The Italian Radio Hour

By Viviana AltieriSociety & Culture

The Italian Radio Hour episodes

September 21, 2023 Flavors of Umbria with Francesco Rossetti of Assisi Vino
This week on The Italian Radio Hour we travel to the region of Umbria.
Defined as Italy's Green Lung, our expert sommelier Francesco Rossetti tells us about some of the amazing wines, cheeses, and olive oils produced in this region, and how "Assisi Vino" was born.
Francesco will be soon embarking on a two month long tour in the US where he will share flavors of Umbria with the US audience.
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, you'll be able to meet Francesco and try first hand wonderful Umbrian specialties in November. Stay tuned for more.
To order your very own Umbrian specialties from Assisi Vino, visit: https://stelvietti.com/
27 min
September 14, 2023 40 FINGERS: Italy's new musical phenomenon acclaimed all over the world!
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - With more than 90 million views on Youtube and Facebook, 40 FINGERS is one of the new crossover phenomenon acclaimed all over the world. They are a fabulous guitar quartet born in 2018. Each of them with a strong musical history and a different background, 40 Fingers explore new sounds in the name of fingerpicking combined with their unique style, offering an amazing repertoire of famous rock/pop songs cleverly arranged for four guitars (from Queen to Toto, from Dire Straits to Eric Clapton, from Astor Piazzolla to the Beatles). They are able to create a unique engagement with the audience that has no borders of languages and countries. Check out the LIVE videos!
Queen supported them publishing on their website the "40 fingers" version of Bohemian Rhapsody (official Queen website); Andrea Bocelli involved them in his special The Journey, duetting on the notes of "Hallelujah", for American TV. In the American territory they have recently found a great reception from the audience during their first tour in the United States, when their concerts in Boston, New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia has reached the sold out. Andy Summers, founding member of The Police and legend of world music, fell in love with their project, he involved them in a 5-guitar reinterpretation of the famous "Bring on the night”, a collaboration consecrated by the publication of an official video clip (40 FINGERS feat Andy Summers).
If you are in the Pittsburgh area, 40 FINGERS will perform on Tuesday Sept 26th at 8pm at the City Winery.
Check out 40 FINGERS official website for all their 2023 Tour dates in the US: https://40fingersguitarquartet.com/
26 min
September 08, 2023 Neighborhood Girl and Pittsburgh original Little Italy with Linda Schifino
PITTSBURGH ITALIANS: Who remembers Larimer Avenue's Little Italy? What memories do you have about Larimer Avenue? This week on The Italian Radio Hour, I caught up with Linda Schifino, author of her newly published book "NEIGHBORHOOD GIRL".On a recent drive thru Larimer Avenue, the neighborhood that was home to Linda and her family, she came to realize that what she grew up with, now is all gone. Wanting to find a way to preserve her family stories for her little granddaughter Alex, what was initially a collection of essays became, over the course of five years, a book that explores timeless human themes of family, place, and loss of community. An Italian American enclave of Pittsburgh in the 1950s, Larimer's Avenue consisted of small-time criminals on street corners, Saints’ Day festivals with brass bands and homemade sausage sandwiches, and the Italian Brotherhood Beneficial Association, where her great-grandfather drank too much and sang too loud. Larimer Avenue was a working poor community rooted in the struggles of immigrants who lived in tiny apartments and carried lunch pails to work. Folks in the neighborhood stayed for generations. They seemed oblivious to the post-war sprawl to the suburbs, or maybe it was scarcity that kept them there. Scarcity of transportation since almost no one owned a car, or scarcity of money to make a move affordable.Scarcity of options. Yet, as a child, Schifino didn’t see anything but abundance emanating from these people, these spaces.Remembering the legacy of Larimer ensures that we never forget the lives of our immigrant ancestors from the Old World and the communities they built to sustain themselves in the New World. VIDEO INTERVIEW: https://youtu.be/jewCkXxDrQENeighborhood Girl is available on Sunbury Press:https://www.sunburypress.com/products/neighborhood-girl...and on Amazon:https://a.co/d/0hW5tHk
41 min
August 31, 2023 "When I was your age" with Italo-Australian comedian Joe Avati
This week on The Italian Radio Hour we caught up with Italian-Australian comedian Joe (Giuseppe) Avati on a short break from his world tour "When I was your age".
Joe and I met in Pittsburgh during his premier show in July.
Joe seamlessly blends family anecdotes with relatable events from the collective memory and true mishaps in Italy.
https://youtu.be/UYRWu8A7dfQ
Joe Avati
27 min
August 24, 2023 Discover Italy in Vermont with Lisa De Natale
This week on The Italian Radio Hour: DISCOVER ITALY in Vermont.
In conversation with Lisa DeNatale, President of VICA - Vermont Italian Cultural Association.
Last year, our initial contact with Italians living in VT, started with Alessandra Rellini, Owner and Operator of Agricola Vermont and Monte Verdi salumi in Panton, which then we visited of the July 4th holidays. That sparked more research into the Italian community in VT and we connected with Lisa De Natale, President of the Vermont Italian Cultural Association. In this interview, Lisa talks about the Italian influence on the territory, and the local industries. as well as the many programs that VICA offers to connect to your Italian roots in an enriching way.https://youtu.be/sPbXVCP-eGoTo listen to our interview to Alessandra Rellini and learn more about her salumi, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8OxBj6NDq4&t=6s
31 min
August 19, 2023 Italian Folk Dances and Music with Andrea De Siena, Anthony Taddeo, and Laura Esposito
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - Italian Folk Dances & Music with Andrea De Siena, Anthony Taddeo, and Laura Esposito
Traveling throughout Italy, especially in the Summer can be a great opportunity to catch up on festivals, sagre and wonderful dance exhibitions.
The passion for Italian Folk Dances is even stronger now that the new generation has embraced it as an artistic art form, an expression of the people, their voices, a bridge between the past and the future.
We caught up with Anthony Taddeo, Founder of Alla Boara in Cleveland (OH) who has made preserving and readapting Italian folk music his life mission Andrea De Siena and Laura Esposito in their dance studio in Rome.
This initial encounter between Anthony and Andrea in Rome, has actually materialized with Alla Boara's first music video, a joint Cleveland-Rome collaboration featuring Alla Boara in Cleveland and Andrea and Laura dancing in Rome.
Can't wait for the video to be officially released!
https://youtu.be/MW8JL_o7osM
54 min
August 10, 2023 In conversation with Katie Parla on Food of the Italian Islands
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - In conversation with KATIE PARLA (aka Katie "parla")
I met up with Katie Parla in her tastefully decorated apartment in Rome, caught up on life, books, and all the great adventures that resulted in her latest beautiful book: FOOD of THE ITALIAN ISLANDS (FOTII),
recipes from the Sunbaked Beaches, Coastal Villages, and Rolling Hillsides of Sicily, Sardinia, and BeyondFood of the Italian Islands contains over 85 recipes, both original and reimagined, that showcase the allures off Italy's coasts, including pane frattau featuring Sardinia's beloved flatbread; bigoli in salsa, a party pasta popular in Venice; coniglio all'ischitana, braised rabbit in the style of Ischia, and torta caprese, Capri's flourless chocolate-almond cake. With New York Times bestselling author Katie Parla as the intrepid guide, Food of the Italian Islands delves into the rich culinary and cultural fabric of the destinations, inviting readers to join a highly specialized, curated experience through places never previously documented in English or Italian cookbook form. The book's 21 features provide historical insight while unveiling island traditions and pleasures such as the offal delicacies dominating Palermo's street food scene, urchin diving in Ponza and an overview on the boozy choose-your-own-journey to making infused spirits. From hitting the unpaved backroads in a FIAT Panda or taking a jaunt through the Venetian lagoon in Katie's fishing boat, Laura, Food of the Italian Island offers full immersion down to the mode of transportation. Organized playfully with a thematic approach, with travel tips and pairing suggestions throughout, Food of the Italian Islands is a siren call for readers to cook island food from wherever they are and with whatever they have.

