L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 D iscovering — or simply knowing — that you have a relative living on another con- tinent, in a country different from your own, and that your a n c e s t o r s c a m e f r o m s o m e w h e r e e l s e , i n e v i t a b l y sparks a touch of curiosity. That faraway place becomes a distance to bridge, because the experience of migration leaves lasting traces—within us and behind us. Everything Is Illuminated, a 2005 American film based on Jonathan Safran Foer's memoir, tells the story of a journey that is both physical and spiritual. The protagonist follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, who had been forced to emi- grate from Ukraine to the United States. A self-described Holding on: what dual citizenship really means From the Editor "collector of family memories," he sets off on a backward journey where the landscapes he encounters on the road slowly transform into journeys through personal and familial memory — pieces of a more intimate world that bind the past to his understanding of the present. The final gesture — brin- ging home a handful of soil from his ancestral land and scat- tering it on his grandfather's grave — is a symbolic act of return, of reclaiming one's roots. For the millions of Italian Americans who feel fully inte- grated into American society today, the search for their Ita- lian roots is not a rejection of the assimilation and integra- tion they or their ancestors experienced. Rather, it is an effort to recover an additional layer of their identity. Often, this takes the form of a bureaucratic process: applying for Italian citizenship, obtaining a second passport, or passing on to their children — undoubtedly American by birth — a fragment of their past. The same impulse underpins the efforts of Italian American communities to preserve the rituals and folklore of their places of origin. It was true in the past, and it continues to be true today, as a way to feel closer to their roots. In the early 20th century, for instance, emigrants from Patrica, a small town in Lazio's province of Frosinone, settled in Aliquippa, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. Every year on August 16, they celebrate the feast of San Rocco, the patron saint of their hometown. In a similar spirit, towns and cities in Italy are often twinned with communities abroad. These cultural bridges serve to preserve a connection with the past, to keep the umbilical cord from being completely severed. They help soothe the pain of separation — a separation that, for many, was not just physical, but emotional, personal, and familial. Millions of expatriates never returned home, never saw their relatives or friends again. To their descendants, they passed down an ancient longing to return, to keep the bond with their land of origin alive. It's no coincidence that, upon arriving in the New World, hundreds of thousands of former Italians sought out places that resembled the ones they had left. Islanders chose to live along the coasts. Southerners, used to sunshine and warmth, gravitated toward similar climates. People from Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna preferred hilly or rural landscapes. The migratory history of Meldola, a small town in Romagna, is emblematic. Since the late 19th century, it was the point of departure for a chain migration to Connecticut. The emi- grants settled in Litchfield County, an area whose rolling hills and foothills resembled those of the Forlì region. Similarly, emigrants brought with them their "territorial" expertise: they continued the trades they had practiced at home. In the early 1900s, hundreds of migrants from Roseto Valfortore, in the province of Foggia, founded the "borough of Roseto" in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, naming it after their hometown. Many found work in the local slate quarries, just as their ancestors had worked in stone extrac- tion and processing in Puglia. Maintaining a formal, legal link with one's homeland goes well beyond paperwork. The effort, bureaucracy, and legal expenses typically involved in applying for Italian citizenship would seem more than enough to discourage anyone. Yet, many persist. People fight for recognition of their Italian ori- gins, even if they have lived abroad for decades and may never return to Italy. Why? Because this is not just a legal matter, it's a matter of identity. Wanting official recognition of one's roots means reclaiming a part of one's personal and family history. And for many, that step is essential to fully understanding — and becoming — who they are. Simone Schiavinato, Editor Simone Schiavinato NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Member of FUSIE (Federazione Unitaria Stampa Italianaall'Estero), COGITO L'Italo-Americano Please send correspondence to P.O. Box 40156 Pasadena CA 91114 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano Newspaper (a 501(c)(3) non- profit organization), www.italoamericano.org, is the largest and longest-running Italian news- paper in America, not to mention the cultural and news resource for all things Italian in the US. A bilingual newspaper which represents an historical landmark for the Italian American Communities in the West Coast and throughout the US. L'Italo-Americano benefits from subsidies by the Italian Government, Memberships and Donations intended to support and not interrupt a mission that began in 1908 to preserve and promote the Italian language and culture in the USA Periodicals postage paid at Monrovia, California 91016, and additional mailing offices. PUBLISHER Robert Barbera Grande Ufficiale EDITOR IN CHIEF Simone Schiavinato ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Patrick Abbate EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Barbara Minafra COPY EDITOR Francesca Bezzone LOS ANGELES CONTRIBUTOR Silvia Nittoli SAN FRANCISCO CONTRIBUTOR Serena Perfetto SEATTLE CONTRIBUTOR Rita Cipalla CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mariella Radaelli, Matt Walker, Francesca Bezzone, Luca Ferrari, Stefano Carnevali, Paula Reynolds, Teresa Di Fresco Nicoletta Curradi, Generoso D'Agnese, Jessica S. Levy, Fabrizio Del Bimbo, Maria Gloria, Chuck Pecoraro, Anthony Di Renzo Serena Perfetto, Kenneth Scambray, Chiara D'Alessio, Luca Signorini, Giulia Franceschini © 2024 L'Italo-Americano Membership: One year $59 - Single copy $2.25 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to L'Italo Americano P.O. Box 40156 Pasadena CA 91114

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