by Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

While the election outcomes forthe incumbent President DeanCannestra and all of his fellow offi-cers are certain as they are unop-posed, decisions on who will windirector-at-large seats rest withItalian Community Center mem-bers.Members will be electing four in-

dividuals from among eight candi-dates to fill the two-year directorterms. The candidate who finishesfifth in the balloting will be ap-pointed by the Board to fill an un-expired one-year term. The vacancyis the result of Ted Catalano’s for-feiture of his final year as a direc-tor to accept his nomination for thetreasurer’s post. (The vacancy ap-pointment process is described inArticle IV, Section 9.b. of the ICCbylaws.)The eight candidates nominated

to run for director-at-large seats are(in alphabetical order): RalphBusalacchi, Mary Anne Ceraso-Alioto, Rose Anne Ceraso Fritchie,Edward Ciano, Karen Dickinson,Joseph Jannazzo, Jr., Gina Jor-gensen and Ray Martinez.Busalacchi, Ceraso-Alioto, Dick-

inson and Jannazzo were on theslate presented to the membershipby the Nominating Committee atthe Aug. 17 general meeting. Mem-bers, attending the same meeting,added the nominations of Ciano,Ceraso Fritchie, Jorgensen andMartinez to complete the ballot.(The entire nomination process islaid out in Article V of the bylaws.)Among the eight candidates,

Ceraso-Alioto is completing a two-year term. Dickinson and Jannazzohave served on the Board the lastyear by appointment, filling vacan-cies that resulted from the 2016election.Busalacchi and Ceraso Fritchie

have previously served on theboard. Busalacchi was a directorfrom 2008 to 2013. Ceraso Fritchiewas the organization’s secretaryfrom 2004 through 2016. Ciano,Jorgensen and Martinez have notpreviously served on the Board.The Nominating Committee’s

presentation of the slate of officersfor the 2017-18 term – Cannestrafor President, Joseph Emanuele forVice President, Catalano for Treas-urer, Susan (DeSanctis) Chris-tiansen for Secretary and Joanne(Sanfilippo) Czubek for Sergeant-

At-Arms – was accepted withoutfurther nominations at the Augustgeneral meeting.Cannestra was elected president

last year after serving two years asvice president and four years as adirector-at-large. Emanuele was

Become a member of the ItalianCommunity Center and you will receive

home delivery of this publication.Your address label will placed here.

Published 11 times annually by theItalian Community Center

631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI 53202www.ICCMilwaukee.com

OCTOBER 2017 • VOL. 39, NO. 4– CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED –

THEITALIAN TIMESNON-PROFITUS POSTAGE

PAIDMILWAUKEE, WIPermit No. 5716

Director-at-large seats up forgrabs in ICC election

President Cannestra and other officers unopposed

Cosa c’è dentro?What’s inside?

President’s message page 2

ICC volunteers seekdonations for Thanksgivingdinner for poor page 2

Dan Amato donated vastColumbus book collectionto ICC page 2

Student Culture Dayplanned for Oct. 2 page 3

Scenes from CasinoNight fundraiser pages 4 & 5

50th anniversary ofPompeii Church demise page 10

Driving in Sicily page 12

Pensions of Italian livingabroad under assault page 13

If you have come to the Italian Community Centerlately, it is likely you have seen the return to the cor-ridor walls of some 275 of the organization’s Italianheritage photos. All of the photos were taken downduring the extensive building remodeling that wenton this summer.Here, members of the Italian Heritage

Photo Committee are shown here doing the inventoryof photos in the ICC’s vast collection. From the left,are: Sophia Michalovitz, Rose Mary Jennaro, YvonneZarcone, Sheeda D’Amato and Marian Yoder. Find astory on the plans for the photo collection beginningon page 9. (Photos by Grace Natoli Sheldon)

275 Italian heritage photosreturn to the walls at ICC,

work continues on many others

ICC’s HolidayBoutique setfor Nov. 25

Holiday boutiques are a mostwonderful way to get into the holi-day spirit – they inspire holidaycheer and provide shoppers with anopportunity to give a unique gift tothe people in their lives. On Satur-day, Nov. 25 from 10 a.m. to 3:30p.m., the Italian Community Cen-ter will host its third annual Holi-day Boutique featuring artists anddesigners, showcasing their workin a festive atmosphere.The event will take place in the

On the evening of Sept. 18, Nominating Committee members, joined bytwo volunteers, worked on completing the preparations necessary tomail out the election ballots to all ICC members in good standing (thosewho have been members since at least Aug. 21, which represents 60 daysprior to the announcement of election results). The election mailing wassent out for U.S. Postal Service delivery starting Sept. 22. Membersshould recieve their ballots by the week of Sept. 25. Shown here (l – r)are: volunteer Antonette Lo Coco, Christina Ziino, Suzanne Wypijewski,Election Committee co-chair Rosemary DeRubertis, Ann Zambito andElection Committee co-chair Sal Lo Coco. (Photo by Joe Zambito)

Please turn to page 8

Please turn to page 6

Tony Lupo, chairman of the an-nual Thanksgiving dinner for theless fortunate, announced that do-nations are now being collected forthe 2017 meal.The dinner will once again be

held at the Open Door Cafe, a mealsite at St. John’s Cathedral indowntown Milwaukee. The date ofthe event is Sunday, Nov. 12. Thefeast will be served from 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m.ICC volunteers, led by Lupo and

vice chairs Tony Zingale and RayMartinez, organize the dinner inconsultation with the meal site di-rector, conduct the fundraising tobuy a complete Thanksgiving din-ner and have the meal prepared

and delivered to the Open DoorCafe. They also serve as volunteersat the event.

How to make a donationAnyone wishing to make a dona-

tion is asked to submit a checkpayable to the Italian CommunityCenter. Donations can be mailed tothe ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Mil-waukee, WI 53202. Please list onthe memo line of your checkthat this donation is for the“Thanksgiving Meal.” This willensure that your donation is prop-erly credited for the dinner. En-velopes should be directed to theattention of ICC ReceptionistValentina. She will accept dona-tions at her desk during regularbusiness hours, Monday throughFriday.Lupo, Zingale and Martinez will

be on hand to collect contributionsat the ICC’s general membershipmeeting on Oct. 19.“You might think that the vast

majority of people fed at this dinnerare homeless or jobless men, butthat would be incorrect,” Lupo said.“Many of the dinner attendees inrecent years are women and chil-dren. We are seeing more and morefamilies each year that are home-less and desperately in need ofeverything many of us take forgranted.”

Persons interested in volunteer-ing to help out at the dinner areasked to contact Lupo, Martinez orZingale.

Bit of historyThis annual Thanksgiving din-

ner for the less fortunate has been

going on since the late 1970s. It wasstarted by a group called the Ra-gione Club under the leadership ofsuch men as the late Tom Busalac-chi, Dr. John Balistreri, Mario Bar-tolotta and Bob Cefalu. Tony Lupoassumed the chairmanship afterCefalu’s death.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 2 – OCTOBER 2017

A message from Dean Cannestra,Italian Community Center PresidentFirst, I want to thank our mem-

bers for expressing their confidencein me by granting me a second termas your President. I can tell youthat I will continue to work dili-gently with our Board of Directorsto keep our Italian CommunityCenter growing and prospering sothat our children and grandchil-dren can experience the pride weshare and the fulfillment we getfrom being members of our organi-zation.Secondly, I encourage all of our

members to vote in the upcomingelection. Ballots will be arriving inyour mailboxes any day now. Whileall of our officers are unopposed, wehave eight candidates running forthe four open director-at-large seatswith two-year terms. In addition,whoever finishes fifth in the ballot-ing is going to be appointed to fillthe unexpired term of Ted Cata-lano. Ted is vacating his final yearas a director to become our new

treasurer.Speaking of the treasurer post, I

want to sincerely thank and ex-press our best wishes to our retir-ing treasurer Sam Purpero, whohas served our organization withthe distinguished commitment ofhis service and resources since itsinception in 1978. Sam and his latebrother, Phil, both past presidentsof the ICC, exemplify the UNICOmotto – “Service Above Self” – andwe are forever grateful.I want to also acknowledge

Pietro Tarantino, as he is complet-ing his term of service as a director-at-large. Pietro has always shownhis commitment to our organizationand will continue to do so throughhis involvement – with his sisterEnrica – in our Italian languageclasses.

Casino NightOn behalf of our Board of Direc-

tors, I want to acknowledge Karen

and Bill Dickinson for chairing our4th annual Casino Night. They dida great job bringing everyone whoattended a fun and very enjoyablenight.Thanks, Karen and Bill!

Italian Heritage PhotosIf you have been to the ICC in

the last few weeks, you probablynoticed that 275 of our Italian her-itage photos have gone up on thecorridor walls. We have a commit-tee that is working hard to cata-logue, clean, recondition andconduct research on the photos inthe collection. They are also digi-talizing the collection.One of their most difficult proj-

ects is gathering basic informationto provide viewers with some de-tails. This includes the names ofpersons in the photo and the cir-cumstances around the photo. Theyhave already put up two framedindex posters that have thumbnail

prints of various photos that are al-ready on the walls that carry thatparticular information. In some in-stances, the information is along-side a photo in a small frame.This is an ongoing process as the

ICC has a lot of photos that havebeen donated to the organizationover the years. Unfortunately,many of the photos were donatedwith little or no information.

