L'Italo-Americano

THURS DAY, ��� DECEMBER��� 6, ��� 2012 Dear Readers, December Dates with an Italian Connection and more: Agriturismo is the practice of renting our rooms in rural homes and giving tourists a ���down on the farm��� experience that also may include eating farm-fresh food cooked in an Italian kitchen by somebody���s mamma or nonna. Begun in the late 1980���s, it is estimated that some two million agri-tourists come to Italy to spend vacations on Italian farms and more than 16,000 farms now welcome them. Closer to home is the kilometer zero movement, started in the Veneto region by the Italian agricultural union Coldiretti in 2007 in an effort to get Italians to buy their food directly from farmers, ���zero kilometers��� from their homes to local producers of cheeses, wines, hams and more. For more info visit www. Veneto-Agriturismo.it. *** Baptism and Birthday Bibs, plus exquisite baby shirts made in Palermo (Sicilia) may be ideal gifts for any ���bambini��� recently added to your family tree. These exquisite shirts and bibs are products of ���Biberon��� (by Cierre Italia), an Italian company located in Palermo, Italy, specializing in newborn and baby items. The company was established in 1988 by Giuseppe (father) and Marco (son) Miserandino. ���Biberon products are distributed throughout Italy to specialty shops, and now for the first time to the USA, to Italian Children���s Market. Many of their products are embroidered by hand, using 100% natural fibers. Hand embroidered in pink is Il Mio Primo Compleanno for the bambina and in blue for the bambino $19.00. the Il Mio Battesimo (My first Baptism) bib is a beautiful and delicate embroidered Baptism bib. 100% silk with white embroidered flowers and lettering, trimming in white lace $24.00. There are also beautiful ���Camicina Della Fortuna��� (Good Fortune shirts) to caress baby on the journey home from the hospital, which make great baby shower gifts. According to ancient Italian traditions, a newborn dressed with this shirt will have a happy life. This tradition carries on still today. To see more of these delicate items in closer detail, visit www.ItalianChildrensMark et.com or call (310) 427-2700 to order their free catalog, filled with toys, books, DVD���s and more Italian Cultural and Language products for children. *** Books for the Bambini in your life, that I have personally ordered from the Italian Childrens Market (1536 W. 25th St. #321, San Pedro, Calif. 90732, tel. 310-427-2700) include: Merry Christmas Strega Nonna by Tomie De Paola. It���s Christmas time in Calabria. There���s no time for Strega Nonna���s usual business of curing headaches, mixing love potions, and getting rid of warts. Instead she must prepare for her annual feast for the L'Italo-Americano whole family. Poor Strega Nonna. How will she ever have the feast ready for Christmas Eve? The Legend of the Old Befana by Tomie De Paola. This delightful reading of the favorite Italian Christmas story about an eccentric old woman and her neverending search for the Baby King. C is for Ciao, an Italy Alphabet, by Elissa Grodin and Gov. Mario Cuomo. Achievements in art and architecture (Sistine Chapel), science and exploration (Galileo Galilei), music and literature (Stradivarius and Dante), the country of Italy has had a lasting and profound impact on the world. In C is for Ciao: an Italy Alphabet, young readers are invited to explore Italy���s rich history, diverse geography, and many traditions. For more titles, visit www. ItalianChildrensMarket.com *** Bilingual, Bear Giovanni is not, as he speaks only Italian but he comes with a translation guide. Press his furry paw, and in Italian he greets you, inviting you to respond. Join him when he counts to ten, and when he sings ���Giro, Giro Tondo��� and ���La Bella Lavanderina���. Listen while Giovanni teaches you ���Good Night��� and ���Good Bye��� with the promise of seeing you again. Giovanni���s sweater bears the Italian colors, and on the bottom of his left foot, a miniature Italian flag. 15��� from head to foot. Requires 3 AA batteries (included) $34.95. Available from The Italian Childrens Market, telefono (310) 4272700. *** Books with an Italian PAGE��� 23 Connection that might be of interest: Tony Bennett fans will certainly enjoy ���The Life is a Gift: The Zen of Bennett���. Tony Bennett was born in Astoria, New York on August 3, 1926. His parents hailed from Podargoni near ReggioCalabria. Family legend has it that his father would sing on the top of the mountain overlooking his village, and that people at the foot of the mountain could hear him. Now eighty six, Tony says in his moving and inspiring memoir, ���My given name is Anthony Dominick Benedetto, and Benedetto in Italian means ���the blessed one���. I couldn���t say it better than that���. Legendary singer, artist, and performer, Tony Bennett as been one of the world���s most