The Italian Radio Hour

By Viviana AltieriSociety & Culture

The Italian Radio Hour episodes

February 15, 2024 Discovering Contemporary Theater by Italians of African Descent
Today, on The Italian Radio Hour: Discovering Contemporary Theater by Italians of African Descent.
Link to video interview: https://youtu.be/3uQXbbp7RSc
An interesting conversation with Mauritian playwright Nalini Vidoolah Mootoosamy, Margherita Laera (translator & Senior Lecturer in Drama and Theatre, University of Kent, Cantenbury), and Laura Caparrotti, Founder of Kairos Italy Theater to discuss stories, challenges, and opportunities (cultural and linguistic) that surround these productions.
If you are in the NY area, NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, on Friday will host both a panel discussion as well as the reading of Nalini's play "The Foreigner's Smile" (Il sorriso della Scimmia).
Nalini Vidoolah Mootoosamy @Margherita Laera #BlackItalia
1 hr 1 min
February 08, 2024 "Denominazione di Origine Inventata" with Prof. Alberto Grandi
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - "Denominazione di Origine Inventata" with Prof. Alberto Grandi.
The title of the book "Denomination of Invented Origin" is in net contrast with one of Italy's most recognizable food & wine classification of food or wines (DOP - Denominazione di Origine Protetta (literally “Protected Designation of Origin).
Prof. Grandi debunks the many myths around the provenance and the origin of many of ingredients and recipes that Italians hold dear to their hearts.
"Carbonara is an American recipe, Tortellini were filled with chicken, Queen Margherita probably never had pizza in her life, and so on".
"La carbonara è una ricetta americana, i tortellini bolognesi avevano il ripieno di pollo, il pomodoro di Pachino è stato creato in Israele. E ancora, fino alla metà del secolo scorso la maggior parte degli italiani non conosceva la pizza e in Sicilia il consumo di riso era pari a zero, con buona pace della disputa tra arancini e arancine. Insomma: i nostri prodotti tipici sono buonissimi, ma la loro storia è una bugia, raccontata più o meno a partire dagli anni ‘70. La ricerca storica quasi sempre smentisce le origini arcaiche delle nostre specialità culinarie, facendoci scoprire che molte ricette cui attribuiamo radici antichissime…sono in realtà invenzioni recenti.
Give it a listen and let us know your thoughts!
VIDEO INTERVIEW: https://youtu.be/fc-a1uSZNMQ
Alberto Grandi
49 min
February 02, 2024 "Roots" with Domenico Cornacchia, Frank Di Piero & Emily Cipriani Marchetti
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - In conversation with young Italian author from Abruzzo Domenico Cornacchia, Frank Di Piero (from Keeping it Real with Frankie D), and Emily Cipriani Marchetti on a topic that means so much to all of us, "roots" who is also the English title of Domenico's book (in Italian: RESTO QUI).
Roots by Domenico Cornacchia aims to preserve a culture that has been passed down orally for centuries before sources of information disappears.
Starting from Emily, she shared the importance about her own exploring, researching and documenting those stories, memories, and memories that have shaped the values she grew up on, and prepared for her trip to her ancestral town of Valle Castellana.
Followed by Frank (the two of them, actually met in Bugnara (AQ) , Frank's family hometown) and his continuous mission of educating current and future generations on what it means to be Italian and understand one's past.
Via Domenico, and his book, we hear the voices of the elderly that have lived a past that is no more, people that have passed so much wisdom to us of a life that was made of hardship, solidarity and emigration but not in a nostalgic way, but as a way to enrich our soul, explore the world, and spring us towards the future, while staying connected with the place most dear to our heart.
ROOTS or in Italian “RESTO QUI” is set in a small patch of land on the border between Abruzzo and Marche, narrated through the eyes and ears of a boy who still proudly lives and wakes up every morning in that place with his family.
The title encapsulates the resilience of those people who still believe in the beauty of life in these places and aims to connect all the people who live out of Italy and who have origins in these wonderful places in order to keep the memory and remembrance alive. Today, perhaps more than ever, the commitment of the new generations lies not only in looking toward the future but also in preserving the past.