– Dean CannestraICC President

Manuela FrancavillaItalian Translator

MF Italian LanguageServices

For your ItalianGenealogy and Ancestry

Translation needs

Manuela.francavila@gmail.commfitalianlanguageservices.com

Support the ICC’s Thanksgivingdinner for the less fortunate

Columbus bookcollection donatedto ICC by Dan AmatoAn educational and informative

collection of 24 books and printedmaterial mostly pertaining to Ital-ian explorer Christopher Colum-bus, his birthplace of Genoa(Liguria), Italy, and the Age of Dis-covery were donated to the libraryat the Italian Community Centerthis summer by Dan Amato ofColumbus, Wis. The donation alsoincludes two books on the ItalianResistance (1943-45) and one onthe explorer Ponce de Leon.Dan and his wife, Rose, own and

operate the Columbus AntiqueMall and Christopher ColumbusMuseum in their hometown, whichis about 28 miles northeast ofMadison, Wis. The museum is lo-cated at 239 Whitney St., Colum-bus.The donation of books and

printed material was made shortlyafter the completion of ICC’s cele-bration of its 40th Festa Italiana.Dan Amato provided a small dis-play of his Columbus memorabiliato Festa’s salute of the Liguria re-gion of Italy. That display includeda wooden model of the Santa

Maria, the largest of the threeships that were part Columbus’sfleet during his 1492 discovery ofthe New World and memorabiliapertaining to the 1893 ColumbianExposition (World’s Fair inChicago).Christina Ziino, manager of

Festa’s Regional Exhibit, and GinaJorgensen, ICC Culture CommitteeChair, thanked the Amatos forsharing the display at Festa andthe donation of books and printedmaterial to the ICC.“We are extremely grateful to

Dan Amato for providing an out-standing and much talked aboutdisplay for our salute to Italy’s Lig-uria region and for making the do-nation of books and printedmaterials to the ICC library,” saidZiino. “With October designated asItalian Heritage Month, we encour-age our members to check out thebooks and learn more about Colum-bus, Liguria and the Age of Discov-ery.”“Understanding the importance

of the Italian Community CenterPlease turn to page 8

Volunteers will join forces topresent a day of Italian culture andeducation to local grade school stu-dents on Monday, Oct. 2. “StudentCulture Day,” as it is known, is akey part of the lineup of activitiesthat the Italian Community Centeroffers in its salute to the nationaldesignation of October as “ItalianAmerican Heritage Month.”Chairperson Gina Jorgensen

said the program is scheduled tofeature all of the learning experi-ences and components it includedin last year.These activities include:• An Italian language class.• A homemade pasta-making

class.• A history class on the Italian

immigrant experience, focusing onthose who settled in Milwaukee.• The Ellis Island immigrant ex-

perience. A re-enactment of the ex-

perience of Italian immigrants wholanded at Ellis Island, N.Y. forentry into the United States withthe students playing the role of theimmigrants and the volunteers act-ing as the Ellis Island nurses, doc-tors and registrars.• A recreation lesson that

teaches the students how to playbocce.The program will end with a

spaghetti and meatballs luncheonprovided by the ICC.Leading the history class this

year will be Lucia Soldati, a profes-sor of Italian language at the Uni-versity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.Jorgensen said, “We are planningto create a power point presenta-tion to be presented while she isspeaking.”Jorgensen also reported that the

Student Culture Day program hasreceived a $500 donation from RosePurpero Spang. “We wish to thankRose for her generosity and ongoingsupport for this educational pro-gram,” she said.

This year, 102 fifth graders fromthe Academy of Accelerated Learn-ing (AAL), 3727 N. 78th St., Mil-waukee, will participate in StudentCulture Day. AAL is an authorizedInternational Baccalaureate (IB)Primary Years Program. IB is atransdisciplinary international ed-ucation program designed to fosterthe development of the whole child.AAL offers a rigorous curriculumthat incorporates effective use oftechnology. The school has a musicprogram that is in partnership withthe Milwaukee Symphony Orches-tra providing instrumental musiclessons. The AAL staff welcomesparent involvement and communitypartnerships to enhance students’educational experiences.Over the years, the ICC has of-

fered this learning experience tohundreds of public and privateschoolchildren, ranging from thirdgraders to middle school students.In 2016, nearly 90 students from

the Italian Immersion Program atMilwaukee’s Victory K8 School andAll Saints Catholic School inKenosha participated in the pro-gram.

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 3

ICC’s multi-faceted Student CultureDay to be presented Monday, Oct. 2

During last year’s Student Culture Day program,Elena La Spisa provided fifth grade students with anoverview of the Ellis Island experience for Italian im-migrants who arrived by ship to America in the early1900s. After listening to La Spisa’s overview, the stu-dents got to play the role of those early Italian immi-grants. They received Italian names, met theAmerican medical staff and registration and admis-

sion officials at Ellis Island. The latter roles werefilled by ICC volunteers. While the experience forthose early Italian immigrants was likely nerve-wracking and confusing, the experience for the stu-dents was much less stressful and purely educational.The students in this picture were from All SaintsCatholic School in Kenosha. (Times photo by TomHemman)

18700W. Capitol Drive

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serving yours.”

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• Personally providing theservices you have come toexpect at the Harder FuneralHome or your churchor cemetery chapel.

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The 2018 meeting and socialevent schedules of all of the soci-eties, clubs and organizationsthat regularly use the ItalianCommunity Center for their ac-tivities are needed by The ItalianTimes.ICC Business Manager Laurie

Bisesi uses the information to co-ordinate room scheduling withBartolotta Catering. Times editorTom Hemman needs the informa-tion to provide an accurate re-porting in the calendar publishedin each issue of the newspaper.All groups are asked to submit

their schedules including thestarting time of all events assoon as possible. The goal is tohave the schedules from all soci-eties, clubs and organizations by

Nov. 30.Please submit schedules using

any one of these methods:• Send an email to Tom Hem-

man at themman@iccmilwau-kee.com.• Drop off the schedules in per-

son at the ICC.• Mail them to Tom Hemman,

ICC, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwau-kee, WI 53202.Groups that fail to comply with

this request may experience diffi-culty in securing the accommoda-tions they most desire.Please note: The Members

Room can no longer be reservedfor individual meetings and pri-vate parties. The room is avail-able to members at all times thatthe ICC is open.

2018 schedules ofItalian societies andorganizations that

regularly meet at ICCare needed promptly

All advertisements must be in accordancewith the rules and requirements as deter-mined by editorial policy. Paid advertise-ments are not to be interpreted as anendorsement by the Italian CommunityCenter or its newspaper, The Italian Times.In addition, the Newspaper Committee re-serves the right to reject ads based on edi-torial policy approved by the Board ofDirectors of the Italian Community Center.The Italian Community Center is a mem-

ber of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Associa-tion of Commerce, Visit Milwaukee and theHistoric Third Ward Association.

THE ITALIAN TIMES631 E. Chicago St.

Milwaukee, WI 53202-5916(414) 223-2180

Published 11 times annually

Publisher . . . Italian Community CenterICC President . . . . . . . Dean CannestraNewspaper CommitteeChairman . . . . . . . . . . . .Blaise Di PronioEditor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thomas HemmanAdvertising SalesManager . . . . . . . . . . Thomas HemmanAdvertising SalesRepresentative . . . . . . Faye Ann KesslerEditorial Contributors, Reportersand Columnists . . . . . .Blaise Di Pronio,

Barbara Collignon, Elizabeth Zizzoand Donato Di Pronio

For advertising information, please call(414) 223-2180 or send an e-mail to:themman@iccmilwaukee.com.

Copyright 2017The Italian Community Center, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

With the holidays rapidlyapproaching, it is a great timeto get your seasonal advertising

in The Italian Times.To get the details, call (414) 223-2189 or send an email to Tom atthemman@iccmilwaukee.com.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 4 – OCTOBER 2017

Casino Night fundraiser is all aces

For the fourth consecutive year, Karen (left) and Bill Dickinson haveserved as chairpersons for the Casino Night fundraiser, which is alwaysan enjoyable evening. Seated with them here is Suzanne Wypijewski,who assisted at the registration table.

Seated at this blackjack table (from l – r): Ray Martinez, Mary AnneCeraso-Alioto, Maggie Catalano and her brother, Ted Catalano.

John Alioto gave the dice a roll at the craps table, which drew playersvirtually the entire evening. John and Sophia Michalovitz, who is stand-ing next to John, played craps most of the night. You might recognizethe gentleman on the other side of John. It’s ICC President Dean Cannes-tra.

Bea Ceraso and her grandson, Sam Alioto, tried their luck at one of thepoker tables. Bea and Sam, who regularly attend ICC events, have yet tomiss the Casino Night fundraiser since its inception in 2014.

Playing blackjack at this table ( l – r) are: Lena and Tony Zingale, Rose-mary DeRubertis, Joanne Czubek, Catherine Lazzaro and Joe Lazzaro. One of the more difficult casino games for novice players to learn is

roulette. That, however, did not scare away (from the left) Carol Mar-tinez, Barbara Lupo, Suzanne Wypijewski and Debra Howard.

Tony Machi, the first ICC President (1978-80), was joined at the black-jack table by his daughter, Grace Lucretia Machi. Craig and Marie Lieber played blackjack.

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 5

Casino Night raffle prize donors were thanked on a large poster thateveryone could see as they registered to play. The donors included:Amelia’s Restaurant, Louise Au, Bartolotta Restaurant Group, BBCLighting, Boston Store, Buca di Beppo, Ted Catalano, Ambrose Ciano,Corvina Wine Company, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Joanne Czubek, Bill andKaren Dickinson, Divino Wine & Dine (Dean Cannestra), Ewald’s VenusFord, Falls Patio Players, Fazio’s Chocolates, Green Bay Packers, Jew-elry Center, Sheila and Wayne Kitzerow, Milwaukee Admirals, Milwau-

kee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks, Milwaukee Food Tour, MilwaukeeRepertory Theater, Milwaukee Wave, Next Act Theater, NorthwesternMutual Life (Steve Holter Agency), Papa Luigi’s Pizza (Sal Purpora),Reina International Auto (Joe Reina), Rose Purpero Spang, Sobelman’sPub & Grill and Uptown Motors.

Many of the people who come to Casino Night don’t have experience orknowledge of card playing. To help the novice, the dealers supplied byMusic on the Move Plus provide instructions. Here, dealer Mike Mankewas providing instruction to Pam Guttuso (first on the left). Seated nextto her is Louise Au. Standing is Jeff Stobbe.

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THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 6 – OCTOBER 2017

Eight candidates vie for director-at-large positions in ICC election

elected a director in the 2015 elec-tion before winning the vice presi-dency in last year’s election.Christiansen served a total of nineyears as a director before her elec-tion as secretary in the 2016 elec-tion. Czubek first won thesergeant-at-arms position in 2010and has since been re-elected everyyear.Catalano, a director-at-large for

the last three years, will be replac-ing Sam Purpero as treasurer.Purpero has held the post for sevenof the last eight years. In the 39years that the ICC has been in ex-istence, Purpero has served the or-ganization in every electiveposition, except secretary and ser-geant-at-arms. He was the organi-zation’s president in the 1982-83term. As for this election, he optedout to deal with personal health is-sues.As a result of Cannestra’s un-

contested election to a second termas president, Giuseppe Vella is as-sured of another year in the non-elective position of immediate pastpresident. Vella served as presidentfrom 2014 to 2016.

