L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 7 stands near the town of Angels Camp and is a living testament to the desire of the early immi- grants to bridge their homeland with their new land. The Romaggi Adobe building is the focus of Nestor's passion to rebuild it and preserve this remarkable link to California's rich Italian history. The story of the adobe, the restoration effort, and how bay area residents can help, will be part of Nestor's pre- sentation during this year's Festa. The Italian American Heritage Foundation is honored to be lending their support to help save this important bit of early California and Italian American history. More informa- tion can be found at www.save- romaggi-adobe.com. "Let's not forget all the other exciting additions this year," remarked Ken Borelli, Cultural Committee Chair, Italian American Heritage Foundation. "The Cultural Center at the Italian Family Festa will have many displays rich in Italian her- itage yet still relevant to today's generation. Mr. Borelli went on to say, his committee has been working long and hard to make this the best cultural display at The Italian American Heritage Foundation, hosts of the Italian Family Festa being held on August 23 and 24, will have Adrian Nestor, of the Romaggi Adobe Association, attending this year's Festa. Mr. Nestor will present the story of a very Italian piece of California's 49ers gold rush history as part of the Festa's Cultural Center educational pro- gram. The tale of the Romaggi Adobe begins during the California Gold rush near the town of Angels Camp. One lucky gold miner was an Italian immigrant and stone mason from Liguria named James Romaggi. He managed to carve out his for- tune mining in the Mother Lode and in 1852 used his masonry skills to replicate his ancestral home in Romaggi near Genoa. He built the home for his wife Louisa and their five children where they lived on the top floor. It originally had a general store, bar and card room on the first floor providing valuable ser- vices to the local 49ers. Romaggi must have been a very good mason for his building still Italian Family Festa – Helping to Preserve California History any festival on the West Coast. We hope everyone will come and enjoy the Festa and learn some- thing while they are here. New this year will be La Famiglia Roots Project – family histories, genealogy, library doc- uments and historical sources and the Romaggi Adobe presen- tations. The Festa will also be honoring the 20th Anniversary of the publishing of La Storia Segreta – the internment of Italian Americans during World NANcy MoRReAle War II and a special exhibit of World War II brides. Not to be overlooked, there will also be Italian lace makers, weaving their craft and sharing their secrets for creating fine Italian lace, readings of Italian folklore and the Festa's can't miss, and ever popular, "From Where did your Family Migrate?" maps, stop by and add your family his- tory. Now in its 34th Year, the Italian Family Festa is the chance Aug. 17, Sun.- Arte Della Piazza Tre, 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. Come out and join in on the fun for the 3rd and final Arte Della Piazza of the year! Along with over 20 talented artisans with their art on view and to purchase plus 5 delightful live music acts, live dance we are also adding a wine truck. Free admis- sion. Bel Bacio, 350 W. Julian St, San Jose, 408-645-7776. Aug. 21, Thurs.- IAHF Italian Regional Lunch, Tastes from a Calabrese Kitchen, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. The cuisine, history and culture of the Calabrese people with cookbook author, Ken Borelli. $15 non-members, $12 IAHF members. 425 N. 4th St, San Jose, 408-293-7122, www.iahfsj.org. Aug 23 & 24, Sat. & Sun.- 34th Annual Italian Family Festa, Authentic Italian foods, fantastic live entertainment, arts and crafts, wine tasting, culinary demos, grape stomp and more. Free admission. Guadalupe River Park, 350 W. Julian St, San Jose, 408-293-7122, www.italianfamilyfestasj.org. Sept. 6 - 21,- Verdi's Rigoletto, A tale of innocence lost. A ven- geance gone tragically awry. A deformed court jester wants nothing more than to protect his virtuous daughter from a licentious duke who seduces and then abandons her. Don't miss this Giuseppe Verdi's famous masterwork. Opera San Jose, 2149 Paragon Dr, San Jose, 408-437-4450, www.opera- sj.org. Sept. 13, Sat. Little Italy San Jose Gala Celebration under the evening stars! 