunately, Rigoletto himself is humiliated and devastated by a vengeful plot that deprives him of his most precious possession, his beloved daughter Gilda. Only Verdi could move us by presenting him as repulsive as he is physically while as a loving father whose daughter means everything to him. Verdi’s music reveals the opera’s basic theme…the love of a father for his daughter. Opera devotees are well familiar with arias sung by the Duke, Gilda and Rigoletto. The Duke sings “Questa e quella,” boasting that all women fall for him but he’ll never give his love to any one in return. Constancy is a bore and fidelity a tyranny. He’ll risk getting caught if the girl is pretty enough. Immoral as he is, Verdi’s music renders him
likeable and seduces his audience with his music. It is also the Duke who sings another of our favorites: La donna è mobile. Who is not charmed by Gilda, poor, innocent Gilda who has fallen in love with the rakish duke? They have been flirting in church. He disguised himself as Gualtier Maldè, a poor student and followed her home from church, the only place Gilda has been permitted to be outside her home. With the support of Giovanna, Gilda’s worldly maid, the two meet. The duke tells her that if she would give herself to him, every man would envy him. Once he leaves, Gilda sings the very beautiful aria “Caro nome,” musing on how the mere sound of his name awakens delight and desire.
The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans will sponsor Chicago’s 65th anniversary Columbus Day Parade on Monday, Oct. 9. The parade will step-off at 12:30 p.m. and follow the usual route along State Street, from Wacker Drive to Van Buren Street. It is expected that the parade will have more than 150 units, including numerous bands and float. For nearly half a century, the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans has sponsors the Windy City’s Columbus Day celebration. Festivities begin with a 9 a.m. mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii and a wreath laying ceremony at the Columbus statue, located in Arrigo Park, followed by the parade. Many prominent Italian Americans have served as the parade’s honorary Grand Marshal, including the late Ernest Borgnine and former Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy LaSorda. This year, Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti, will be in the role. Valentinetti, who took sea-
son 11 of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” by storm, is known for his renditions of the great Italian crooners Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He appeared at Milwaukee’s Festa Italiana this past summer. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans serves as a congress for the local Italian American organizations.
Caro nome che il mio cor Festi primo palpitar, Le delizie dell’amor Mi dei sempre rammentar! Col pensier il io desir A te sempre volerà, E fin l’ultimo sospir, Caro nome, tuo sarà.
The plot, as they say, thickens. Rigoletto, seeking revenge, becomes the victim of a malicious plot of counter-vengeance. In an attempt to save the life of her lover, Gilda, disguised in male attire, is stabbed and her body delivered to Rigoletto. He expects to find therein the corpse of the Duke but is shocked to find the dying Gilda inside. The curse is fulfilled.
Chicago’s Columbus Day parade set for Monday, Oct. 9
Sal Valentinetti
OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 15
Barcolana regatta in Gulf of Trieste, Italy is one of the world’s largest sailing races
First held in 1969, the Barcolana, held in the Gulf of Trieste, Italy, is the biggest regatta in the Mediterranean and one of the largest sailing races in the world with more than 2,000 participants. The 49th annual Barcolana Regatta will take place on Sunday, Oct. 8. All manner of boats race, and there are illuminated night races. Named after the village of Barcola, the regatta turns Trieste into the unofficial sailing capital of Europe for nine days. The start line is traditionally underneath the Victory Lighthouse, built in 1927 to light the gulf and serve as a monument to those killed in World War I. Everyone from brave amateurs all the way up to world-class helmsmen can take part in the race that is held annually on the second Sunday in October. Offering some activities for everyone, the event includes a “King of the Wind” event, in which people with disabilities race in specially adapted boats. Besides racing, visitors can enjoy regional cuisine and wine, plenty of live music and prelimi-
nary yachting events starting September 29.
While this might not be the “heyday” for players of Italian descent in the National Football League, a review of NFL rosters shows that there are still several of them and some who are very familiar to fans. Among the most familiar are Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, Danny Amendola, wide receiver for the New England Patriots, record-setting kicker Adam Vinatieri of the Indianapolis Colts and Jimmy Garoppolo, who drew a lot of attention last season when he was named the starting quarterback for New England due to Tom Brady’s suspension. (Garoppolo was intended to be the starter through the Patriots’ first four games of the season while Brady served his suspension, but he was injured in the second game.)
