L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, S a n t a Claus may be coming to town but due to the COVID-19 pan- demic most of us will be un- able to greet him in person. Following are a few shops with an Italian connec- tion, where you can do your Christmas Shopping or any gift shopping throughout the coming year: I t a l i a n C h i l d r e n ' s Market, by telephone to o r d e r a c a t a l o g 3 1 0 - 4 2 7 - 2 7 0 0 , b y w e b s i t e w w w . italianchildrensmarket.com, by mail: Italian Children's Market 1536 W. 25th Street ste 321 San Pedro, Calif. 90732 If it is too late to order a catalog in time for Christ- mas save this info for any Baby Birthday or Baptism g i f t s c o m i n g u p , t o o . M y favorites are the Giovanni (John) or Giuliana (Julia) plush bears that speak only Italian (a translation guide is included), $39.99 each. I a l s o l i k e t h e b r i g h t l y colored wooden "Italy" Map Puzzle, $16.99. They also have an abbondanza of chil- dren's books, some books with matching games and, of course, Pinocchio books, bank, pencil holder, collaps- ing puppet and key chains. *** D i C a m i l l o B a k i n g Company, by telephone to order a catalog (800) 634- 4 3 6 3 , b y website www.dicamillobake ry.com by mail: 811 Linwood Ave, Niagara Falls, NY 14305 D i C a m i l l o B a k e r y h a s b e e n a r o u n d a l o n g t i m e (since 1920) but even if you a r e u n f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e name, I am sure that anyone who has ever attended an International Food Show t h r o u g h t h e y e a r s , h a s s t o p p e d t o a d m i r e t h e award winning graphics on many DiCamillo products. T h e i r a s s o r t m e n t o f ceramic Italian Biscotti jars, c r e a t e d e x c l u s i v e l y f o r DiCamillo in Tuscany and generously filled with an assortment of classic cook- ies, make a memorable gift anytime of the year and will c o n t i n u e t o d e l i g h t l o n g after the contents are con- sumed. I p e r s o n a l l y k e e p m y DiCamillo catalog handy, to order some of my no frills packing favorites like pack- a g e s o f c u c i d a t i Bucellati (Sicilian fig cookies $ 1 2 . 5 0 ) a n d t h e A b r u z z i cookie sampler (the found- ing family of Tomaso and Addolorata DiCamillo were from the Abruzzo region of Italy), the home grown and canned peaches Niagara a n d t h e N e a p o l i t a n B a b a Rum cakes. They also have a coffee espresso roast, and a s e l e c t i o n o f t e a s , b r e a d s , jams, honey, pasta and pasta s a u c e s t h a t I h a v e n e v e r e v e n t r i e d y e t , b u t I w i l l make it a New Years Resolu- tion to do so... *** Rizzoli Bookstore, by telephone 1-800-52- BOOKS to request a catalog, by web- site www.rizzolibookstore.co m, by mail: 1133 Broadway @ 26th St. New York, NY 10010 T h e R i z z o l i Bookstore was established in New York in 1964 and is one of the foremost inde- pendent booksellers in the USA. They specialize in art, architecture, fashion, pho- t o g r a p h y , c o o k e r y , t h e applied arts and literature, plus films, DVDs and for- eign literature, books in Ital- ian, Spanish and French. All I can personally say is that every time I look in their catalog for one book I wind u p b u y i n g a t l e a s t f i v e , because they have so many interesting categories. By t h e w a y , i f y o u v i s i t t h e EATALY Store in New York, Boston, Chicago or EATALY Los Angeles (10250 Santa Monica Blvd Los Angeles, C A 9 0 0 6 7 ) T h e y h a v e a n Italian Rizzoli curated Book selection. *** L i b r e r i a P i n o - u n a libreria Italiana a San Fran- cisco online. They have a b o o k s t o r e a t 5 4 8 U n i o n S t r e e t S a n F r a n c i s c o , C A 94133 BUT, due to the pan- demic, they currently mostly operate online. I have been in the bookstore and they have a great selection. To order go to www.libreriapi- no.com. I know you will be happy. Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. *** T e l e v i s i o n e . U s e the excuse, "I am trying to improve my Italian..." and e n j o y t h i s a s s o r t m e n t o f Italian detective stories with English subtitles, as a way to mentally escape to sunny Italy, during this pandemic induced isolation. Grazie to my marito, who i s t e c h l i t e r a t e , I l e a r n e d t h a t i f y o u d o a G o o g l e search and type in, Italian Detective T.V. you will get a dozen good leads. Following are my favorites, that you can stream on Netflix, Ama- zon Prime, Xfinity or other cable stations: Detective Montalbano Young Montalbano Murder at BarLume Nero Wolf Inspector Nardone Detective Montalba- no (TV series 36 episodes available) B a s e d o n t h e d e t e c t i v e novels of Andrea Camilleri. T h e p r o t a g o n i s t i s S a l v o Montalbano and the stories a r e s e t i n t h e i m a g i n a r y town of Vigata, Sicily. The series stars Luca Zingaretti. T h e Y o u n g M o n t a l - bano, the young "commis- sario" detective Salvo Mon- t a l b a n o , i s b a s e d i n t h e fictitious village of Vigata, Sicily (Porto Ercole, birth- place of the novelist Andrea C a m i l l e r i ) . S t a r s A n d r e a Tidona. M u r d e r s a t BarLume is set at a seaside bar in the fictional town of Pineta, near Genoa. Massi- mo, recently divorced, is a g r a d u a t e i n m a t h e m a t i c s who, after winning a Toto- calcio lottery, buys the Bar- Lume and becomes the bar- man. Four retired gents who sit at BarLume all day play- i n g c a r d s a n d M a s s i m o invariably find themselves investigating local crimes. N e r o W o l f e ( a d a p t e d from Rex Stout's detective series of books set in New York City during the 1940s- 1 9 5 0 s ) g a i n e d n e w f a n s , when he and his assistant Archie moved into an apart- ment in Rome. Nero Wolfe prefers tending to his irchid plants and dining on fine cuisine than solving crimes.

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