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. Featuring music by Italian Tenor Pasquale Esposito & Band. This Gala Celebration inclu- des a four-course Italian dinner with fine wines, a live auction, costumed performers and renaissance & Venetian-themed decorations. Little Italy San Jose Foundation, www.littleitaly- sj.com, 408-394-2893. Sept. 18, Thurs.- IAHF Italian Regional Lunch, Discovering Trabia and Western Sicily, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. San Jose was once home to more Trabians than Trabia. Enjoy the tastes that are unique to the isle of Sicily and learn more about its con- nection to San Jose. $15 non-members, $12 IAHF members. 425 N. 4th St, San Jose, 408-293-7122, www.iahfsj.org. Community Highlights Marie Bertola's only regret is that they couldn't do more. Her determination and dedication will ensure these valuable educa- tion programs will continue to grow in the years to come. If you are interested in donating, or set- ting up a scholarship fund, please contact Marie Bertola at 408-293-7122. On Tuesday, August 5th, his- tory was made in Little Italy San Jose! After several years, a million hurdles, numerous fundraisers and an unyielding perseverance and dedication of Josh DiVincenci Melander, Little Italy San Jose Executive Director, and Debbie Caminiti, Assistant Director ground was broken on the 31-foot arch that will grace the entrance to San Jose's new Little Italy! The cere- mony that was held at W. Julian and North Almaden which will be the permanent home of the arch. Little Italy San Jose partnered with the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce for this historic groundbreaking ceremo- ny that will anchor the develop- ing Italian District in downtown San Jose. The Arch is being made possible by in-kind contri- butions from Maggetti Construction, S&S Welding, Acadia-Architecture, J.A. Antuzzi Concrete, Della Maggiore Tile & Marble, Best Electrical, Ruth & Going, Frank Cozzitorto P.E., Agnoletti Masonry, Allied Trenching, Sherwin Williams, and Peninsula Building Materials. Completion is scheduled for the end of September. The Italian American Heritage Foundation (IAHF) was full of excitement at their annual Scholarship Dinner. Because of the generosity of their scholarship donors and the hard work of many volunteers at the IAHF a record 18 scholar- ships were awarded. As the scholarship recipients lined up on stage, the first thing that stood out was the diversity. One of the requirement is that each applicant have Italian ancestry in addition to stellar academic achievements. Among the many young men and women was one exceptional recipient, she was African with Italian heritage. She started her brief speech with, "I know I don't look Italian". The room erupted in laughter, with that she went on to tell of her Italian grandmoth- er. This year the IAHF added two new scholarships designated to help community college students bridge the financial gap when transferring to an accredited uni- versity. Marie Bertola, 2014 IAHF scholarship chair, herself a native of Italy and educator at the Santa Clara University led the effort. Her goal was to com- municate to these students that their community supports them, and to offer the encouragement they need to succeed in our increasingly competitive world. NANcy MoRReAle to spend a day experiencing what Italians grow up knowing; shar- ing a day with family and friends, savoring authentic Italian foods, playing bocce, engaging in a grape stomp, expe- riencing culinary demonstrations, enjoying a wine tasting garden, shopping the Italian marketplace and comfortably soaking in the culture and beauty is what Italian means. "The Italian Family Festa is a labor of love, the planning com- mittee and the onsite workers are 99% volunteers," beamed Joe Rizzi, Italian Family Festa Director. "It truly takes a village to put on this Festa. I feel privi- leged to lead such a passionate, creative and generous group of people. We invite everyone in the community, Italian or not, to come out and spend the day with us. Stroll the park, enjoy the music, dance a little, sing a little, sip some wine, and experience 'La Dolce Vita Italiana'." This year's Italian Family Festa will be held on Saturday, August 23 and Sunday, August 24, Guadalupe River Park in San Jose. Admission is Free. More information can be found at ital- ianfamilyfestasj.org. Ground Breaking of Little Italy Arch. Photo by Marco Zecchin, Photographic Arts Romaggi Adobe

• Cover