Election proceduresThe Nominating Committee,

whose members include RosemaryDeRubertis and Salvatore Lo Coco,co-chairs, and Suzanne Wypijew-ski, Joseph Zambito and ChristinaZiino, has confirmed that, based onArticle V of the bylaws, all of thecandidates nominated at the Aug.17 general meeting are qualified torun for their respective offices.The committee has also con-

ducted a drawing for the position-ing of the candidates’ names on theelection ballot. That was done onAug. 28 in the presence of this re-porter.Qualified voters will receive an

election ballot in the mail. Accord-ing to Article III, Section 1 of thebylaws, a qualified voter is anyonewho has been a member a mini-mum of 60 days prior to the elec-tion. For the upcoming election, aballot will be mailed by the Nomi-nating Committee to each personwho has been a member since Aug.21, 2017.Article V, Section 9 stipulates

that the ballots must be sent to vot-ers within eight days of the Sep-tember general meeting. Thatmeeting was Sept. 21, so expectyour ballot to arrive shortly there-after. The envelope with the ballot(or ballots, in the cases of couples)will also include two other en-velopes, one in which the ballot (orballots) are inserted and a largerenvelope, addressed to the ICC.Members are asked to follow the

election procedures. Write-in candi-dates are not allowed. Vote for onecandidate for each officer positionand no more than four candidatesfor director-at-large positions. In-sert your ballot (or ballots in thecase of couples) in the smaller en-velope and check the box showingwhether that envelope contains oneballot or two. Then, insert this en-velope into the large envelope, onwhich you provide the postage, andsend it to the ICC. By followingthese procedures, you can assurethe secrecy of your ballot(s).The mailing of the ballots is the

last duty of the Nominating Com-mittee.Only those ballots in the return

envelopes that are postmarked onor before Thursday, Oct. 12 will beeligible to be counted. Ballots re-ceived with envelopes postmarkedafter Oct. 12 will be saved but not

counted. The timetable for return-ing ballots is spelled out in ArticleV, Section 9. Oct. 12 is a week be-fore the ballots are tabulated andelection results are announced.Section 10.a. of Article V states

that the current ICC Presidentmust appoint tellers – a chairper-son and members – who will meetprior to the October general meet-ing “to confirm the validity of all re-turned ballots.” Cannestra hasappointed Joseph Zambito as thechairperson of the election tellers.Section 10.b. explains when the

tellers will open and count the bal-lots. It states, “The tellers shallmeet on the day of the October gen-eral membership meeting (which isOct. 19 this year) and open all validballot envelopes received. Thetellers shall tally all ballots andshall report the election results tothe membership prior to the ad-journment of the October generalmembership meeting.”

Seeking your voteAs an informational service to

the ICC membership, The ItalianTimes asked the director-at-largecandidates to complete a question-naire.After stating their name, occu-

pation, title and employer, eachcandidate was asked to answerthree questions. The first questionasks about their ICC and/or FestaItaliana involvement during thelast year. The second question asksabout their other local communityinvolvement. Both of these ques-tions requested responses of 50words or less. The final questionasked the candidates to describe in150 words or less what they aregoing to do to help the ICC if theyare elected.The candidates’ responses are

presented here in the same order astheir names appear on the electionballot.

Candidate #11. Name: Raymond Martinez2. Occupation: Retired.3. Title: Industrial Engineer4. Employer: Harnishfeger

Corp.5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Festa, Volunteer Tent volun-

teer.• ICC Taste of Italy volunteer.• ICC Election Committee 2016.• ICC Student Culture Day vol-

unteer.• Co-Chair, Thanksgiving Din-

ner for the needy.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?• Usher, St. Joseph Church,

Grafton.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?I will support the President and

the entire Board. I will take part inissues that will benefit the entiremembership. I will take in problemsolving and be involved in the deci-sion-making process that will makea favorable impact in the growthand future of the ICC.

Candidate #21. Name: Karen A. Dickinson2. Occupation: Retired3. Title: Sales Representative4. Employer: Nordberg Mfg.

Company5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa in the lastyear?• ICC Board of Directors.• ICC Membership Chair.• Co-Chair, Taste of Italy Raffle.• Chair, 4th annual Casino

Night (originated, organized, se-cured monetary support/raffleprizes). ICC fundraiser, enjoyedand profitable.• Chair, 3rd annual Holiday

Boutique (originated, organized, se-cured vendors, managed). ICCfundraiser, enjoyed and profitable.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?• Vice President, Board of Di-

rectors – Pompeii Women’s Club.• Board of Directors, Parliamen-

tarian – South Shore Yacht Club.• Past State President, Educa-

tional Chair for Southeastern WI –P.E.O. Sisterhood (an internationalphilanthropic educational organi-zation for 6,000 Wisconsin womenand 250,000 internationally).• Volunteer Center of Greater

Milwaukee, Fund Development Di-rector.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?I have been a member of the ICC

for 11 years and have enjoyed beingon the Board the past two years. Ihave attended 100% of the generalmembership meetings and boardmeetings this past year, as I con-tinually try to be an integral part ofthe Center and work for its better-ment.I have attended the majority of

the Finance Committee meetingsas Membership Chair the past fiveyears. I’ve had the pleasure of serv-ing on several committees. I willstrive to make the Center enjoyablethrough providing opportunities formembers to gather and a placewhere the Italian heritage will bepreserved.

This coming year, I will promotea mass mailing in the Third Wardto attract the neighboring residentsto join the ICC.My membership at the ICC is

very important to me, and I enjoythe “family like” atmosphere.

Candidate #31. Name: Rose Anne Bertucci

(Ceraso) Fritchie2. Occupation: Human Re-

sources3. Title: Human Resources

Manager4. Employer: Everbrite, LLC

– South Milwaukee Facility5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Member, Avanti Committee,

hostess of Gallery Night and Day.• Coordinating and running the

ICC Children’s Christmas Partyand the Children’s Easter Party.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganization?• President, Milwaukee Chapter

of UNICO National.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?After 12 years as Secretary of

the ICC and managing golf carts atFesta, I took the last year off torecharge. Now it’s time to get backto the business of the ICC. I believewe need to keep the ICC movingforward while maintaining the vi-sion of our founders, by gettingback to the days when we weremore of a Community Center andpeople worked together to preserveand present our Italian Americanhistory and culture. Planning andrunning the ICC and Festa needs tobe transparent and collaborative;our members have a lot of goodideas which need to be heard. If youwant to make changes, you need tostep up and take ownership tomake those changes happen. I be-lieve in fairness and equality for allmembers. I have demonstratedservice above self when supportingour ICC events. I will make a posi-tive difference.

Candidate #41. Name: Mary Anne Ceraso-

Alioto2. Occupation: Business

Sales3. Title: Account Manager4. Employer: Spectrum En-

terprise5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Board of Directors, 2015-2017

from page 1

Ray Martinez Karen Dickinson

Rose Anne Ceraso Fritchie

Continued onpage 7

• Festa Wine Booths Co-Man-ager• Culture Committee (culture

booth volunteer, Holiday Folk Fair,volunteer for Festival di Danza eCultura)• Fundraising Committee• Bocce League• Children’s La Befana Holiday

and Children’s Easter parties• Representative on Fox6 for

Taste of Italy• Sponsor, Hoop Dance Fitness

Class6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?• Make-A-Wish Golf Outing

Committee. (For 8 years-plus, I’veworked with community leaders toplan and organize outing raising$100,000-plus.)• Lake Park Fourth of July

Committee Fundraising Leader.(Plan and organize event attracting2,000-plus participants. Overseefundraising to supplement and sup-port event. Support day’s opera-tions, from set-up, ice creamdistribution, games, contests andfireworks.)7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?My goal in pursuing election to

the ICC Board of Directors contin-ues to be a simple one. MEMBERSFIRST. Over the past two years, wehave made many difficult decisionsto change the path of the ICC en-abling us to set forth and advancethe culture and traditions of theItalian American in Milwaukee. Istrongly believe that we must con-tinue to be diligent, making surethat as an organization we main-tain and follow our Bylaws. I feelstrongly that we must continue tobe engaged as representatives ofthe membership. I will pursue op-portunities for members to cele-brate and learn about our cultureby working with the Culture Com-mittee, bringing more events to theICC for their members to partici-pate in. My desire is still to ensurethat future generations of Italianshave the opportunity to know theirrich background and have a chanceto celebrate our traditions.

Candidate #51. Name: Joseph O. Jan-

nazzo, Jr.2. Occupation: Agency Man-

ager for COUNTRY Financial3. Title: Agency Manager4. Employer: COUNTRY Fi-

nancial for over 19 years.5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• ICC Fundraising Committee

(including new naming rights pro-gram for ICC rooms) and the ICCBylaws Committee.• Festa beer tent volunteer.6. Have you recently been active

in any other community organiza-tions?• Ambassador, Waukesha

County Business Alliance.• Advisory Board for Leadership

Waukesha Program, WaukeshaCounty Business Alliance.• Member, Order Sons of Italy

in America/Filippo Mazzei Lodge.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?As your board member, my ob-

jective will be to modernize the ICCas an organization of the future,while protecting the great heritageand traditions of past. I would liketo continue working with theFundraising Committee to supportprograms at the ICC. I have expe-rience working with Chambers ofCommerce, community networkingand grassroots marketing that Ican use to help integrate new ap-proaches for Italian Americans toconnect here in Greater Milwaukee.By implementing these ideas, wecan build on the forward thinkingof the past few years and continuedevelopment of new partnershipsmoving forward.I am a third generation Italian

American living in Waukesha. Mywife, Jennifer, and I have fourdaughters, Gillian, Mia, Giannaand Isabel.

Candidate #61. Name: Edward (Eddie)

Ciano2. Occupation: Milwaukee

Police Officer3. Title: Community Liaison

Officer4. Employer: City of Milwau-

kee5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Festa Drivers Manager.• 2016 Vice President of the Ital-

ian Conference Center Board.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?As MPD Liaison Officer, I work

closely with organizations such asSafe & Sound, United Health Care,Sojourner Family Peace Center,Milwaukee Archdiocese, DominicanCenter, Messmer Schools, TheLight House, Halyard Park, River-Works BID, 30th Street Corridor,Historic King Drive BID #8 andMentor – MPD Ambassador Pro-gram to solve community problems.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?It would be an honor to be

elected to the Board of Directors. Asa child, I grew up attending func-tions at the ICC on Hackett Ave.,from UNICO Spaghetti Dinners toFriday Fish Fries. This Center hasbeen an important part of my lifefor a long time and it means a lot tome.