beloved entertainers for more than six decades. From the 78 to the LP to the digital age, Tony has done it all and is still at the top of his game. In decade after decade, this artistic icon- who has won seventeen Grammys, sung for ten presidents, and performed for royals- has refused to compromise his vision or values. His unwavering commitment to quality has helped him stay true to his classic sound and is the reason why his music continues to endure. Mentored by such legends as Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole, Bennett has only gotten better with age, and his popularity continues to grow as each new generation discovers his timeless songs and incredible voice. In this entertaining memoir, a collection of soulful reflections and philosophies from his life and career, Bennett shares stories of friends and family and the essential lessons they have taught him: of the value of hard work and creating art that continues to inspire; of perseverence and a dedication to excellence; of the necessity of humility, love, respect, and most important, gratitude. Bennett cherishes the passion and insatiable thirst for knowledge that have shaped his life and made each day a journey of discovery. He pays tribute to all the remarkable talents he has had the honor to work with and to learn from, including Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Fred Astaire, Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Aretha Franklin, Barbara Streisand, Paul McCartney, Amy Winehouse, Willie Nelson, Lady Gaga, to name a few. The book, $28.99 is available from your local bookstore, Amazon.com or Thidwick���s on Clement St. in San Francisco, call (415) 831-1600 and have them mail you a copy if you don���t want to venture out in the rain. *** An Italian American Story, A Memoir, by Susan D���Angelo Mannino. Usually memoirs are written by silverhaired senior citizens, but Susan, born in the U.S.A. in 1970 gives us a youthful perspective on the immigrant experience. Her parents came to the U.S.A. in 1964, not from Italy, but from Tunisia. In 1946, one year after World War II ended, her grandparents moved to Tripoli due to the shortage of work in Sicily. An Italian American Story is Susan D���Angelo Mannino���s poignant memoir of her family and the slow decline of its beloved patriarch. Starting before her own lifetime in war torn Sicily, the author has us meet two young soldiers and two strong Sicilian women who will later become her grandparents. Then moving through the decades, she weaves together her youth in Queens where the author grew up in an intensely close knit network of relatives and friends. The memoir is a celebration of the Italian American experience from the daughter of immigrants. The youngest of five siblings and her parents��� only ���Americana���. It is a declaration of the love and pride Ms. Mannino feels for her family, her culture, and her heritage. Just as she writes on page 3 of the book... That is the thing about my generation. We are glad to be in America but never compromise our loyalty to being Italian���... To order and autographed copy by mail please send a check for $20 ppd. (write An Italian American Story on your check) to Marble House Editions Publishing, 96-09 66th Avenue, Suite 1D, Rego Park, New York 11374. To learn more about the author visit www. SusanMannino.com. Her books are also available at Amazon. com. *** Ms. Mannino continues to serve in the field of Special Education and has also published two children���s books, The True Story of the Fly In The Pie, and A Rose Like No Other. She is the coauthor of a historical fiction novel awaiting publication and is presently writing more books for children and for adults. *** Cucumbers when steeped in a preservative, usually brine or vinegar become pickles. Many other vegetables, such as green tomatoes, green beans, cauliflower, peppers, beets, onions and carrots can be pickled. Before the advent of refrigeration and canning, pickled vegetables were a necessity of life. Among the pickle fanciers of history were Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Jefferson. *** Carmen Basilio, former welterweight and middleweight World Champion Boxer, passed away recently (Nov. 7, 2012) of complications from pneumonia. I am not a big boxing fan, but I fondly remember all the old ���paesanos��� getting together with their friends to watch the boxing matches on their black and white T.V. sets. The 85-year-old, one of the inaugural class in of inductees into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990, is best remembered for winning the middleweight championship against Sugar Ray Robinson. Fans and natives of Boston North End remember him as the fighter who won his welterweight title by beating Fleet Street���s own Tony De Marco. After beating DeMarco again in a rematch of that fight, the two became lifelong friends.

• Cover