Frank Zombo, linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs (former Green Bay Packer); Joe Bitonio, guard, Cleveland Browns; Bruno Giacomini, tackle, Houston Texans (also a former Packer); Anthony Castonza, tackle, Indianapolis Colts; Andrew DePaola, long snapper, Chicago Bears; Mike Iupati, guard, Arizona Cardinals; and Josh Mauro, defensive end, Arizona Cardinals. There are two NFL owners with Italian ancestry: Steve Bisciotti, owner of the Baltimore Colts, and Denise DeBartolo York, majority owner of the San Francisco 49ers. Bisciotti became part owner of the Colts in 2001. Three years later, he bought the team entirely from Art Modell. Bisciotti grew up in a working class neighborhood of suburban Baltimore. He founded a family of technical staffing companies known as Allegis Group, which owns Maxim Healthcare, Aerotek and TEKsystems. DeBartolo York is the daughter of construction magnate Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. and the late Marie Montani DeBartolo. She replaced her father as owner and president of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League during the 1990-91 season, when the team won the NHL Championship Stanley Cup. A year later, she sold the Penguins to assist the DeBartolo Corporation. In 2000, DeBartolo York and her husband, John York, gained control of the 49ers and other sporting assets from her brother, Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr. Denise’s son, Jed, is now the chief executive officer of the 49ers.
For the past seven years, the championship has been won by Es-
imit Europa 2, an entry from the Yacht Club of Monaco.
Players and owners Besides Milwaukee, of Italian descent where did Italian in the NFL now immigrants settle in Wisconsin?
Joseph Vincent Flacco’s Italian ancestry comes from his father’s side. His paternal grandfather Giuseppe Flacco, immigrated from Isola del Sasso (Abruzzo), Italy to the United States. Amendola is half Italian and half-Irish. The Italian comes from his father’s side. Both of his parents are from Boston, Mass. Vinatieri, who is among the top place kickers in NFL history, also traces his Italian from his father’s side. His great-great-great grandfather, Felice, came from Turin (Piedmont), Italy. An interesting fact, Felice was the bandmaster for the infamous General George Custer, but not at “Custer’s last stand.” Felice served as bandmaster when Custer was a lieutenant colonel. Garoppolo comes from “a tight knit, big Italian family” and is the third of four sons born to Denise and Tony Garoppolo from Arlington Heights, Ill. Among the other NFL players of Italian descent who made the 2017 team rosters are: Anthony Fasano, tight end, Miami Dolphins; Richie Incognito, guard, Buffalo Bills;
PAGE 16 – OCTOBER 2017
By Thomas Hemman Times Editor While the city of Milwaukee experienced the largest influx of Italian immigrants to Wisconsin in the late 1800s and early 1900s, several other cities in the state during the same period saw their populations increased by those who departed from Italy for a new life in America. Like other ethnic groups, most Italians left their homeland for Wisconsin due to poor agricultural conditions in their country. The earliest Italian immigrants took jobs in foundries, tanneries and coal yards. Most of the Italian immigration to Wisconsin was indirect; the majority lived in Chicago before migrating to Wisconsin. Kenosha, Racine and Madison’s Greenbush neighborhood became the home to a sizable number of immigrant Italians in the early 1900s. Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine offered industrial job opportunities. Madison’s Greenbush neighborhood began as a settlement of Italian stonecutters who worked on the State Capitol and the State Historical Society Building. One group from the Piedmont region of Italy settled in Genoa (southwestern Wisconsin) and helped to construct buildings representative of those in Genoa, Italy. Other areas where Italians settled in Wisconsin were Campbellsport, Fond du Lac and Plymouth and Marinette County. These places were becoming important
And now, a word from Italy
by Blaise Di Pronio Newspaper Committee Chair Accomplice: An associate in the commission of an act, usually a wrongdoing.
It comes from the Italian complice or an associate or confederate as well as the Latin complicare, which means to fold or weave together.
cheese manufacturing centers and the immigrants helped to make Italian cheeses that became popular across the United States.
It was reported in a Milwaukee newspaper in January 1924, “the largest pastoral colony of Italians in America, is located adjacent to the little city of Cumberland.” Cumberland is in Barron County in northwestern Wisconsin.
The story, appearing in the Milwaukee Sentinel, goes on to state: “In this colony, there are about 160 families, numbering about 2,000 people, living on farms, and all in close proximity and on the very edge of the city of Cumberland. Most of those people are from a province in Italy about 80 miles east of Rome, where farming is the chief occupation, and it is carried on in a most intensive manner. A few are from southern Italy, one from Naples and one from Sicily.
“It is interesting, too, to know how so many of these people came to choose this place as their home and what first induced them to come here. James McNaughton, who had charge of the railroad construction work, was confronted with a strike, so he journeyed to St. Paul and returned with a crew of Italian laborers. Among the crew were several who had been brought up on farms in Italy and they were attracted to the fine stretch of land just south of town and began to summon their friends from the far off country to join them.” Among the first Italian families to farm in the Cumberland area were those of George Alfonse, Nick Campione and James St. Angelo. By 1920, there were more than 11,000 Italians living in Wisconsin, with about 75% of them residing in Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha, Rock and Dane counties.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
The Italian Times welcomes your input
The Italian Times is extending an invitation to our readers to submit articles and/or suggestions for news stories for future publication in our printed and online edition. The Newspaper Committee and Editor Tom Hemman have developed a series of guidelines to revamp the publication’s editorial presentation with a concerted effort being made to make it more current, relevant and reader friendly. We welcome interested individuals to submit articles and/or suggestions for news stories to Editor Tom Hemman at themman@iccmilwaukee.com You may also contact Newspaper Committee Chair Blaise DiPronio at 262-376-0019 or email him at bdipronio@wi.rr.com. Articles can be submitted in English or Italian. The following criteria has been established for news articles:
1). Must be relevant, newsworthy, pertaining to and of interest to the Italian American community. 2). Can be current, developing, historical or anecdotal. 3). Must be of original content and authorship. 4). If not original, copyright and authorship permission must be granted in writing and proper credit must be given. 5). Cannot be of a political nature or content. 6). Cannot jeopardize the Italian Community Center’s bulk mail status. Guidelines are established in United States Postal Service Publication 417. 7). Cannot promote products or services better suited to paid advertising. 8). Must be limited to 300 words or less. Any article exceeding the 300-word limit will be rejected un-
Truffles are a top Italian fall culinary item and are celebrated with truffle fairs and festivals in central and northern Italy. Going to a truffle fair is a must for foodies visiting Italy.