If elected to the Board, I’ll workto continue to improve communica-tion and transparency to the mem-bership. I’ll be open to listening toany new ideas members may haveand presenting them for discussion.In regards to membership, I’d workto reintroduce the Italian Commu-nity Center to a missed generationby working to attract younger indi-viduals and families to be involved.I’m proud of my Italian heritage.

I’m willing to put in the workneeded to continue our great tradi-tions such as Festa Italiana and tobe part of creating new traditionsas we move forward.

Candidate #71. Name: Gina Marie Jor-

gensen2. Occupation: Art Teacher3. Title: Art Teacher/Special-

ist4. Employer: Milwaukee

Public Schools5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Italian Community Center

members, 2006-present.• Chair/Member, Culture Com-

mittee, 2010-present.• Past President (2009-2011),

Current Vice President (2011-pre-sent) and dance member,Tradizione Vivente, (2000-2017).• Festa Parade Manager, 2016-

2017.• Built Floats for Festa Parade,

2012.• Archival Photo Committee,

2017.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?• Board Member (Milwaukee

and ICC Representative) and Edu-cation Committee, WisItalia, 2011-present.• CIOFFmember, 2012-present.• Government County Member,

Italian Immersion School, 2010-2016.• Holiday Folk Fair Chair, 2009-

present.• Italian Folk Art Federation of

America member, 2000-present.• Costume Committee –

Tradizione Vivente, Italian DanceGroup.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?I strongly desire to bring my love

and passion for the Italian cultureto celebrate our heritage throughlanguage, art, music, food and otherfacets of our rich culture. Our Ital-ian pride must live on through ouryouth so they one day continue toshare our culture. I want to be partof sustaining this legacy. I will helpcreate opportunities to grow ourcommunity through cultural en-gagement in and out of the commu-nity center. I desire to strengthenand/or build partnerships andfriendships with local Italian or-

ganizations to enhance, embraceand celebrate our heritage. Al-though the financial stability of theICC is vital to our future, we mustalso continue to create opportuni-ties to celebrate our heritage orwhat is the reason for existing atall. Think about all the fond memo-ries you have from growing up, thatis what I pan to nurture.

Candidate #81. Name: Ralph A. Busalacchi2. Occupation: Quality Con-

trol, Printing Inks3. Title: Production4. Huber Group5.How have you been involved in

the ICC and/or Festa during thelast year?• Festa Manager – Security,

Wheelchairs and other.• ICC Taste of Italy Security.6. Have you recently been active

in any other local community or-ganizations?• Order Sons of Italy in Amer-

ica/Filippo Mazzei Lodge.• Pompeii Men’s Club.• For the last seven years, my

neighbor and I have an annual bar-beque outing for the Hunger TaskForce.7. If you are elected to the ICC

Board, please describe in 150 wordsor less, what you are going to do tohelp the organization?I will support in any way that I

can to keep the ICC on the righttrack for growth. We need to main-tain the same respect for our or-ganization with newer ideas toraise money and awareness to thecommunity. I will try to encouragemore to join our organization, tomaintain and improve.

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 7

from page 6

Mary Anne Ceraso-Alioto

Joe Jannazzo

Ralph Busalacchi

Edward Ciano

Gina Jorgensen

LET’S MAKE A DEAL!There are lots of ways you can

save on advertising in The ItalianTimes. Get the details. Call (414)233-2189 or send an email to Tomat themman@iccmilwaukee.com.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 8 – OCTOBER 2017

Italian Community Center to hostHoliday Boutique on Saturday, Nov. 25

Festa Ballroom. Admission is $2per person.“It has been a fantastic event

the past two years, and we’re antic-ipating a greater response from ourmembers and the general publicthis year,” said Karen Dickinson,who is chairing this fundraiser.The ICC Holiday Boutique

boasts a number of artisan boothswhere shoppers will find a magnif-icent variety of goods – handcraftedgoods, unique items and gifts thatyou won’t find in stores. For thosewith a sweet tooth, there will behomemade Italian cookies andgourmet chocolate goodies.

“We will offer package check, soyou don’t need to carry your pur-chases while you continue shoppingor having lunch,” Dickinson said.There will also be a silent auc-

tion, where you will win an artist’sdonation if you are the highest bid-der.

List of artistsMaria Berghauer – Fiber, silk,

wearable artBill Dickinson – Original

acrylic paintingsKaren Dickinson – JewelryTrina Frost – Letter word artPeter Gustin – Rustic furnish-

ingsJohn and Trudie Heckel –

Functional woodcrafts

Jenni Hopfinger – Hand-painted functional glass tablewareKaren Kerans – WatercolorsBill Lang – PhotographyJudith Lesniewski – Hand-

painted ornamentsDawn McDermid – Quilted

itemsLinda Mielke – Exquisite

sweatshirtsEvelyn Mubasa – ClothingStephanie Olsen – Fiber/cloth-

ingVictoria Patterson – Original

handcrafted candiesSarah Perlishek – Upcycled

clothing

Alexandra Polletti – Soaps andlotionsAnnette Smiszek – WatercolorsLynn Sobye – Gourmet choco-

latesMary Spencer – Stained glassTradizione Vivente, the Italian

Dance Group of Milwaukee – Ital-ian cookiesBarry Vandergriff – Wood

turned pensDebbie Will – Wood signs and

windowsJessica Zalewski – Pendants

featuring photographyGuests are encouraged to have

lunch at Cafe La Scala, which isnext to the Festa Ballroom.

from page 1

Tuesday, Sept. 26• Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO Board meeting, 6 p.m.• Live Music in the Courtyard with Leroy Airmaster withLil’ Maddie (Blues), 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 27• Pompeii Women’s Club general meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 28• Final 2017 Live Music in the Courtyard concert withThe Classics (Rock and Roll), 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 2• Student Culture Day, 9:30 a.m. Details in this issue.

Wednesday, Oct. 4• Pompeii Women’s Club Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 9• Italian Community Center Finance Committee, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 10• Abruzzese Society meeting and spuntino, 2 p.m.• Milwaukee Chapter UNICO National meeting, 7 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 12• Italian Community Center Board meeting, 6:30 p.m.• Società Santa Rosalia general meeting, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 13• Abruzzese Society social, 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 17• Milwaukee Ladies of UNICO general meeting, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 18• Filippo Mazzei Greater Milwaukee Lodge #2763/Order Sons of Italyin America general meeting, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 19• Italian Community Center membership dinner, 5:30 p.m.Reservations necessary by Monday, Oct. 16. Call 414-223-2180.• Italian Community Center general meeting, 6:30 p.m.Election results announced. Details in this issue.

Wednesday, Oct. 25• Pompeii Women’s Club general meeting, 6:30 p.m.

Daily and weekly classes and activities• Bocce leagues. The fall season is underway with leagues on Mondayand Wednesday nights and Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Theseason will end with the champion playoffs on Monday, Nov. 13.

• ICC Italian classes. The fall semester of Italian I and Italian IIclasses are underway and will continue on Tuesday nights throughNov. 14.

• ICC free Children’s Italian class. The fall semester for children. ages6-12, is underway and will continue on Saturday afternoons throughNov. 11.

• I Bei Bambini, The Children’s Italian Dance Group. This children’sfolk dance group practices weekly on most Monday nights at 6:30 p.m.at the ICC. New dancers are welcome. For details, visit:www.tradizionevivente.com. Breaks are taken during the holidays.

• Tradizione Vivente, The Italian Dance Group of Milwaukee. Thisfolk dance group practices weekly on most Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. atthe ICC. Visit: www.tradizionevivente.com for details. Breaks aretaken during the holidays. Ballate con noi! Dance with us!

• Hula hoop dance fitness class. Every Tuesday night, 5:45 – 6:45 p.m.in the bocce court room. Everyone is welcome. Cost: $5 per member,$10 per non-member. No classes during the holidays.

Calendar of EventsSeptember 26 – October 25, 2017

Columbus book collection donatedto ICC by Dan Amato, owner ofColumbus (WI) Mall & Museum

and in honor of Festa Italiana, Ichoose to make the donation,”Amato said. “These were key booksin my museum, for which I had du-plicate copies. In my mind, it wasonly appropriate that I should do-nate them to the ICC for its li-brary.”Amato added that the books,

particularly those by Paolo EmilioTaviani and Douglas T. Peck, truescholars on Christopher Columbusand his voyages, are essential toany library which Italian history istreasured.The book and printed material

donation includes:• The Voyages of Christopher

Columbus: The Great Discovery, In-stituto Geografico De Agostino, 2-volume set.• Cristoforo Colombo: God;s

Navigator, Douglas T. Peck, 2copies.

• Cristoforo Colombo: Genius ofthe Sea, Paolo Emilio Taviani, 2copies.• Christopher Columbus: Gen-

eral Reference Bibliography onChristopher Columbus Scholarship,L.F. Farina and P.E. Taviani, 4copies.• Città di Genoa: Colombo, in

both English and German.• Ponce De Leon and the Discov-

ery of Florida, Douglas T. Peck.• Breve Storia della Resistenza

Italiana, Paolo Emilio Taviani, 2copies.• Christopher Columbus, Vol-

umes I, II and III, Paolo Emilio Ta-viani.• Columbus and the Age of Dis-

covery, Zvi Dor-Ner.• A Maconesi: Terra di Colombo,

poems and commentary, 3 copies.• Columbus Museum program

honoring Paolo Emilio Taviani,1995, 3 copies.

Editor’s note: Taviani (1912-2001) was an Italian politicalleader, economist and historian ofthe career of Christopher Colum-bus. He was a partisan leader inLiguria, a member of the ItalianResistence, the Consulta NationalAssembly, which gathered to directthe transformation of the Italianmonarchy into a Republic, the Con-stitutional Council, and the ItalianParliament from 1948 until hisdeath. Several times, he held min-istry positions in the Republic’sgovernment. He was an author ofstudies on economics and impor-tant works on Columbus, univer-sity professor and journalist.

