L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS we fondly remembered through his work and tales of his ama- zing personality, but also that of John Turturro, who's held an Italian passport since 2018 and last August traveled all the way to Giovinazzo, his own father's birthplace, to become a honorary citizen. To us, Turturro admitted he'd like to work in Puglia, to bring his motherland on the sil- ver screen, sooner or later: and we'll be there to tell you the story, for sure. 2019 was also the year of Italians making it big in the US, just like the bright examples of Luca Parmitano and Ciriaco Goddi. The first is the com- mander of Expedition 61 at the International Space Station, and is currently enjoying his time in space, keeping us all updated through his very lively Twitter account. The second is one of the names and minds behind the work that brought us the first photo of a black hole, last April: impeccable examples of how Italians can do great things in science, not only in art! In September, we shared fond m e m o r i e s o f a n I t a l i a n - American icon, Louis Prima, with his daughter Lena: with her, we discovered the essentia- l i t y o f k e e p i n g t h e I t a l i a n - American heritage alive, and of its importance as a true binder for the community this side of the Atlantic, but also as a way to connect with Italians on the Old Continent. Last but not least, 2019 has also been the year of Leonardo da Vinci: in the 500th year since h i s d e a t h , w e d i s c u s s e d h i s legacy and genius, but also the many mysteries that still sur- round his life and character. I n O c t o b e r , w e h o n o r e d Italian Heritage Month and w e r e h a p p y t o h a v e t h e President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella on our cover: during his visit to the Italian- American community of San F r a n c i s c o , h e r e m i n d e d u s about the importance of Italian- Americans in the history, eco- nomy and culture of the US, especially on the West Coast, underpinning with his words our very mission, that of illustrating the presence and importance of Italian-Americans in the life and history of this part of the coun- try. An accent was placed, throu- ghout 2019, on the central role of traditions and of Italy's ama- zing heritage: and so, we got to k n o w t h e s t o r i e s o f t h e Cuticchio family, who's been keeping the world of the Opera dei Pupi alive in Sicily and around the world; earlier in the year, we spoke to the young arti- sts of DADAme, creators of car- retti Siciliani, one of Sicily's m o s t l o v e d t r a d i t i o n s . F r o m there, we moved to Naples, the queen of caffè and of Presepe: we chatted away and had a taz- zulella with Errico Castagnola a n d M a s s i m i l i a n o C i o r f i t o , owners of two of the city's most popular — and traditional — bar, and great connoisseurs of coffee and its history. Just a cou- ple of weeks ago, we were in the city of Parthenope again, this time to learn all we could about Presepe, the most artistic of all Italian Christmas traditions, w h i c h i n N a p l e s r e a c h e d i t s most renowned artistic expres- sion: through the words of esta- b l i s h e d P r e s e p e a r t i s t s l i k e Cantone e Costabile — whose works have been exhibited in P i a z z a S a n P i e t r o t w i c e a n d even in the US — and young c r e a t o r s l i k e S a l v a t o r e Anastasio we understood the real meaning of Presepe and the reasons why it has become an art in Naples. What an amazing journey we had this year, even if there has been some sadness when we were forced to open with the disastrous, tear-inducing images of the last acqua alta in Venice, a catastrophe that brought the Serenissima to its knees, but also showed how strongly the world as a whole feels about Italy's artistic and cultural patrimony, and how much it's ready to do to save it. And just like this, week after week, we reached the final days of 2019 — our 111th year of life, by the way: we are ready to say goodbye to the old year and to welcome 2020 with a smile on our faces, and with a heart full of hope for our community and for our countries: may the bond between the two get even stronger and may we be able to keep on telling you stories of beauty, of smiles and of great Italian achievements for the next 1000 months. Continued from page 4 John Turturro in Giovinazzo, speaks to the people of the town where his father was born (Copyright: Deper- gola Fotografia - Ufficio Stampa Comune di Giovinazzo) Lina Wertmüller, true icon of Italian cinema, this year has received a Oscar (Copyright: Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia di Roma)

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