Notable truffle fairs One of the best and most popularly known truffle fairs is the one in Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy, the 87th annual “Fiera del Tartufo Bianco,” which runs on weekends from Oct. 7 – Nov. 26 this year.
less the writer is granted a pre-determined waiver based on merit. A writer can appeal the word limit to the editor and the Newspaper Committee. The final decision is that of the editor and the committee. 8). Must be electronically submitted (i.e., email) as a Word document to themman@iccmilwaukee. com. 9). Articles submitted in Italian should also include an accurate paraphrased English translation. 10). Every submission is subject to editorial review, editing, deadline restrictions and space availability in the newspaper. 11). We reserve the right to reject an article for publication in the newspaper and on the ICC website. Here, we are giving you a partial list of potential subjects for articles. 1). Tutorials on how to play bocce, scopa, briscola and tombola
and their rules and regulations. 2). Recipe box with recipes from Italy, hand-me-downs, member specialties, local Italian restaurants and bakeries. 3). Reviews of Italian connected movies, music, books, art, displays, exhibitions and so on. 4). Sports clubs’ news for soccer, bicycling, skiing, etc. 5). Auto and motorcycle club news featuring Italian vehicles. 6). Italian clubs in the many schools teaching Italian, reporting their activities and fun things. 7). Awards, promotions and accolades given to members. 8). Upcoming events, entertainment, dinners, dances and other activities. 9). Profiles on donors, members and volunteers. 10). Births, weddings, graduations and obituaries.
Truffle festivals of Italy
Truffles are found primarily in the regions of Piedmont, Molise, Tuscany, Umbria, Emilia-Romagna and Le Marche. During October and November, there are many white truffle fairs held in these regions and fall culinary dishes made with tartufo bianco (white truffle).
Going to a truffle festival is worthwhile because scent of fresh truffles fills the air and there are locally made truffle dishes to try (usually for much less than you would pay in a restaurant). They often feature great regional entertainment and concession stands that sell local foods such as cheese, salami, honey and regional wine.
What is a truffle? A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean Ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus Tuber. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi and are usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. Some of the truffle species are highly prizes as food. Edible truffles are held in high esteem in Italian, French, Croatian, Georgian, Bulgarian, Greek, Middle Eastern and Spanish cuisine as well as international haute cuisine.
Chefs and food experts come from afar for the festival, where the world’s largest truffle auction and market takes place. The auction is private, but the white truffle market in Alba is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Besides the truffle market and fair, there is lots of entertainment. Events start with a night of concerts and gastronomic stands and end with the truffle world auction and a white truffle walk for tourists. Children and adults alike might enjoy the annual donkey race.
Another truffle fair in Piedmont is in Monferrato. This white truffle festival is held on the last two weekends of October.
San Miniato Truffle Fair, La Tartufo Bianco (Tuscany region) is held in the medival hill town on the second, third and fourth weekends in November. It is estimated that 25% of Italy’s white truffles are produced in the areas in and around San Miniato. November is the heart of the truffle gathering season.
There are food and craft stands. Entertainment and restaurants feature reasonably priced truffle
World Pasta Day celebrated Oct. 25
World Pasta Day is celebrated on Oct. 25 every year. The chief purpose is to encourage an appreciation for the nutritional and culinary advantages of pasta. Eating Italian food, featuring homegrown pasta, is one of the pleasures of traveling in Italy. Pasta is the well-recognized part of the Italian diet. The Italian people eat more pasta than any other ethnic group in the world. Italy also makes nearly one-third of the pasta that is consumed globally. It has been reported that pasta utensils have been found in the early Roman archaeological sites and the Etruscan tombs, demonstrating that pasta has been eaten by the Italians for long time. World Pasta Day was started in 1995 in Rome. A worldwide panel is promoting all the nutritional ad-
vantages of the pasta. In 1997, Oct. 25 was formally declared as World Pasta Day. In spite of what fashionable diets have claimed in recent years, foods which are enriched with carbohydrates, such as pasta, are nutritious and serve as body fuel that energize the body. They are enriched with vitamin B, necessary for cell formation, mental alertness, and energy conversion and are very helpful in boosting the immune system. Scientific studies have confirmed that a pasta diet is a gold standard for healthy eating. Pasta is a worldwide food, which is consumed on all the continents. It is often combined with vegetables, legumes, cheese, olive oil, and fish and is dressed in the various sauces.