ROOTS in English https://a.co/d/dl24rvJ
RESTO QUI in Italian: https://www.amazon.it/Resto-Santa-Rufina-Castellana-dAbruzzo/dp/883381372X
1 hr 16 min
January 25, 2024 The Delmonico Way; Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant that Made New York! with Max Tucci
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - The Delmonico Way; Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant that Made New York!
Bring glamour and style into your home, featuring stories, ideas for entertaining, and seventy-five recipes from the Tuccis, the family that ran Delmonico’s in its golden era.
Located in the heart of Wall Street, Delmonico’s from 1827 to today continues to shape New York City’s restaurant scene. Under the original ownership of The Delmonico Brothers, Pietro and Giovanni, Delmonico’s introduced the first farm-to-table concept, à la carte dining—complete with white tablecloths and menus—but most notably created the phenomenon called the “power lunch." Despite Delmonico’s triumphs, the impact of World War I and the era of Prohibition caused the family to cease operations, shuttering the restaurant and all Delmonico locations by 1923. In 1926 a new era for Delmonico’s arose. Oscar Tucci, a Tuscan immigrant, took over ownership and re-established Delmonico’s first as a Speakeasy and then he continued the Delmonico brothers’ tradition, transforming it to a beacon of fine dining. Oscar developed a strict code of hospitality, etiquette, and operations coupled with legendary libations and superb fare known as the Delmonico way. The Delmonico way still lives on today because of Max Tucci.
THE DELMONICO WAY: SUBLIME ENTERTAINING & LEGENDARY RECIPES FROM THE RESTAURANT THAT MADE NEW YORK! by Max Tucci, Oscar’s grandson, opens the double doors of his family's Delmonico’s, welcoming us to a world when dining out was a glamorous affair. Max along with his celebrity chef friends offer timeless recipes and Max, shares his tips for recreating the magic of the Delmonico way at home. Max continues his family's gracious hospitality ethics by welcoming all to Delmonico’s. Max's credo, "Moving forward, while looking back." The credo and Max's efforts of keeping the sacred brand thriving led Max to become the IACP 2023 Trailblazer Award Recipient.
Delmonico's was quite the scene, royalty, celebrities, socialites, U.S. presidents, foreign dignitaries, and business tycoons all frequented Delmonico’s. Elizabeth Taylor, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Rock Hudson, Marilyn Monroe, Lena Horne, Gypsy Rose Lee, Eva Gabor and Zsa Zsa Gabor, King Umberto II of Italy, The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, President Richard Nixon, Chubby Checker, Christine Jorgensen, and Joan Crawford were among some of the most notable names that Tucci welcomed to his tables which were famously adorned with Ginori, Baccarat, Lalique, and Christofle.
Each chapter is organized around a style of dining that Delmonico’s pioneered or perfected under Tucci’s proprietorship, including how to host an impressive power lunch (featuring Oscar's creation, the signature wedge salad); a glamorous cocktail soirée before a night on the town, complete with oysters Rockefeller and shrimp cocktail; and the perfect romantic dinner for two with a show-stopping seafood tower and ribeye Bordelaise. THE DELMONICO WAY includes over 70 recipes, including two from the restaurant’s most famous alumni, Sirio Maccioni’s Pasta Primavera and Tony May’s trademarked Uovo Raviolo. In addition to fine fare, "The Bar'' chapter features sophisticated cocktails that include the classic Delmonico, a legendary Negroni with a "Delmonico way" twist, and the festive Spencer cocktail created by artist Ashley Longshore's grandmother.
Renowned designer Roberto de Vicq de Cumptich expertly layers vintage era photographs, ephemera, menus, and countless other gems featured in THE DELMONICO WAY that remind us that entertaining with style, elegance, sophistication, and intention remain just as relevant today as it did during the height of the era.
To purchase your own copy of the book: https://thedelmonicoway.com/
For reservations at Delmonico's: https://www.theoriginaldelmonicos.com/
58 min
January 19, 2024 Saint Pio Foundation with Luciano Lamonarca
In conversation with Luciano Lamonarca, Italian tenor residing in New York, and Founder of the Saint Pio foundation in NY. As one who has received what is considered a miracle: the birth of their son Sebastian, Luciano has invested all his energies in laying the groundwork to ensure that the foundation could grow and receive the needed support to become established.
Padre Pio was born on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, southern Italy. He was tutored privately until his entry to the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at the age of 15. Of feeble health but strong will, with the help of grace, he completed the required studies and was ordained a priest in 1910.