Columbus MuseumThe Christopher Columbus Mu-

seum is a history museum that dis-plays quality souvenir memorabiliapertaining to both the voyages andlife of Christopher Columbus andcelebrations of Columbus, particu-

larly Chicago’s 1893 WorldColumbian Exposition. Educationalexhibits include: library, statues,lithographs, paper, glassware,china, porcelain, taperies, metals,silk ribbons, cloth, bronze andmany types of souvenirs.The museum covers 300 feet of

wall space, 80 cases with 2,000items in 3,000 sq. ft. Many itemsare rare, one of a kind, a broad col-lection of diverse and unique itemsthat bring to life the period fromwhich Columbus burst forth. Thecollection honors the ColumbusQuincentennial Celebration (1492-1992).The museum is open everyday,

except Easter, Thanksgiving andChristmas, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.There is a suggested $2 donationfor individuals over 18. For moreinformation, visit: www.columbu-santiquemall/#expo or call 920-623-1992.

from page 2

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 9

275 Italian heritage photos returnto the walls at ICC, workcontinues on many others

by Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

If you have come to the ItalianCommunity Center lately, it islikely you have seen the return tothe corridor walls of some 275 of theorganization’s Italian heritage pho-tos. All of the photos were takendown during the extensive buildingremodeling that went on this sum-mer.The work to organize an attrac-

tive display is being done by a vol-unteer committee, chaired byChristine Conley.Conley told The Italian Times

that the Italian Heritage PhotoCommittee has been working manyhours to catalogue, clean, recondi-tion and initiate research on thehundreds of photos in the collectionso that viewers not only look at thephotos, but ascertain basic infor-mation such as the identity of peo-ple, the place where the picture wastaken and what kind of event isshown in the photo.The majority of the photos that

have been donated to the ICC bydescendents of Milwaukee’s earlyItalian American families have lit-tle or no background information.

“People who look at our photosare curious,” said Conley. “Theywant to know the circumstancesaround our pictures. I found thatout being the manager of the photocollection that we put up at FestaItaliana. One of my personal goalshas been to start collecting the sto-ries behind the photos. I have a listof people, excited to see a familyphoto exhibited at Festa, who wantto share with us some information

about the event or the people in thephoto.”Conley volunteered to take over

stewardship of the photo collectionshortly after the death of longtimeICC Historian Mario A. Carini onJuly 7, 2015. She had worked pre-viously with Carini for many yearson the Festa photo exhibit. She andSusie Christiansen have been incharge of Festa’s Italian HeritageExhibit the past three years.

Project detailsSince assuming the project, Con-

ley has put together a committeethat has inventoried, cataloguedand refurbished all of the photos,including repairs to and replace-ment of frames and hanging appa-ratus. The collection has beencatalogued twice before but hasn’tbeen updated in 25 years. Conleyand Christiansen have taken thetime to digitalize the inventory sothat they can easily see what theICC has in its collection and whatphotos they might want to display.One of the immediate tasks of

the committee is to determine ifthere might be a better system todisplay the photos.“We would like to have the flex-

ibility of easily changing photos orto do a special exhibit on a particu-lar theme,” she said. “We want tomaintain the general appearancebut research if there is a more suit-able way to display, maintain andvary the presentation of the galleryphotos. Space is also a concern. Theadditional framed photos and themounted photos from Festa haveexceeded our storage capacity. Ourfuture plans include seeking addi- tional photo donations, but we need

to create criteria for the collection.We have started transferring pho-tos to digital storage and may beable to accept photo donations in adigital format. We hope to have theprocess in place by the first of theyear.”

In the meantime, the committeeis doing research to get more infor-mation on the photos already in thecollection. “The investigating to ob-tain the names of people, the placesand the events will take time,” Con-ley said.

Maya Hamdan (left) and Grace Natoli Sheldon put up both of the framedposters on the south wall of the west end of the building containingthumbnail prints of and information on themed photos hung in sectionsof those walls. The framed poster outside the entrance to ConferenceRoom 1 contains thumbnail prints and basic information about the babypictures, which can be seen immediately west of the poster. The secondframed poster has thumbnail prints and basic information about thewedding photos hung on the far west end of the building.

Bill Dickinson and Aggie Collura looked at one of the photos in the col-lection that drew their interest.

Committee members are like the people who view the photos that appearon the walls at the ICC. A particular photo can stir curiosity or a fondmemory. That’s what seemed to be going on here as (l – r) YvonneZarcone, Sheeda D’Amato andMarian Yoder looked at this framed photo.

Please turn to page 11

Sophia Michalovitz, Bil Dickinson, Rose Mary Jennaro and YvonneZarcone.at work.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 10 – OCTOBER 2017

Remembering Our Lady Pompeii of Churchon the 50th anniversary of its demise

by Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

October 9, 1967 will always beremembered with great sadness inMilwaukee’s Italian American com-munity. That was the day whendemolition of their beloved OurLady of Pompeii Catholic Churchcommenced.The “Little Pink Church,” as it

was affectionately known, had beenthe heart of the city’s Italian Amer-ican community for more than 60years. Located at 419 N. JacksonSt., the church was torn down tomake way for an off-ramp to Inter-state 794.

The Milwaukee Journal, in astory it published on July 19, 1967,reported on the church’s swan song.Bearing the headline, The LastDays of Pompeii Church, the articlestated: “It has had a slow death, butnow the sentence is irrevocable. Itwas the first building selected as alandmark by the Milwaukee Land-mark Commission. In the late-1950s, when most of the old ThirdWard was razed for urban renewal,the church was spared at the re-quest of its parishioners.

“For several years it stood, itsbelfry like an old lighthouse, amidthe rubble. Then, as new construc-tion replaced the old, it remained, ashrine to the history of the areasince 1892. That year a disastrousfire drove the Irish residents fromthe ward. Italians came in theirplace to live in the houses leftstanding and to build others.“The first citizens from Italy

who moved into the ward had nochurch of their own; 10 years afterthe fire, they collected the money tobuild one. It was named for an Ital-ian church built on the strange,lava covered land on the road toPompeii.”The article also mentions that

the final Mass would be conductedon July 31, 1967 and offers thesecomments on the interior of thechurch: “The ornately decorated in-terior reflects a rich past. Statuesof St. Joseph, the Madonna and theSacred Heart dominate the mainaltar. Carved moldings and wingedangels’ heads add to the old worldfeeling.“A painting of St. Francis of As-

sisi was one of 16 murals installed

in the church in 1944. The murals,all copies of works of famous mas-ters, were painted by a Chicagoartist, John Cangelosi, who alsopainted the murals in St. Rita’schurch on N. Cass St.“Attention to detail is evident in

the church’s stained glass windows.Soon, the organ and church bell willbe silent and the pigeons will nolonger coo softly in the steeple. TheLittle Pink Church will be only amemory, replaced by a freewayramp.”

Church historyMario A. Carini, the late ICC

historian and author of Milwau-kee’s Italians: The Early Years, re-ported that planning for thePompeii Church began shortly afterthe first major influx of Italian em-igrants to Milwaukee. “In the

early-1890s, Milwaukee’s Italianpioneers had no church of their ownas did the more established ethnicgroups of the city. No doubt frus-trated in not being able to hear theword of God delivered in themelodic tongue of their native Italy,a handful of immigrants collectedthe necessary funds to open a mis-sion on Clybourn St., which theydedicated to the Sacred Heart. Butthe mission soon proved too smallto accommodate the ever-increas-ing flood of their fellow countrymento the city.“A church, ethnically Italian in

nature, was seen as the only solu-tion to their problem.“A building committee, headed

by Giovanni Battista Catalano, An-tonio and Giovanni Busalacchi andVito and Giovanni Battista

Guardalabene, was formed, and, bythe winter of 1899, the necessarylegal documents had been filed inMadison to incorporate the church.The mission’s name was officiallychanged to ‘The Congregation ofthe Blessed Virgin of Pompeii.’“By the fall of 1904, funds to de-

fray the building costs were met.Construction of the church on Jack-son Street, and a rectory for thenewly arrived pastor, Rev.Domenico Leone, commenced.“Bound and determined to have

the church completed as soon aspossible, the men of the parish notonly dug the foundation, but alsohelped in its construction. Withmuch pride and joy, they dedicatedtheir new church on May 14, 1905.”The late Theodore Mazza, a

leader in Milwaukee’s Italian com-munity and one of the founders ofUNICO National, stated in an arti-cle he wrote for The Italian Timesin the July 1979 issue, that thePompeii Church was “a landmarkof Milwaukee, now resting in thebosom of eternity.“At 419 N. Jackson Street, the

passerby was invited to stop andadmire a stately brick structure ris-ing up to the skies. The church wasbuilt and first opened to the wor-ship of God in 1905, as we could seeon the cornerstone of the building.“The thousands of people who

stopped to pray in the historicstructure during its 62 years of ex-istence may not have noticed theminute details of the church proper.But everyone knew then and stillremember today that it was the‘Pompeii Church.’ The name wasbrought to the four corners of thecity by the thousands of Americancitizens of Italian origin who clus-tered and lived around the churchlike a big family united in a com-mon bond of community, executedby customs, traditions, languageand religion.“The outsiders used to call it

‘Little Italy,’ but to our people, thePompeii Church was a ‘landmark’that could not be forgotten no mat-ter where one lived.“Here were treasured their fond-

est memories. Here they lived thefirst years of the great emigrationdecade. To them, the PompeiiChurch and its surrounding neigh-borhood, in the near downtown sec-tion, was their Milwaukee at itsbest. It was their America, theirpromised land, their new ‘HomeSweet Home.’“It’s a pleasure to go through the

church registries beginning with1905 and read the names of thefamilies who baptized their chil-dren and married their young onesat the Pompeii Church.“There was adequate provision

for the catechetical training of thechildren. It was taken care of, in-deed, here and there, after a fash-ion; but more was needed, and morewas wanted. This need was an-swered by the Carmelite Sisterswho came to Milwaukee from Indi-ana a year or two after the comple-tion of the church. After severalyears, they left Milwaukee.“In 1916, the Catholic Instruc-

tion League was started. This or-ganization deserves great creditbecause it was an important factorin aiding the parishioners to get ac-quainted with their religion and thepractice thereof. Eventually, MissStella Frye came into completecharge of the CIL. Through her ef-forts, her courage and persever-ance, the league continued itsreligious activity in the parish until

Our Lady of Pompeii Catholic Church in the mid 1950s.(Italian Community Center photo)

The demolition of the church was well underway when this photo from October of 1967 was taken. (ItalianCommunity Center photo) Continued on page 11

1937, when it was disbanded.“In July 1933, the Sisters of

Charity of St. Giovanna Antidacame to Milwaukee to take chargeof the children’s instructions andother duties which relieved the pas-tor of many cares and permittedhim to pursue his pastoral workwith ease.”

