Archive

 

Dear Readers,
Angela Cannistraci, age 21, daughter of my godson, Anthony (who was born, baptized, educated at U.S.F. and resided in San Francisco, California until he traveled, fell in love, married in 1976 East Boston beauty Loretta Costanza and moved to Massachusetts) loves and embraces her Italian heritage.

I am sharing excerpts from her recent stay in Italy with you in order to give an “abbondanza di speranza” (hope) to leaders of Italian American fraternal and social associations trying to attract “young people” to replenish their aging memberships.

There is concern that young Italian Americans are not joining these clubs in sufficient numbers to assure their survival beyond the next decade and that “our young people don't care about their heritage.”

There is no denying that many of our young people have drifted away and lost all connection and love for their cultural heritage, but on college campuses the state of Italian Clubs is quite healthy and remains a great source of pride and joy to many of our educated and successful young Italian Americans…

Angela Cannistraci, an International Business Major at St. Joseph's University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is Vice President of the SJU Italian Club and club advisor is professor Joan Manghisi.

Activities have included annual trips to the Philadelphia Opera House for an Italian Opera such as Aida and Cenerentola.

La Tavola, Italian catered dinners for students to dance and socialize. Italian Movies Nights to watch Italian movies and a soccer “La Coppa di San Giuseppe.”
Angela opted to pursue her Spring 2007 semester studies at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy and her summer working in Sicily, at “Punto Carni” a business owned by her cousin.

“Grazie” Angela for sharing some of your experiences and impressions with us…

“In early January, I arrived at Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy to find a small kiosk with the name of the university where I would be living and studying for the next six months.

A twenty-five minute ride in a shuttle from the airport and I arrived at John Cabot University, in the Trastevere area of Rome. As we drove into the Eternal City, past Saint Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo, I began to wonder what the next six months had in store for me. I was a young college student arriving in Italy like a dry sponge, dressed in American brand name clothes, flat shoes, and small-lens sunglasses.

In the next six months I would be transformed from an “Americana” to an “Italiana.”
Although this was my third trip to Italy, I was not going to treat this as a semester vacation. I wanted to adapt to the Italian way of life and “live” as an Italian.

The first few weeks were a bit of an adjustment. Compared to my seven female roommates, I found the transition period quite easy. Unlike them, I did not expect anything to be open on Sundays and was not surprised when buses did not run on time or that a store closed at any time of day as long as the sign “Ritorno subito” was taped on the door, but some things did catch me by surprise.

It seems that dogs and animal in Italy actually speak Italian.
Hospitals close on Sundays (I haven't figured out how that one works.) On faucets “F” stands for “freddo” and “C” stands for “caldo” not cold.
But that was okay because the undersized water heater for eight girls in my apartment in the Prati area of Rome did not allow for much “acqua calda.”

Another benefit of study abroad was the ability to travel and visit places off the beaten path, in Cinque Terre, Perugia, Orvieto, Siena and Sorrento. My Spring break adventure also took me to London and to Cairo, Egypt where I was able to see the Sphinx while riding on the back of a camel.

In Rome I made some great friends with neighbors and local business people in the area. When I return to Rome, I will have many people to visit and many favorite places, where I can go back to shop and eat! “Arrivederci Roma”…
After I left Rome, I headed south to explore a whole new world during the months of May and June. I was fortunate to have an internship in my cousins' food business “Punta Carne” in Villafranca, near Messina in Sicily.

I was able to observe all facets of his business plus all the hard work that goes into successfully running one of the largest food establishments in the town.
I lived in the home of my cousins Santino (owner and creative mind behind Punta Carne), Flavia (head chef known locally as “mani d'oro”) and Peppe and Pasquale, their 18 and 20 year old sons. I was able to see the everyday lives, families have in Sicily.

My favorite was the “siesta”, a mid-day nap after a large afternoon meal. When I woke up from my daily siesta, I would hear the hum of the gelato machine in the kitchen where Flavia was making either granita or gelato cakes, Santino's parents took me to la compagnia, where they make bread in their “forno al legno” (firewood brick oven.) It was the best bread I have ever tasted in my life!