On September 20, 1918 the five wounds of our Lord’s passion appeared on his body, making him the first stigmatized priest in the history of the Catholic Church.
His whole life was marked by long hours of prayer and continual austerity. His letters to his spiritual directors reveal the ineffable suffering, physical and spiritual, which accompanied him all through his life. They also reveal his deep union with God, his burning love for the Blessed Eucharist and Our Blessed Lady.
On January 9, 1940, Padre Pio announced his grandiose plans to develop a Home for the Relief of Suffering (the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza). The Casa opened its doors on May 5, 1956 as a 300 bed facility, built on the small, sincere and spontaneous donations and prayers of his followers. He also developed an international network of prayer groups for the support of the Casa and its ministry that continues to live on and grow today.
In 2017, Saint Pio Foundation organized the first official tour of the relics of Padre Pio. The tour visited eighteen archdioceses and dioceses in the United States, including Pittsburgh.
In March 2023, the Saint Pio Foundation launched the "Green Mile" initiative to support the "A Mano Libera - Senza Barre" (“Freehand – Without Bars”) project of the San Vittore Association of the Diocese of Andria. A Mano Libera was founded by Father Don Riccardo Agresti, a priest known for his strength, courage, pragmatism, and faith in his neighbor.
This project is an alternative to detention for inmates and ex-inmates of Italian prisons. Motivated by a strong desire for personal and social redemption, program participants work on a 25-acre farm in Andria, Italy, where they learn artisanal skills and produce taralli, a popular Italian snack food.
Istituto Mondo Italiano has joined in this mission, and if you would like to support "A Mano Libera", you can purchase your Taralli here:
https://www.saintpiofoundation.org/freehand
(Choose: Istituto Mondo Italiano - Centro di cultura italiana as referring organization)
41 min
January 12, 2024 In Search of Abundance with Luisa Del Giudice
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - In Search of Abundance with Luisa Del Giudice.
Luisa Del Giudice, Ph.D. was born in Terracina (Latina), emigrated to Toronto in 1956, and has lived in Los Angeles since 1981. She is internationally known for her work on Italian and Italian diaspora ethnology, folklore, and oral history. In 2008, she was named an honorary Fellow of the American Folklore Society and Cavaliere by the Italian Republic.
Her latest publication "In Search of Abundance: Mountains of Cheese, Rivers of Wine, and Other Gastronomic Utopias," reviews four decades of the author’s research, writing, and programming within this Italian and diaspora food nexus, including her reflections on the cycle of hunger, the search for abundance, the practice and achievement of abundance. Currently inhabiting a Land of Enough, she also ponders how the COVID-19 pandemic helped shift this multigenerational trauma discourse of scarcity and abundance, contributed to her involvement in food justice initiatives, and broke the mantra’s spell.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: My Search for Abundance
1. Mountains of Cheese and Rivers of Wine: "Paesi di Cuccagna" and other Gastronomic Utopias
2. Wine Makes Good Blood: Wine Culture among Toronto Italians
3. Rituals of Charity and Abundance: Sicilian St. Joseph's Tables and Feeding the Poor in Los Angeles
4. Ischian Cultural Sites on the San Pedro, California, Map
5. Pasta
6. Feeding the Poor—Welcoming the Stranger: The Watts Towers Common Ground Initiative and St. Joseph’s Communal Tables in Watts
7. Treasure from Trees: Gold and Liquid Gold in the Oral and Archaeological Traditions around Horace's Sabine Villa in Licenza, Italy
Video interview: https://youtu.be/mcT5lWOwAsA
45 min
January 04, 2024 The Mint Museum of Rome
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - Welcome to 2024! Wishing you a year full of abundance and prosperity. Some of you might have eaten lots of lentils for good fortune on New year's day but would you be curious to learn what goes into the process of making money?
Today, another fascinating conversation with Egle Tringali and Valentina Bonaccorsi, curators of the MINT Museum of Rome who told all about the history and the process of making money.
The origins of the Mint Museum of Rome derive from the Pontifical Mint of the Capital, founded at the end of the eighteenth century. In 1824 the Pontifical Cabinet of Medals was established, then acquired by the Government of the Kingdom of Italy in 1870 and officially established by the Italian Republic in 1958.