St. Rita’s, an outgrowthof the Pompeii Church

Mazza further wrote in the samearticle about the role the congrega-tion of Pompeii had in establishingSt. Rita Catholic Church (nowknown as St. Rita of Cascia andpart of Three Holy Women Parish).Mazza stated, “A most impor-

tant factor in the broadening andrejuvenation of the entire parishwas the appointment of Rev. Fr.Ugo Cavicchi in July 1935. Due tohis fine priestly spirit, his splendidability and untiring energy, a newlife became evident.“A glance (by Fr. Cavicchi) at the

situation revealed the necessity ofthree objectives: a new school andchurch in the First Ward, the or-ganization of a church, committeeof laymen for purposes of moral andfinancial aid and the infusion of thespirit of self-reliance. He set aboutthe task in a quiet way, graduallyapproaching his objective. In July1936, he began the publication ofthe Vita Parocchiale, a monthlybulletin to stimulate the people andkeep them informed about the af-fairs close to his heart.“In 1936, a group of 40 men was

selected to assist the pastor in thematerial administration of theparish. Action followed. To thiscommittee, Fr. Cavicchi broachedthe subject of a building.“A decision was reached to build

a combination church and schoolbuilding and the site for the pro-posed structure was acquired atPleasant and Cass Sts. In March1937, the pastor offered the firstMass in the basement of the newbuilding. That fall, it was decidedto go ahead with the building of thesuperstructure.“In the midst of this important

building program, Fr. Cavicchi wastransferred to a larger parish inNew York City. At his leaving themembership of the Pompeii parishand its mission was estimated toreach the number of 1,200 families.“Work on the superstructure

was resumed in October 1938 andthe mission church was solemnlydedicated by His Excellency, Arch-bishop Samuel A. Stritch, on June11, 1939. Three years later, St.Rita’s became a parish.

“The Pompeii Church of the Six-ties was not the Pompeii Church ofits heyday (1914-1930). A whole-sale change came over its neighbor-hood — the people were forced tomove out of the parish. Redevelop-ment took its toll. It destroyed awell-knit community of people whoknew each other for many years.

“Such mass moving became areal sadness and the Little PinkChurch found itself deserted. Itwould have been nice if the powersin charge would have preserved thechurch, where so many of us re-ceived our early religious educationand where we spent so many happydays,” Mazza concluded.

Thousands receivedthe sacraments

Carini, in his book, stated: “Al-together in the history of thechurch, from the turn of the cen-tury until it was razed in 1967,there were more than 15,000 bap-tisms, 9,000 first communions,8,000 confirmations and 6,000 mar-riages. The recipients of thesesacraments were predominantly Si-cilians and other southern Italians.However, the church was also thespiritual home of a sizable numberof compatriots from both centraland northern regions of Italy, espe-cially during the first two decadesof the church‘s history.”Carini also wrote in his book, “In

February 1967, the Blessed Virginof Pompeii Church became Milwau-kee’s first historical landmark.Eight months later, the churchbuilt by the loving hands of Mil-waukee’s early Italians was bull-dozed to make way for an

expressway.”With its destruction, a very im-

portant chapter in the history ofMilwaukee’s Italian American com-munity ended. Today, on the sameside of Jackson Street, a small me-morial marker exists to remind peo-ple of the existence of the churchand its proud congregation. How-

ever, for many, the Pompeii Church– its memories and its spirit – liveson forever in their hearts.It should be noted that the 40th

Festa Italiana, organized by theItalian Community Center, paidtribute to the Pompeii Church indisplays and the Mass and proces-sion on July 23.

The Italian Times is attemptingto help with the committee get theidentifications for some of the pho-tos. In this issue and upcoming is-sues, the Times will be presentingone or more photos for which thecommittee would like identifica-tion.We start with a photo of the Be-

dami, Serio and Maglio familiesfrom 1921. The information left be-hind with the donated photo justlists the last names. “We would liketo know the first names and any-thing else about the photo,” Conleysaid.The committee has had an in-

quiry from someone looking for ad-ditional information for personalfamily history research, she added.If anyone can help identify the

people in this photo, please emailthe information to chistinecon-ley71@gmail.com or send the infor-mation to the ICC, c/o ChristineConley, 631 E. Chicago St., Mil-waukee, WI 53202.

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 11

How you can help the ICC’s ItalianHeritage Photo Committee

from page 9

ICC Members: Planning toattend the dinner beforethe General Meeting on

Thursday, October 19th?

If so, you are kindly askedto make a reservation on or

before Monday,October16th. Call 414-223-2180.Your reservation will help

the culinary staff ofBartolotta Catering

prepare sufficient foodfor the buffet.

Thank you for yourcooperation!

Catering

from page 10

October 9, 1967: a day of greatsadness in Milwaukee’s

Italian American community

by Blaise Di PronioIn borrowing my headline from

that great Spaghetti Western, I re-versed the order of the adjectives tosave the “good” parts for last inorder to end this article on a posi-tive note. I had occasion to be inSicily this summer and these aresome assorted piques and observa-tions.The “ugly” of driving took place

mostly in the Palermo area and itssurrounding communities such asSant’Elia, Porticello and Bagheria.What is ugly is the styles and meth-ods of driving. The most obvious isthe bumper car syndrome with agood measure of playing chickenthrown in. Driving in these areas isnot for the fainthearted. It is car-diac inducing for the novices. Youare always milliseconds and mil-limeters away from a collision.Legal full stops are non-existent.Rolling through signs is the norm.Last second maneuvers and stopsare nerve-wracking. Brakes andclutches don’t last long. Add to this

the narrow winding streets and al-leys and dodging cars, humans andanimals is a full time endeavor.Adding to the ugly chaos is the

obscene amount of detritus (wasteand garbage, folks) found every-where you drive, in curbs, side-walks and in front of buildings.Bursting plastic bags, filled dia-pers, assorted plastic bottles andlots of broken glass. I’ll forego theaccompanying odors and nocturnalvermin. No one seems to care as thepiles get bigger and not smaller.Call this the “everyone else is doingit” syndrome, so “why not me?” at-titude.The “bad” aspects of driving in-

clude the occasional wave or pullover signal by the polizia usuallyfor a document or insurance checkwith a seat belt violation includedfor your pleasure. If an officerwaves a little round paddle at you,it’s not a friendly Italian greeting.It means pull over or get chased.What is also bad is taking a toll-

way and being given a time-stamped receipt and then, whenexiting the autostrada, finding outyou’ll be a recipient of a speedingticket since you made it to your exit

too soon which means you musthave been speeding along the way.(See the “good” below on how toavoid this dilemma).Another bad is the Palermo free-

way’s median strip which containsmany overgrown bushes, flowersand plants that hang over and jutout over the left lane creating ahazard if you can’t veer into an oc-cupied right lane in order to avoidthem.So, in light of the above gripes,

what is possibly “good” about driv-ing in Sicily (and Italy as a whole)?How about silky smooth freewaysand major roads missing ourcracks, potholes and teeth rattlingasphalt/cement bulges. Also, an ap-parent lack of road rage possiblybecause everyone is stuck with thesame issues mentioned. And then,there is the beauty and ease of cor-rectly using the left/passing lane.You want to pass? Get in the laneand blink your lights at anyone infront of you, and they immediatelymove over. No slowing down out of

spite or rage, no finger signs or pro-fanities. But be prepared to be sosignaled and shoved over by some-one behind you in a faster car, butthen you might enjoy the good ex-perience of having a Lamborghinior a Ferrari roar past you at thespeed of sound. I must admit, inand of itself, a guilty pleasure ofmine. Zoom!

How about that speeding ticketawaiting you for making believeyou were driving an Alfa 4C insteadof your little Fiat Punto and gettingto your exit too soon? Well, what is“good” is being able to pull over atone of many Autostops which arefully stocked with food, cocktails,espresso and aperitifs and wait outthose pesky speed timing problemsin leisure until it’s safe to exit..

Yes, driving in Sicily and Italycan be at your own risk and un-pleasant but, it can also be exhila-rating with the right road, rightcar, right scenery and the rightAuto stop.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 12 – OCTOBER 2017

The officers and directors of theItalian Community Center wish tothank and acknowledge all thosewho pledged, fulfilled a pledge, ormade a contribution to the non-profit organization.To obtain information on how to

make a pledge or a donation, pleasecall 414-223-2808.The following donations were re-

ceived between August 10 and Sep-tember 8, 2017.

In memory of PeterFrank SorcePeter T. and Kathy M. SorceChristina Sorce

In memory of SalvatoreA. MussomeliJulianne Ardellini

In memory of Rosalia“Rosa” AliotoJimmy and Linda Spataro

In memory of John L.SanfilippoSalvatore and Donna Agnello

In memory of Fred BoggioJimmy and Linda SpataroGeorge and Judy MenosPompeii Men’s ClubGino A. Dentice

In memory of MargaretBalistreriGeorge and Gina Manning

In memory of Phil (Philip)PolizziAnthony T. Machi

In memory of Thomas LorinoJoseph and Virginia Besasie

Thanks for yourdonationsto the ICC

In the obituary article appearingin our September 2017 issue for SalMussomeli, we made a mistake onthe last name of one of survivingrelatives.Sal was the brother of Josephine

(late Vincent) Crivello, not Carini,as we reported.

Our apologies to the Mussomelifamily.We also did not list that Sal was

also the brother of the late Frances(the late Peter) Maniscalco, how-ever, that wasn’t in any of the in-formation available to us at thetime the article was written.

Our apologies to Mussomelifamily for mistake made in

surviving relatives

Deadline forNovember2017 issueAll advertising copy, news

stories and photos for publica-tion in the November 2017 issueof The Italian Times must besubmitted to the editor no laterthan Tuesday, Oct. 10.All materials can be emailed

to editor Tom Hemman at them-man@iccmilwaukee.com or sentto The Italian Times, 631 E.Chicago St., Milwaukee, WI53202. For further information,call 414-223-2189. Word Search:

Milwaukee’s Italianneighborhoods

by Blaise Di Pronio

Find Word Search answers on page 14

The ugly, the bad and the good...ofdriving in Sicily

And now, aword fromItaly

by Blaise Di PronioBrief: Short in time, length or

extent.It comes from the Italian ab-

breviarewhich means to shortenor make smaller and the Latinbrevis or little/short.Root for ‘abbreviation’. Note:

A legal brief is never brief.