THE ITALIAN TIMES
White truffle, washed and cut.
In Umbria, Pietralunga holds its Mostra Mercato del Tartufo (Trade Fair of Truffles) in mid October. Città di Castello hold a truffle and forest products fair in November.
Heading into Emilia-Romagna, Bobbio holds a truffle and mushroom fair the first weekend Sunday of October. Savigno, in the hills southwest of Bologna, holds the Sagra del Tartufo the first three Sundays in November. Sasso Marconi, in the province of Bologna, holds a truffle festival the first weekend of November. Calestano, in the picturesque setting of the mountains south of Parma, holds a black truffle fair every Sunday from mid October through mid November. As for the region of Molise, San Pietro Avellana, sometimes called the home of the white truffle, holds its truffle market the first weekend of November. The town is near Molise’s northwestern border, about 35 kilometers (not quite 22 miles) west of Agnone. Although the Molise region is often overlooked as a truffle destination, a large percentage of Italy’s truffle actually come from this region.
The date of October 8th commemorates Santa Reparata in Firenze (Florence, Italy). The city’s first cathedral was named after this saint who remains a co-patron of Florence. In ancient times, the festivities on this day included two races: one on horseback and one on foot, both running across the city. Nowadays, in remembrance of these races, a modern-day foot race
is held which starts and ends in Piazza San Giovanni, in front of the Duomo. Runners in the race are picked among the local footballers, and the competition is kicked off by a marching procession of the Florentine Republic dressed in period costume. The procession leaves from Piazza di Parte Guelfa (near Piazza Repubblica) and marches on towards the Duomo at 4 p.m.
menus. If you haven’t eaten truffles, this event provides a great way to introduce yourself to them. San Giovanni d’Asso, near Siena in the Tuscany region, has a truffle festival the second and third weekends of November. A truffle museum is open on those weekends.
Another town in Tuscany, Volterra holds its white truffle fair in late October and early November.
Acqualagna, a town in Le Marche, calls itself the “truffle capital.” It holds a white truffle fair on weekends starting at the end of October through mid November. Sant’Angelo in Vado, near Urbania (Tuscany) has a fair on weekends starting the second weekend in October.
Feast of Santa Reparata celebrated in Florence
OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 17
La Pagina Italiana Pensioni sotto assedio
da Senatore Renato Turano Da settimane si dibatte sulle pensioni e sui pensionati all’estero. Il Presidente dell’INPS Tito Boeri ha denunciato quello che evidentemente lui considera un’anomalia, ovvero, il pagamento all’estero di alcune prestazioni “assistenziali” che invece, secondo l’orientamento dell’Istituto, dovrebbero essere vincolate alla residenza nel Paese erogatore. Boeri, ha stigmatizzato il fatto che l’Inps paga 1 miliardo di euro in pensioni all’estero a pensionati i quali hanno versato pochi contributi in Italia. A fronte di pochi contributi, ha continuato Boeri, sono molti i pensionati all’estero i quali beneficiano di prestazioni non contributive. Si tratta, secondo il presidente dell’Inps, di un’uscita per lo Stato italiano che non rientra nel circuito economico del nostro paese sotto forma di consumi. Insomma di uno spreco ingiustificato. Boeri ha poi rincarato la dose ricordando che nel 2017 con la nuova normativa sulla 14ma introdotta dalla Legge di Bilancio si è ampliata in modo molto considerevole la platea tra i residenti all’estero aventi diritto con un’impennata del 131% del numero dei beneficiari. Una
notizia, questa, che immediatamente, si è diffusa sulle prime pagine di alcuni quotidiani on line dal titolo privilegiati pensionati italiani residenti all’estero.
E pensare che da tempo denuncio l’irrisorietà dell’importo delle pensioni pagate all’estero, e consiglio al presidente Boeri innanzitutto di non dimenticare il contributo economico reso all’Italia dalle rimesse e dai molteplici e variegati investimenti dei nostri connazionali. Bisognerebbe dare delle risoluzioni sugli annosi problemi che riguardano i nostri pensionati all’Estero come, il sistema di rilevamento dell’esistenza in vita, lo stallo della stipula e del rinnovo delle convenzioni bilaterali di sicurezza sociale, il fenomeno degli indebiti pensionistici la tempistica che c’è tra la richiesta della domanda pensionistica e la sua erogazione ed altri ancora.
