L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 4 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY Continued to page 5 I n the rich tapestry of Italian American presence in the United States, no single docu- ment stands out so vividly as the first edition of the 1907 "Giornale L'Italia". Printed only ten months after the devastating San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906, the paper can only be described as a 'phoenix edi- tion' rising from the ashes that destroyed a major part of the city and much of the Italian district known as "North Beach". Motivation for residents to stay and help rebuild was para- mount. Giornale L'Italia was totally dedicated to the recon- struction of the city. Many fami- lies moved away, but great num- bers stayed and heeded the call. The issuance of the first 'post earthquake' edition rallied the Italian community in the effort to rebuild their city. The pages are filled with a sense of pride. The many messages are a testament to the amazing vibrancy of the Italian community at this historic junction in time. Reading the advertisements and personal notes of support of the 'common man and women' is truly inspiring. It gives the reader a slice of life that comes to fruition in 60 glorious pages of art, photographs and in many ways is a course in the History of Italian American life in the West. How this historic document reached the Patrons is a fascinat- ing story. We are all very indebt- ed to Prof. Alessandro Baccari, Jr. (88 years young) for his rescue of it from the dusty archives and having it lovingly reprinted at his own expense and distributing those few copies to select organi- zations. He is considered the unofficial 'Dean of Italian American Historians in the Western U.S.'. Ken Borelli, as Chair of San Jose's Italian American Heritage Foundation and past President, invited him to deliver a presentation and it was then that a few copies were made available. In 2011 the Patrons held their Annual Board retreat in San Jose, and as part of this new collabora- tion were given a copy. It became immediately obvious to Patron The fairytale ingredients are all present, including a quote – displayed on the food truck's side - from the dreamlike master of Italian cinema par excellence, Federico Fellini: "Life is a com- bination of Magic and Pasta." Prince Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy – longstanding Italian TV personality with royal blood - has recently ventured to put in motion the first Italian gourmet food truck that blends the ele- ments of colorful street art with t h e f r e s h n e s s o f h a n d m a d e pasta. His brainchild - that is n a m e d a f t e r h i s r e g a l t i t l e , "Prince of Venice" – is rapidly sweeping across the streets of L.A. Alongside him, Emanuele has a first-class talent, Milan- born Chef Mirko Paderno, who cut his teeth in the L.A. food s c e n e a s E x e c u t i v e C h e f o f Primi Italian restaurant, first, and Co-Executive of Valentino, then (under the same ownership of legendary restaurateur, Piero Selvaggio). I wonder if Fellini - whose father, Urbano, apprenticed as b a k e r a t t h e h i s t o r i c a l P a n t a n e l l a p a s t a f a c t o r y i n R o m e – a t t h e s i g h t o f t h i s mobile kitchen with the vibe of a time that is long gone, would have embarked on another nos- talgic Amarcord. A n o t h e r o f t h e m a e s t r o ' s "A quality and fresh food that Fellini would appreciate" Patrons of Italian Culture Announce Completion of Digitizing 1907 Historical Document masterpieces, La Strada, sparks me the idea: what if - alongside portions of delicious, smoking- h o t p a s t a c r a n k e d o u t f r o m "Prince of Venice" – street per- f o r m e r s w o u l d e n t e r t a i n t h e audience with a series of aston- ishing feats? Perhaps, that's a step too far. T h e u n d i s p u t e d q u a l i t y a n d freshness of the food, its well- finished presentation, as well as its affordability, shall do the job of drawing a crowd of hungry customers. At the inauguration on July 6, I had the chance to talk with the prince and the chef, as well as tasting some of their deli- cious pasta dishes. If you want to have a taste of " L a D o l c e V i t a " , f o l l o w t h e L.A. itinerary and calendar of t h e " P r i n c e o f V e n i c e " f o o d truck on its official website: www.princeofvenicefoodtruck.com The idea behind The Prince of Venice food truck is to offer authentic and traditional Italian food at a reasonable price. Left to right: Visconte Paolo Lasagna di Montemagno, Chef Mirko Paderno, Mia Dela Cruz, Prince Emanuele Filiberto. Photo credit: Marco Piovanotto Continued from page 1 President, Paul Romano, that this document could serve as a major focus for academic study by scholars and their University stu- dents engaged in Italian study programs. The task for the Patrons was to have this rare copy 'digitized' so that it could be used simultaneously at many locations, as the document itself is quite del- icate and so few are in existence. The 2 year effort has now been completed thanks to the amazing efforts of Patron member, Prof. Pat Miller, U.C. Northridge (Ret.) and the wonderful UCN Library staff, under the leadership of Prof. Luiz Mendes. The next phase in this project is the translation of the paper into English. To this end the Patrons are now reaching out to their many University collaborators and their Italian Studies depart- ments to complete Phase II of this project, among them: UCN, Pepperdine University at Malibu, Chapman University in Orange, UCLA, etc. Philadelphia's Museum of Italian Immigration has also expressed keen interest in the project and its long term scholarly value. Academics and University departments interested in partici- pating in translating portions of this historic document should contact Patrons President, Paul Romano, via the Patron's website, 'picla.org' outlining their areas of interest (history, journalism, art, government, etc.) so that appro- priate pages can be identified and distributed. PAUL ROMANO & KEN BORELLI

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