In 1978, when the State Mint was transferred to the Istituto Poligrafico, its precious numismatic finds became part of the latter's heritage.
The extraordinary collection of the Museum includes more than twenty thousand works, including medals, coins, wax models and minting objects.
Among these works, in particular, it is possible to see:
- coins (proofs and designs), coins of Italian and foreign states ranging from the Middle Ages to the present; in the "Lira Gallery" my guide explained also "faulty" designs that became collectors' items;
- the first coin designed by a woman (and the subsequent ones):
- medal collection (works by some of the most renowned and esteemed artists of all times);
- a selection of wax models for medals and cameos, including the 425 candles made by Benedetto Pistrucci, the Roman engraver who created the model of the gold sovereign with St. George and the dragon, still in use today at the British Royal Mint.
In the Bookshop, you will be able, if you want, purchase special edition coins.
Visit Il Museo della Zecca: https://www.museozecca.ipzs.it/
1 hr 1 min
December 28, 2023 La Notti Triunfanti Christmas album by Michela Musolino
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - No holiday season is complete without talking about traditions, memories and Christmas music.
In this week episode, we welcome back Sicilian American folk artist Michela Musolino as we travel thru time and her latest CD, La Notti Triunfanti, Folk-A-Billy Christmas: Christmas traditions from Sicily & Southern Italy mingle with musical traditions from USA...recorded in Memphis, Tennessee...South meets South to celebrate Christmas!Get a copy of the CD here: https://www.michelamusolino.com/store
40 min
December 14, 2023 Cosa vuoi di piu' dalla vita? - The History of Amaro Lucano with Francesco Vena
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - If you grew up in Italy, you might be familiar with the tag line: "Cosa vuoi di piu' dalla vita? Un amaro Lucano!
A conversation with Francesco Vena as we introduces us to the history of the most well-known liquor from Lucania (aka Basilicata), founded in 1894 by Pasquale Vena, a pastry chef who blended more than 30 herbs. The secret recipe has been passed from generation to generation in the Vena family. In 1900, Amaro Lucano gained fame throughout the Kingdom of Italy, after the Vena family became the official supplier to the House of Savoy, whose coat of arms appears on the label.
After a period of recession during World War II, in 1950 the workshop became an industrial enterprise under the management of Vena's sons Leonardo and Giuseppe and in 1965 a new factory in the frazione Pisticci Scalo was opened.
In the 1970s, the Vena family also began producing other alcohol-based drinks under the name "Lucano" such as the Sambuca, Limoncello and Caffè varieties, as well as liqueur-filled chocolates.
So, "Cosa vuoi di piu' dalla vita? Amaro Lucano: storia di un'Italia dal bicchiere mezzo pieno" is an insightful reading into the family history and the history of Italy throughout those years.
49 min
December 07, 2023 The Goldsmith Traditions of Abruzzo with Filippo Di Rienzo (Oreficeria di Rienzo)
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - One of the interesting and ancient traditions that the Abruzzo region boasts is certainly the art of goldsmithing.
This week we caught up with Filippo di Rienzo, 7th generation of goldsmiths in the town of Scanno, by the beautiful lake of Scanno.
Thru Filippo, we discussed the use of jewelry also for popular and good luck traditions.
The Abruzzo goldsmith tradition is rich in symbols, both sacred and pagan, which are still alive in this region. Many Abruzzese women wear at least one of these traditional jewels which show the strong bond they have with their region.
La Presentosa, for instance, is a traditional jewel from the Abruzzo region, a very ancient piece of art dating back to the 18th century. It became famous when the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio described it in his masterpiece “The Triumph of the Death” as a large filigree star with two hearts linked by key or ribbon. This jewel was often given to young women as a promise of love. The word comes from presente, present or gift, which evolved into presentenza and presentosa in the local dialect.
Tradition has it that on the day of the formalization of the union between the betrothed, the presentosa was donated by the future in-laws to the future bride as a token of love. The presentosa in this case also represented the symbol of fidelity and eternal love. The presentosa was also donated by mothers to girls of marriageable age. In this case, it was represented with a single heart and symbolized the search for a husband.
When visiting Scanno, do stop by to Visit Filippo at Oreficeria di Rienzo and get first hand tour of the museum.
https://www.armandodirienzo.com/
46 min