Si rischia così facendo di confondere le acque senza risolvere problema. I nostri alcun connazionali all’estero percepiscono pensioni a cui hanno diritto grazie ai contributi versati durante la loro vita lavorativa in Italia, che, molto spesso, ammontano a pochi euro e
Ribattezzarsi in stile italiano
di Blaise Di Pronio Tutti voi avranno familiarità con l’alfabeto americano e le sue 26 lettere. Ma quanti di voi sanno che l’alfabeto italiano, anch’esso, come quello americano, basato su un originale nato nel VII secolo a.C. in Italia e continuamente modificatosi negli ultimi 2500 anni, non utilizza tutte le 26 lettere? L’alfabeto base italiano è formato da 21 lettere: cinque vocali (A, E, I, O, U) e 16 consonanti. Le lettere J, K, W, X e Y non fanno parte dell’alfabeto in uso e servono solo per i prestiti lessicali (ad esempio termini come jeans, weekend, ecc.) e nomi stranieri (escluse alcune eccezioni, come nel caso dei nomi Jesolo, Bettino Craxi e Juventus, tutti derivanti da varianti linguistiche regionali). Al giorno d’oggi le parole inglesi si fanno strada lentamente all’interno del vocabolario italiano, causando molto fastidio al vostro scrittore e danneggiando la lingua madre. Come detto sopra, una delle lettere che non appartengono all’alfabeto italiano è “J”. Il suono J in italiano deriva dalla combinazione tra le lettere G ed I o E, con una pronuncia che somiglia a quella delle parole giant e gentleman. Alla luce di ciò, alcuni anni fa, quando lessi il nome Jennaro su un camioncino di prodotti ortofrutticoli, ne dedussi immediatamente che il proprietario non aveva origini italiane nè americane, altrimenti il nome avrebbe dovuto essere scritto Gennaro. Ad un certo punto mi resi conto che probabilmente la sua origine doveva essere italiana, dato che tutte le aziende di vendita all’ingrosso di prodotti agricoli
PAGE 18 – OTTOBRE 2017
sembravano essere di proprietà di immigrati italiani e/o dei loro figli inoltre il nome Jennaro era accettato e riconosciuto dalla comunità italiana e dall’Italian Community Center (ICC).
In occasione di un recente pranzo con nientedimeno che il giudice e avvocato Bill Jennaro, questo mistero sul nome è stato svelato. La storia iniziò con suo nonno Mauro Gennaro e il figlio Anton, zio di Bill. Entrambi lavoravano, come di consueto, nel settore dei prodotti ortofrutticoli. Iniziarono l’attività nel garage sul retro della loro casa nella zona sud-est di Milwaukee con un cavallo ed un carretto per poi passare ad un furgone. Per non essere sopraffatti sul mercato a causa del monopolio praticato dalla concorrenza tedesca, decisero di avere anch’essi il proprio nome inciso sul furgone e sul carro. Sfortunatamente, quando prepararono la scritta da consegnare al produttore di insegne, scrissero la lettera G in corsivo con una forma che sembrava una J e questa fu così erroneamente riprodotta. Anche noi abbiamo avuto testimonianza visiva di questa somiglianza grazie ad un esempio che ci ha mostrato il giudice Jennaro. Allora non fu possibile far ridipingere il furgone poiché era troppo costoso, inoltre si pensò che forse la versione sbagliata del nome risultava più semplice da pronunciare. Il resto del racconto appartiene, come si suol dire, alla storia di Milwaukee e alle leggende metropolitane. – Tradotto dall’Inglese da Laura Duronio
pagano le tasse dove la legge prevede. Non dimenticando il grosso contributo dei nostri connazionali all’estero alla promozione del Made in Italy nel mondo e quindi all’export italiano, siamo d’accordo con il Presidente Boeri che bisogna fare chiarezza ma senza fuorviare la realtà ai fini mediatici e soprattutto cercando di fare le dovute differenze senza offendere intere Comunità.
Voglio ricordare che i rapporti pensionistici tra Italia e USA sono regolati da convenzioni bilaterali di sicurezza sociale. La Convenzione con gli Stati Uniti è in vigore dal 1° gennaio 1986 e si applica a tutti i lavoratori, loro familiari e superstiti assicurati in Italia e negli Stati Uniti. Ai fini della prestazione italiana, per la totalizzazione internazionale si richiedono almeno 52 settimane di contribuzione, mentre per quella statunitense sono richieste almeno 78 settimane. Ai fini dell’ammissione all’assicurazione volontaria prevista dalla legislazione italiana, i periodi di contribuzione accreditati in Italia possono essere totalizzati con i periodi di assicurazione negli Stati Uniti.
I periodi di assicurazione inferiori alle 52 settimane in Italia e a 78 settimane per gli Stati Uniti (che non danno luogo, quindi, alla totalizzazione internazionale) sono comunque presi in considerazione dall’altro Stato, sia ai fini dell’accertamento del diritto, che per la determinazione dell’importo. Questo solo se il lavoratore ha maturato nell’altro stato il periodo minimo previsto dall’Accordo e non matura il diritto a una prestazione
Senatore Renato Turano
senza fare ricorso alla totalizzazione internazionale. L’interessato deve presentare la domanda di pensione attraverso dei modelli rivolgendosi a dei Patronati. Ribadisco l’importanza del servizio che i patronati danno alle nostre Comunità e punto di riferimento di tutti. Infine e tornando all’inizio del mio articolo è evidente che bisogna fare una netta distinzione tra i Pensionati cosiddetti di vecchia emigrazione e i nuovi che emigrano per una convenienza di tassazione sulle pensioni nei Paesi esteri. Non bisogna fare confusione sulle due categorie di pensionati per non offendere milioni di Italiani all’estero che hanno contribuito negli anni passati attraverso le proprie rimesse a tenere alta la bilancia commerciale dell’Italia.