Forty-two percent of Italian peo-ple aged 6 and over (24 million est.)have read at least one book in thelast 12 months for purposes otherthan school or work, a recent sur-vey reports The figure is stable ascompared to 2014, after the declinestarted in 2011.Some 9.1% of the Italian house-

holds do not own any books, 64.4%own 100 books at most. Womenshow a higher familiarity withbooks: 48.6% of women are esti-mated to be book readers, as op-

posed to 35% of men. Book readers’share is over 50% among thoseaged 11 to 19. It shows a decreasein later age groups. The age groupthat read the most is 15-17 yearolds. School isn’t the only reason.Family is a key factor: 66.8% ofyoungsters aged 6 to 14 with bothparents who read books are bookreaders too, vs. only 30.9% of thosewhose parents do not read books.Book reading remains much less

frequent in the south of Italy,

Book reading in Italy

Continued on page 13

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 13

Pensions for Italians living abroadunder assault

by Italian Senator Ron TuranoFor several weeks now, Italy’s

Parliament has been debatingabout retirees living abroad andtheir pensions.

Tito Boeri — the president ofINPS, the Italian equivalent of So-cial Security — has decried what hesees as an anomaly: the payment ofcertain “assisted” services abroad.According to Boeri, the INPSshould only pay out to those resid-ing in Italy. Boeri underlined thefact that INPS pays 1 billion euroin pensions to retirees livingabroad, contending that they havecontributed few taxes to the Italianstate. The system is not balanced,said Boeri, and amounts to morespending than the country can sus-tain. Furthermore, he argues, theseexpenses do not translate into morewealth in Italy, as most spending isdone abroad. In other words, Boeribelieves pensions sent abroad are awaste of money.

Boeri doesn’t stop there. Re-minding everyone of a new law thatintroduced a mandatory bonus pay-ment to retirees and public sectoremployees, Boeri pointed to a 131%increase in the number of benefici-aries. The news spread fast in Ital-ian media, and in some places wasgiven front-page coverage with ti-tles such as “Privileged Italian pen-sioners living abroad.”

For a long time now, I have beentrumpeting the ridiculously smallimpact that pensions sent abroadhave on the national budget. Iwould also like to remind PresidentBoeri of all the remittances and in-vestments made by our compatriotsliving abroad.

There are certainly a few areasin which we can improve. For ex-ample, we must come up with a bet-ter system to keep track of retirees’deaths. Social contracts and bilat-eral agreements also need to be finetuned, as does the lag in activatinga new pension after it is requested.Boeri’s words only risk creating

confusion without solving anything.Italians living abroad receive pen-sions from Italy because they paidtaxes to the Italian governmentduring their working years. Thesepensions often add up to a handfulof euro, and many retirees still paytaxes in Italy where requested.

Without forgetting the tremen-dous contributions of our compatri-ots in promoting “Made in Italy”across the world and boosting Ital-ian exports, I do agree with Presi-dent Boeri that we need to clarifysome aspects of our pension system.But we have to be careful not tomuddy the water just for somemedia attention while offending en-tire communities in the process.I’d like to remind everyone that

the pension relationship betweenItaly and the United States is basedon bilateral agreements of social se-curity. This agreement between thetwo countries has been in placesince Jan. 1, 1986, and is applicableto all workers and their families. Inorder to access the pension systemin Italy, one needs to pay taxes forat least 52 weeks of employment,while that number goes up to 78weeks for those wanting to accessthe U.S. pension system. When itcomes to health insurance, which isincluded in every Italian’s tax pay-ments, the payments made to theU.S. system (Medicare, Medicaid)can be translated into payments forthe Italian health insurance pro-gram. Even when a worker has to-taled less than the 52 or 78 weeks

necessary to gain access to a pen-sion, both countries still recognizethe contributions made, applyingthem to any hospital bills.All those who have the right to a

pension from Italy must present aformal request through a local Pa-

tronato. I can’t emphasize enoughthe importance of Patronati andtheir service to the communities ofItalians living abroad. In closing,I’d also like to make a distinctionbetween older-generation immi-grant retirees and newer immi-

grants who might be leaving Italyfor taxation purposes. We shouldn’tconfuse the two categories so as tonot offend the millions of Italiansliving abroad who contributed to apositive commercial balance forItaly thanks to their remittances.

Age 20 and under Annual Dues

Individual Gratis – $0.00Members, age 20 and under, receive two (2) free FestaItaliana tickets. No voting rights. At age 18, a membermay vote, but must purchase a membership to do so.

Ages 21 – 65 Annual Dues

Individual $50 per year

Couple/Family $100 per year

ICC Membership Dues – 2017

Ages 66 – 84 Annual Dues

Individual $50 per yearCouple/Family $75 per year

Ages 85 & Older Annual Dues

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Couple/Family $50 per year

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Mail this form to: Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St., Milwaukee,WI 53202-5916. The ICC respects your privacy and doesnot sell or distribute personal information such as birthdates, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. This membership

registration form can also be emailed to cpalmer@italianconference.com. For further information, call (414) 223-2180.

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where fewer than one out of threepeople (28.8%) has read at least onebook in the last year. In Sicily andSardinia, readers come to 33.1%, anincrease from 31.1% as recorded inthe previous year. In metropolitancenters, the estimated percentageof book readers is 51% compared to38.1% in areas with fewer than2,000 inhabitants.“Strong” readers, i.e. people who

read on average at least one bookper month, are 13.7%, the surveyreports. (They were 14.3% in 2014.)Data confirms that nearly onereader out of two (45.5%) is a“weak” one, having read no morethan three books in one year. Thosewho read or downloaded books or e-books in the last three months are

estimated to be 4.5 million: 8.2% ofthe total population while 14.1% ofthose surfed the internet in the lastthree months. Book reading andcultural participation go hand-in-hand among book readers. Sharesof those who practice other culturalactivities and sports and surf theweb are regularly higher than thoseof non-readers. Book readers alsoshowed higher levels of satisfactionfor their leisure time participation(71% vs. 64% of non-readers) andtheir economic situation (56% vs.42%).Between 2011 and 2012, 37.8%

of the foreign citizens living in Italyreported they read at least onebook, an indicator of a lower famil-iarity with reading as compared to

Italians (52%). Nearly half of theforeign respondents read at leastone newspaper per week (48.6%)and 29.5% weekly or periodic mag-azines.In 2014, Italian households

spent 3,339 million euros for booksand 5,278 for newspapers, printedmatter and stationery, rangingfrom 11 to 18 euros per month or0.4% and 0.6% of their total expen-diture for final consumption. Be-tween 2010 and 2014, householdexpenditure for books, newspapersand magazines decreased by 18%,that for stationery by 31%. That re-duction is much higher than theone recorded by the expenditure forgoods and services as a whole (6%).

– Source: www.istat.it

Book reading in Italyfrom page 12

November 1 has long been astanding holiday on the Italian cal-endar for the observance of AllSaints Day (“Tutti i Santi Ogniss-nati”). It is a national holiday. Some towns across Italy have

public celebrations, but, in mostplaces, the day is designed for fam-

ilies.All Souls Day, which is not a na-

tional holiday, is observed on Nov.2. Italians bring flowers to ceme-teries to honor deceased relatives.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 14 – OCTOBER 2017

Smell like an eagleby Blaise Di Pronio

Many a race has been won byone. Jimmy Durante built andmade a career singing praises tohis. Cyrano’s love life suffered be-cause of his huge and noble exam-ple. Some famous singers attributegreat voices to theirs. Others go to“great lengths” in reshaping theone they were born with. It isknown by many names (snout,schnoz, sniffer, snoot, proboscis,etc.) but let’s just call it what it is:the nose, as a nose by any othername would not smell the same,right?As our kind readers should

know by now, this writer is foreverextolling all things uniquely Italianbut now even anatomical features?Well, yes.Of the many prominent protru-

sions throughout history, none ismore famous than the so-called“Roman” nose. What exactly makesthis most common of human ap-pendages evolve into one of strictlyRoman variety? A Roman nose “sticks out”

among others with its length and ahigh and arched bridge resulting inan appearance of being slightlybent. Its examples are most evidentin the plethora of Roman statuaryand paintings. Since such Romanart was usually of those in power orof social prominence, their uniquely

shaped noses became associatedwith symbols of power, authority,nobility and courage.The Roman nose is also referred

to as being aquiline (from the Ital-ian aquila or eagle) or eagle-like asit looks somewhat like the curvedbeak of an eagle, itself, a symbol ofpower, strength and resolve. Aneagle makes its own path. It leadsand does not follow. Some may think that a Roman

nose is unattractive. This beliefmight give credence as to why thosewith aquiline noses “tend” to de-velop outstanding characteristicsand forceful personalities in orderto make up for and compensate forthe erroneously perceived lack ofbeauty. Thus, making that Romannose look good on you after all. It is,in fact, a marker of classical beautyand nobility and so, it should beworn and borne well by those pos-sessing one..There are many examples of fa-

mous Roman nose bearers. Fromthe Caesars to Renaissance Mas-ters and on to Abraham Lincolnand, more recently, Josef Stalinand Margaret Thatcher. You dobegin to note a connection and com-mon denominator between nosesand personalities. Do you not?So, those of you lucky enough to

have an eagle’s nose: embrace it,show it proudly and flaunt it atevery opportunity! I know I do.