I also went to an outdoor discotheque with my cousin Pasquale and his friends. We danced all night to American pop techno music overlooking the sea and came back at six o'clock the following morning, which was seen as completely normal.

At Punto Carni, located off City Hall main street Vittorio Emanuele, I observed the importance of freshness, quality, and service. The thirty employees of the “massive” store, by Sicilian standards, ran like a well-oiled machine.

Every morning, milk, meat, and four different bread companies would make deliveries (one being bread from the firewood brick oven.)
I would see many customers more than once a day. Customers wanted to know who I was because all the employees were friendly and known by name to all customers. No nametags were worn because it would make the service seem impersonal.

After they found out who I was, I was referred to as “Angela Americana.” It was an interesting way to distinguish me and typical of the “soprannome”, nicknames used in many southern Italian towns.

My language skills improved quickly because I was totally immersed.
No one spoke English. Now I realized that the best way to learn a language is by total immersion.

I was teased every time I mispronounced a word but it made things fun and helped me remember how to speak correctly.
I loved Sicily. I not only developed a closer relationship with my relatives and felt like their adopted daughter, but I taught them much about American culture and stereotypes. I taught them that their perceptions, in many cases, were not true. It was a learning experience for us all…

Heading back to my hometown of Boston in “L'America” I came off the plane a changed person. High heeled shoes, big sunglasses (so big you could barely see my nose). Italian jeans, and the bella figura air of an Italian. My family could hardly recognize me. I can now speak to my grandparents entirely in Sicilian.

The thing I notice most is that they have told me things in Sicilian about their homeland and culture they could not have expressed in English.
I feel more a part of their family and their “Sicilia.” I have lived it, felt it, and breathed it. I feel the Italian part of my Italian American Heritage has been greatly enriched!

These past six months were a great segway into my current internship. I am working at All Things Sicilian in Lawrence, Massachusetts. This is the perfect opportunity for me too keep up my language skills and also keep my spoiled palate satisfied.

I love working here because all the items are made in Sicily. Everything from fresh Sicilian olive oil, Figo d'India jams to award winning Pistachio Nut creams from Bronte, near Mt. Etna.

I highly recommend a visit to the store or website, www.allthingssicilian.com.
Their products can be shipped to bring a bit of Sicily into your home. The owner of All Things Sicilian, Al Zappala, began the company with one goal. He wanted to give Americans an accurate depiction of Sicilians.

A successful attorney, he wanted to create a business that would make his sons and other young people proud of their Sicilian Heritage.

He found the stereotypes of Italian people, specifically Sicilians, who are showcased on television shows such as "The Sopranos," repugnant and he wanted to do something that would show people the beauty of Sicilian culture.

Pride in his heritage and a number of trips to the island, where he sampled many of the foods he offers, helped him decide to open All Things Sicilian in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Al wanted to do something to fight against the stereotype of Italian-Americans these programs have created.
They do an enormous disservice to Italian-Americans and they make being Sicilian a stigma.

They portray them as thugs and that is totally not the case.
Wanting to counteract that Zappala, an Andover, Mass. based lawyer for many years, approached a number of his friends once he hit upon the idea of opening a store offering Sicilian products. Many of the friends were doctors and lawyers, who along with Zappala, wanted to invest in something tangible.

That was a chance a to showcase Sicily's culture, a place that is rich with tradition. They have not just food from Sicily, but many cultural artifacts, cookbooks and collectibles.

The store is filled with table after table of a wide variety of food products - bread, olive oil, vegetable spreads, pasta and spaghetti sauce to name a few. The store also carries Sicilian cookbooks and travel books, lava from Mount Etna, still an active volcano and puppets.

In Sicily, puppets are popular and have been for hundreds of years because puppets could say things, particularly political commentaries and they can't get in trouble.
Zappala has also hosted Sicilian photo exhibits, cooking classes and enterteinment.

If you can't make the trip to Lawrence, Massachusetts, take a look at their website or sign up to receive a monthly email newsletter about Sicily and its culture at www.allthingsicilian.com or call (866) 467-4245…"

10631 Vinedale Street, Sun Valley, CA 91352 - Phone (818) 767-3413 - Fax: (818) 767-1410