L’angolo delle curiosità
Mestieri estinti o quasi: Il carbonaio
di Donato Di Pronio Ci riferiamo a quegli umili lavoratori che, in una radura del bosco, innalzavano mucchi conici di tronchi e rami d’alberi (dette carbonaie) e li facevano bruciare per trasformarli in carbone.
Per preparare una carbonaia (in alcuni paesi detta lu catozze ) si infilavano nel terreno dei tronchi alti tre quattro metri ed intorno intorno vi si accatastava la legna coprendola alla fine la catasta così ottenuta con fogliame ed erba verdi e con terra. Si dava, poi, fuoco alla catasta badando che la legna bruciasse lentamente e ininterrottamente, senza fiamma per evitare che si incenerisse. Dopo circa una settimana quando il fumo diventava di colore turchino e trasparente (il che significava che la legna era tutta carbonizzata), la carbonaia veniva accortamente coperta per far spegnere il fuoco per mancanza d’aria: il carbone per pronto. Questo mestiere che richiede sacrifici di ogni genere, si diffuse nell’immediato dopo guerra 1939/45: la disoccupazione era generale, il lavoro mancava e la … fame la faceva da padrona. Tanti, nei paesi ricchi di boschi, si improvvisarono boscaioli e carbonai, affrontando un lavoro duro, di stenti e di privazioni, che li
costringeva a lunghi soggiorni in montagna, ad arrangiarsi in ripari occasionali, grotte e capanne. Il carbone ricavato era venduto soprattutto nei paesi del circondario. Fortunato chi possedeva un asino o un mulo, quadrupedi da soma particolarmente adatti per i sentieri montani, chi no, “si caricava” un sacco di carbone sulla testa e sulle spalle e andava offrendolo di porta in porta.
Raccontava un vecchio carbonaro che un giorno, mentre era intento al suo duro lavoro, vide spuntare tra i pochi alberi ancora in piedi, i berretti di due Guardie Forestali: “loro” le ignorarono e “queste” prudentemente fecero marcia indietro, sicuramente così consigliate dalla visione delle loro facce sfigurate dalla fatica e dalla fuliggine!. Voglio qui ricordare l’usanza di quelle brave massaie nelle cui abitazioni ancora oggi si accende il focolaio: quando la brace è bella viva e abbonante, infilano alcuni carboni ancora ardenti in un recipiente metallico che chiudono subito dopo con un coperchio. La brace, per mancanza d’aria si spegne trasformandosi in carbonella … pronta per alimentare i fornelli fissi e portatili (barbecue) dei buongustai!
THE ITALIAN TIMES
Pescara: La città nuovissima
Ancora dopo la prima guerra mondiale, alla foce del fiume omonimo esistevano due cittadine molto diverse tra loro. A sud la più antica Pescara (ora Portanuova), cresciuta sui resti della fortezza cinquecentesca che presidiava il fiume e la statale 16 Adriatica all’innesto della Via TiburtinaValeria sbocco della più importante valle d’Abruzzo. Dopo la costruzione della ferrovia, dei bastioni non resta quasi nulla, e anche del successivo poco insediamento (il Bagno penale e alcuni modesti edifici tra cui la casa di D’Annunzio). A nord del fiume, nella stretta fascia di terra che si allunga tra le colline e il mare si era invece
sviluppata dal 1806, prendendo a fulcro il santuario della Madonna dei Sette Dolori, Castellammare Adriatico, che con l’arrivo della ferrovia e la costruzione della Stazione (1863) aveva avuto un certo sviluppo. Commerciale, artigianale e ‘popolare’ Pescara; borghese, signorile e turistico Castellammare Adriatico, ancora al principio del XX secolo scandito dalle grandi ville dei possidenti. La fusione dei due comuni (1926) avvenne, patrocinante Gabriele D’Annunzio, con la nomina a capoluogo di una piccola provincia ricavata da quelle di Chieti e Teramo, a cavallo del fiume. I nuovi edifici del capoluogo si realizzano il più possibile lungo
Detti popolari: Popular sayings
1. (Dialect): Dumand’ a l’ost’ se elle gha del bun’ vin. El te dis’ si! Literally: Ask the innkeeper if the wine is good. Of course, he’ll answer yes. Equivalent: Ask a stupid question and you’ll get a stupid answer. 2. Non si puo avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca. Literally: You can’t have a full barrel [of wine] and a drunk wife. Equivalent: You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
3. Quando si manga non si parla, perche si combata con la morte. Literally: When one is eating, one is not supposed to talk because one is fighting with death. Equivalent: Don’t eat and talk or you might choke and die. 4. Chi nun tene appetito trova tutto o salato a sciapito. Those who aren’t hungry find everything salty or tasteless. 5. Ne ammazza piu la gola che la spada. Literally: The throat kills more than the sword. Meaning: More people die from gluttony than from wars.