https://katieparla.com/events/
38 min
August 03, 2023 The Italian American Podcast with John Viola & Patrick O'Boyle
This Thursday on The Italian Radio Hour: What does being Italian mean to you?Italians moving to the States now bring new traditions. Italians that have emigrated to the United States hundred years ago brought the traditions, the foods and the language of those times. So, even if the experience of being "Italian" might now differ, the sentiment remains the same: to preserve, to pass on, to appreciate everything that Italy and the Italian (and Italian American) culture has to offer.Keeping the conversation going and an open mind-set that transcends the idea of "real" and "authentic", is the only way to preserve this immense cultural and diverse patrimony.Joined in conversation by John Viola and Patrick O'Boyle, hosts of the Italian American Podcast, we discuss what it means to be Italian to us.If you recall, I was recently interviewed on The Italian American Podcast myself. You can relisten to that episode here and give IAP a subscribe: https://podcasters.spotify.com/.../IAP-283-The.../a-aa1m2uv
1 hr 8 min
July 25, 2023 Prosciutto San Daniele with Arianna Prolongo
This week on The Italian Radio Hour - During our tour of Friuli Venezia Giulia, we savored many DOP products of the region but Prosciutto San Daniele reigned king. After a "sensorial" tour of Prosciuttificio Prolongo, we caught up with Arianna Prolongo, third generation owner of PROSCIUTTIFICIO PROLONGO to learn about the steps and the quality assurance processes to guarantee and obtain the one and only Prosciutto San Daniele DOP stamp.
31 min
July 13, 2023 MAGAZZINO ITALIAN ART and "Arte Povera"
This week on The Italian Radio Hour: Exploring Magazzino Italian Art, the only museum and Research Center dedicated to advancing scholarship and public appreciation of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States. The museum was founded by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu with the mission to share works of the group of Italian artists who exhibited together in the late 1960s and early 1970s, affiliated with the art movement of Arte Povera, with American audiences.Magazzino opened to the public on June 28, 2017, with an exhibition dedicated to the influence and legacy of Margherita Stein, a late Italian dealer associated with artists active in Arte Povera circles and beyond. The museum is FREE and OPEN to the public. Magazzino, which means "warehouse" in Italian, consists of an old farmers’ warehouse (later turned into a dairy distribution center and then a computer factory) and a new building by Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo. The building includes a new exhibition space and a 5,000-volume library, making up the core of the Research Center, opened in 2018.Magazzino Italian Art is located in Cold Spring, New York, within the Town of Philipstown on U.S. Route 9, on the former Cyberchron site.
1 hr 4 min