6. (Dialect) Pe’ fa cuntend lu’ marit la femmen a da ess gne lu vin, chiu’ pas lu temb e chiu’ devent bon. To make her husband happy, a woman must be like wine-the more time passes, the better she gets.
7. (Dialect) La votte piccule fa lu vi’ bone. Literally: The small barrel makes good wine. Meaning: If you can’t afford to have a lot, you’ll appreciate the little you have. – Thanks to: italyrevisited.org
E fatt’na risata
Una signora al ristorante si lamenta dicendo: “Cameriere? C’è una mosca nella mia minestra!” e il cameriere: “Sssssssss.......altrimenti la vogliono tutti!”.
Una donna moooooolto grassa parla tra sè e dice: “Ho capito perchè sono così grassa, uso sempre uno shampoo in cui c’è scritto ‘per dare corpo e volume’... per cui da ora in poi userò il detersivo per piatti che dice ‘toglie il grasso...anche quello più difficile!” Una signora compra una televisione e il commesso chiede: “Di quanti pollici la vuole signora?” e lei: “Ehm..non lo so..comunque la preferirei senza mani”. Qual è la differenza tra una colomba e una donna? La colomba è l’uccello della pace, la donna è la pace dell’uccello.
C’è una donna molto brutta che dice ad una sua amica :”Lavoro al centro protezione animali”. l’altra donna allora fa :” Come animale o come protettrice degli animali?”.
Sapete che differenza c’è tra una donna e una macchina? Una è bella, sensuale, Rossa, alta e la ami tanto, l’altra è un essere vivente. Per fare una meraviglia prima bisogna fare uno schizzo.... ecco spiegato perchè Dio creò prima l’uomo e poi la donna,
Un tizio entra in un locale e vede una donna bellissima vestita di rosso, l’avvicina e dice: “Se vedo rosso divento un toro” e lei: “Se vedo 100€ divento una vacca.” Sapete perchè le donne stanno tanto a telefono? Per mantenere la linea.
Annamaria va dalla madre che rimane impressionata dalla sua magrezza. “Tesoro è inutile. non puoi vivere con tuo marito. quando ti decidi a divorziare? “ e la figlia rispose”Quando sarò arrivata a 50 kg!”
THE ITALIAN TIMES
l’Adriatica, oggi corso Vittorio Emanuele, che continua a essere la principale arteria cittadina, e unisce i due nuclei attraverso un ponte, edificato nel 1934: il Tribunale, la Camera di Commercio, il tempio della Conciliazione in lato Portanuova; in lato Castellammare Adriatico il Banco di Napoli, le Poste, il Comune, la Provincia, questi ultimi a formare una grande piazza monumentale (piazza dei Vestini, oggi Italia) che avrebbe costituito il nuovo centro cittadino. Nasce inoltre il quartiere di case popolari detto dei Pescatori (1934) e viene compiuta (1939) la bonifica dei terreni tra la vecchia Pescara e il
mare. La densa occupazione delle aree centrali successiva alla ricostruzione postbellica porta la città a espandersi verso l’esterno. La realizzazione della zona industriale tra Pescara e Chieti, i collegamenti autostradali e l’asse attrezzato, l’insediamento di alcune Facoltà dell’Università D’Annunzio, le nuove sedi di uffici regionali e statali, la nuova Stazione centrale delle Ferrovie dello Stato, il porto turistico modificano ancora il quadro generale offrendo nuove possibilità e preparando Pescara alla sfida con il terzo millennio. – Dal sito comunale: comune.pescara.it
Meriggiare pallido e assorto Meriggiare pallido e assorto lungo un rovente muro d’orto, ascoltare tre i pruni e gli sterpi schiocchi di merli, fruscii di serpi. Osservare fra frondi il palpitare lontano di scaglie di mare, mentre si levano tremuli scricchi di cicale dai caldi picchi.
E andando nel sole che abbaglia sentire con triste meraviglia com’è tutta la vita e il suo travaglio in questo seguitare una muraglia che ha in cima cocci aguzzi di bottiglia.
Eugenio Montale (1896-1981) Pemio Nobel Letteratura 1975.
Italian idioms and expressions
1. Stare con le mani in mano. Literally: To be with your hands in your hand/hold your hands with your own hand. Equivalent: To sit on your hands. 2. Non ci piove. Literally: It doesn’t rain on it. Equivalent: No doubt about it!
3. Piove sul bagnato. Literally: It rains on wet ground. Equivalent: When it rains, it pours.
4. Acqua in bocca! Literally: (Keep the) water in your mouth! Equivalent: Keep it to yourself.
5. Non sei capace di tenerti un cece in bocca. Literally: You’re not able to keep a chickpea in your mouth. Equivalent: You can’t keep your mouth shut. 6. A caval donato non si guarda in bocca. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. 7. L’amore vince sempre. Literally: Love always wins. Equivalent: Love conquers all.
Words in an Italian name
from page 14 66 words in “Napoli”: 1. piano 2. apiol 3. plain 4. lapin 5. pilao 6. aloin 7. paoli 8. nopal 9. lain 10. loan 11. pial 12. noil 13. pian 14. pila 15. pion 16. lino 17. nail 18. opal 19. lipa 20. lion 21. plan 22. naoi 23. pail 24. pina 25.
lipo 26. nipa 27. pain 28. loin 29. anil 30. lin 31. ion 32. lip 33. apo 34. poa 35. pin 36. alp 37. pal 38. oil 39. lap 40. poi 41. pan 42. pol 43. lop 44. ail 45. ani 46. ain 47. nil 48. nip 49. pia 50. nap 51. lo 52. na 53. in 54. io 55. ai 56. no 57. al 58. pa 59. oi 60. an 61. la 62. on 63. op 64. pi 65. li 66. po.
OTTOBRE 2017 – PAGE 19
Report from the Milwaukee Italian Immersion program at Victory K-8
After a restful summer break the staff at Victory is ready for another year of adventures during the transition to full Italian immersion. The immersion program has expanded to second grade for the 2017-18 school year. Students in grades 3, 4, and 5 are receiving Italian instruction for two to three hours per week. The entire Italian staff has returned with the addition of a K5 teacher, James Richie. Damaris Ayala is Victory’s new assistant principal. The school still has some openings for new students in the 2017-18 academic year. Please call the office at 414-3046700 if you are interested in enrolling a student in the Italian
program. A new initiative in the Milwaukee Public Schools is YOTA, “Year of The Arts.” This initiative intends to promote the arts while increasing student engagement. Students will be exposed to the arts through classroom instruction and related field trips. In September, some classes attended an educational screening sponsored by the Milwaukee Film Festival. There will be many more opportunities throughout the year to promote creativity in the classrooms and develop the appreciation of the arts. YOTA opens up many possibilities to build community partnerships and enhance students’ accessibility to the arts.
The staff at Victory K8 and Milwaukee Italian Immersion School is excited to continue to build the immersion program and provide such a unique learning environment for
the children of the greater Milwaukee community. – Submitted by Elizabeth Zizzo Italian Immersion Program
Chocolate lovers festival takes place in Perugia, Italy in Oct. 13-22
Eurochocolate is an international chocolate exhibition in Perugia (Umbria), Italy, dedicated to people’s passion for the sweet flavor of cocoa. Admission and all activities during the 10-day festival are free. Each year, the Eurochocolate is held in Perugia’s historic piazzas. Since 1993, this event has been recognized as one of the largest chocolate festivals in all of Europe. It allows guests to discover the different flavors of chocolate from cultures around the world. About 900,000 visitors are expected to come to Perugia for the festival. Some of the activities in-
clude experimental tastings, cooking classes, performances, sculpting and art displays, all, of course, involving chocolate. Many snacks will be available for purchase such as chocolate liqueurs and bricks, from only the top chocolatiers on the planet including Perugina, the famous hometown chocolatier. A “Chococard” can be purchased at the festival, which offers guests special privileges, discounts, contests, prizes and free tastings.
This year, the festival staff is inviting guests to share the best moments of Eurochocolate 2017 through the hashtag #ConChi.
New K5 teacher James Richie is seen here with Sabrina Lupoli, a returning teacher in the Italian Immersion Program at Victory K8 School, and a kindergarten student.
Amici Italiani, Rockford Italian dance group, to host national Italian folk dance conference
Amici Italiani, an Italian dance group based in Rockford, Ill., will be hosting the Italian Folk Art Federation of America’s (IFAFA) conference on Nov. 10-11. This nationwide organization was founded in 1978 by Elba Farabegoli Gurzau with the intention of promoting Italian folk dance activities throughout the United States. Today it includes singing and dancing groups from several states including California, Iowa, New York, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and Wisconsin with the highly acclaimed Tradizione Vivente, the Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee. The folk dance conference will include two days of fun-filled activities to promote Italian folk dance culture, such as dance instruction, cooking and craft classes, costumes
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and singing, all concluding with a Festa Folcloristica banquet on Saturday evening. The entire Italian community is welcome to participate in this event, as it is a wonderful way to not only build friendships with other Italian Americans, but to learn about and preserve our ancestors’ folk traditions, which are becoming more challenging in this era of social media. You are also invited to become a member of the IFAFA community. For more information on conference and membership, visit the IFAFA website at www.italianfolkartfederation.org. You may also contact Bea Ricotta, Amici Italiani’s dance instructor, at BeaRicotta@gmail.com or by phone at 815-520-1010.
THE ITALIAN TIMES