Word Search:Milwaukee’s Italian

neighborhoods (resolved)from page 12

On Saturday Sept. 16, the Na-tional Park Service dedicated along overdue plaque to Luigi DelBianco, chief carver on the MountRushmore National Memorial.The plaque was designed by

sculptor Michael Keropian. An un-veiling ceremony was held at theiconic memorial. “CBS SundayMorning” carried a special segmenton the ceremony on Sept. 17.Del Bianco, an Italian immi-

grant and classically trained stonecarver, was hired by designer Gut-zon Borglum to be his only chiefcarver in 1933. Borglum chargedLuigi with carving the “refinementof expression” in the faces of thefour presidents. “He will have com-plete charge of the practical waysand means of dealing with the fi-nesse of carving and instructing theother carvers,” Gutzon Borglum,sculptor/designer stated in a reportthat was uncovered.When the “Carving of Mount

Rushmore”, by Rex Alan Smith,was published in 1985, Luigi’s son,Caesar, was shocked to find thathis father wasn’t mentioned once.Luigi’s grandson, Lou, discov-

ered on a trip to Mount Rushmorethat his grandfather was just aname on a giant plaque listing all400 “workers” equally, regardlessof their role and contribution. Yearsof research by Caesar and Lou at

the Library of Congress uneartheda treasure trove of primary sourcedocuments proving once and for allLuigi’s vital and singular impor-tance to the work.The National Park Service has

traditionally credited all the work-ers on the memorial as one teamand has recently weighed the ap-propriate way to share Del Bianco’sstory in light of the historical evi-dence. To make a final determina-tion on appropriate recognition, theNational Park Service sent histori-ans Bob Sutton and Tim Good toPort Chester, N.Y. in October 2015to review the 75 documents storedby Lou Del Bianco. They were im-pressed by the evidence and ulti-mately recommended that a plaquebe installed at the memorial to rec-ognize the gifted immigrant arti-san, who, in his last interview, saidthat being Mount Rushmore’s chiefcarver “was a great privilegegranted me.”Lou has written a book about his

grandfather entitled, “Out of Rush-more’s Shadow: The Luigi DelBianco Story”. The book detailsLuigi’s immigrant experience, hisadventure at Rushmore and the 25-year struggle his family took on toget him the recognition he de-served. It has been published byNiche Content Press and is nowavailable.

Luigi del Bianco officiallyrecognized as chief carveron the Mount RushmoreNational Memorial

Words in anItalian name

by Blaise Di PronioHow many words can you

make with the letters in“Napoli” (Naples)?

Answers on page 19

And now, aword fromItaly

by Blaise Di PronioAccident: An unexpected and

undesirable event.It comes from the Italian

cadere or to fall and accadere oroccur. Thus, the occurrence of afall is an accident.

Nov. 1 and 2 are specialreligious days in Italy

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 15

Opera insightsby Barbara Collignon

Italian operas will dominate theMetropolitan Opera schedule in2018. While Bellini’s Norma is pre-sented early in October, Puccini’sTosca will be the featured opera inJanuary and Donizetti’s L’Elisird’Amore in February. In March,two Italian operas will be per-formed: Rossini’s Semiramide andMozart’s Cosi fan tutti. Luisa Millerby Verdi will be performed in April.They can be enjoyed in HD at theNorth Shore Theatre in Mequon. Milwaukee’s own Florentine

Opera will feature operas in Ger-man and English but none in Ital-ian for the 2017-2018 season. Verdi’s Rigoletto is being per-

formed by the Chicago Lyric Operain October through Nov. 3. Inspiredby a play by Victor Hugo, Le Roi s’a-muse, Verdi had to make drastic

changes in the story in order tomake it acceptable to the censors.Once the revised story line and titlewere agreed upon, Verdi wrote themusic in just 40 days! (Rossini per-haps set the record at writing TheBarber in 13 days.)The censors called Hugo’s play

scandalous, “a repugnant exampleof immortality and obscene trivial-ity,” so Verdi moved the action fromthe court in France to Mantua, anItalian dukedom no longer in exis-tence; the king is reduced to a mereduke and a bedroom scene wasdeleted. A new title was chosen.When the opera premiered in 1851,it was a great success and it re-mains a 21st century staple of op-eratic repertoire and ranks #9 onthe opera base list. Hugo himself was not fond of

Verdi and when Rigoletto was per-

formed in Paris, he attended onlyafter being persuaded by his friendsto do so. Then he was full of praiseand, especially moved by the quar-tet, he exclaimed: “If only I couldmake four characters in my playsspeak at the same time, I would ob-tain the very same effect.” Ratherunlikely, four voices speaking all atonce in a play cannot be as effectiveor as magical as four voices raisedin music composed by a genius likeVerdi. The melodrama deals with de-

formity, immorality, assassinationand an ominous curse…. truly thestuff of opera. Only Verdi couldmove us with a singing hunchback,a deformed court jester who merci-lessly humiliated people in thecourt. Unfortunately, Rigolettohimself is humiliated and devas-tated by a vengeful plot that de-prives him of his most preciouspossession, his beloved daughterGilda. Only Verdi could move us bypresenting him as repulsive as he isphysically while as a loving fatherwhose daughter means everythingto him. Verdi’s music reveals theopera’s basic theme…the love of afather for his daughter.Opera devotees are well familiar

with arias sung by the Duke, Gildaand Rigoletto. The Duke sings“Questa e quella,” boasting that allwomen fall for him but he’ll nevergive his love to any one in return.Constancy is a bore and fidelity atyranny. He’ll risk getting caught ifthe girl is pretty enough. Immoralas he is, Verdi’s music renders him

likeable and seduces his audiencewith his music. It is also the Dukewho sings another of our favorites:La donna è mobile.Who is not charmed by Gilda,

poor, innocent Gilda who has fallenin love with the rakish duke? Theyhave been flirting in church. He dis-guised himself as Gualtier Maldè, apoor student and followed her homefrom church, the only place Gildahas been permitted to be outsideher home. With the support of Gio-vanna, Gilda’s worldly maid, thetwo meet. The duke tells her that ifshe would give herself to him, everyman would envy him. Once heleaves, Gilda sings the very beauti-ful aria “Caro nome,” musing onhow the mere sound of his nameawakens delight and desire.

Caro nome che il mio corFesti primo palpitar,Le delizie dell’amorMi dei sempre rammentar!Col pensier il io desirA te sempre volerà,E fin l’ultimo sospir,Caro nome, tuo sarà.

The plot, as they say, thickens.Rigoletto, seeking revenge, becomesthe victim of a malicious plot ofcounter-vengeance. In an attemptto save the life of her lover, Gilda,disguised in male attire, is stabbedand her body delivered to Rigoletto.He expects to find therein thecorpse of the Duke but is shocked tofind the dying Gilda inside. Thecurse is fulfilled.

Any member of the Italian Com-munity Center who has a change ofaddress is asked to notify the ICCpromptly so that mailings from theCenter are sent to the correct ad-dress.Since the ICC uses nonprofit

bulk rates to mail The ItalianTimes, the United States PostalService is entitled to charge a fee,starting at 59¢, for each newspaperthat is returned to the ICC anddeemed undeliverable due to an in-correct address.Even if you are temporarily

away from your permanent resi-dence and are not receiving mail atthat address, you need to notify theICC of your temporary address sothat your newspaper can be deliv-ered to that address and so that theICC is not charged 57¢ for eachfailed attempt to deliver the publi-cation to your permanent resi-

dence.“We’ve had a number of mem-

bers who have gone to Florida oranother warm weather location forthe winter and these people did notsupply us with their temporarychange of address; hence theirnewspaper was returned to the ICCwith the service fee due for eachnewspaper,” Editor Tom Hemmansaid.Nonprofit bulk rate mail is not

forwarded to a new address, whichmeans those members who neglectto inform the ICC of their change ofaddress will not receive the news-paper.Please send change of address

information to: Italian CommunityCenter, 631 E. Chicago St., Mil-waukee, WI 53202-5916 or emailConstance Palmer at cpalmer@ic-cmilwaukee.com or call her at 414-223-2808.

Members: Please notifyICC of a change of

address; noncomplianceis costly for organization

By Susie ChristiansenSocial networking websites,

such as Facebook and Twitter, aswell as e-mail and cell phone tex-ting, are currently the most com-mon methods of communicatingfor people. Using those avenues,we want to develop a way to reachout to our membership to informyou about upcoming events or-ganized by the Italian CommunityCenter, such as Il GrandeCarnevale, A Taste of Italy andFesta Italiana.We can even email you a copy

of The Italian Times.When the ICC hosts wine tast-

ings, musical events and cookingclasses, it would be helpful toeveryone involved to be able tosend an e-mail blast or a cellphone text blast to ICC membersand as many non-members as pos-sible. Right now, committeechairs and event planners heredon’t always know what advertis-ing options are available to themand how to reach out to you. With-out spending a ton of money, wejust aren’t sure how to let the peo-ple out there know about upcom-ing events at the ICC.ICC members can be placed on

an e-mail list and a cell phone listwhen they sign up for or renewtheir membership. Our applica-tion includes a place for your e-mail address and cell phonenumber. Our membership contact list is

extremely private, and we willcontinue to keep it that way. Wedo not distribute our address,phone or e-mail lists to anyone.Rest assured your contact infor-mation will be retained by theICC and only the ICC, and youwill only be sent messages on alimited basis. We simply want to inform you.

We want to tell you about the fan-tastic events, activities and ethnicexperiences that the Italian Com-munity Center has to offer.These are the other options

available for submitting your cellphone number and e-mail ad-dress:1. Our website: www.iccmil-

waukee.com – use the Contact UsForm (the last tab on the site).2. By e-mail: susie@iccmil-

waukee.com. 3. Call Constance Palmer at

the ICC – 414-223-2808.

Request from ICC forcell phone numbersand e-mail addresses

Chicago’s ColumbusDay parade set forMonday, Oct. 9

The Joint Civic Committee ofItalian Americans will sponsorChicago’s 65th anniversary Colum-bus Day Parade on Monday, Oct. 9.The parade will step-off at 12:30p.m. and follow the usual routealong State Street, from WackerDrive to Van Buren Street.It is expected that the parade

will have more than 150 units, in-cluding numerous bands and float.For nearly half a century, the

Joint Civic Committee of ItalianAmericans has sponsors the WindyCity’s Columbus Day celebration.Festivities begin with a 9 a.m.

mass at the Shrine of Our Lady ofPompeii and a wreath laying cere-mony at the Columbus statue, lo-cated in Arrigo Park, followed bythe parade.Many prominent Italian Ameri-

cans have served as the parade’shonorary Grand Marshal, includingthe late Ernest Borgnine and for-mer Los Angeles Dodgers managerTommy LaSorda. This year, Sal“The Voice” Valentinetti, will be inthe role. Valentinetti, who took sea-

son 11 of NBC’s “America’s Got Tal-ent” by storm, is known for his ren-ditions of the great Italian croonersFrank Sinatra and Dean Martin.He appeared at Milwaukee’s FestaItaliana this past summer.The Joint Civic Committee of

Italian Americans serves as a con-gress for the local Italian Americanorganizations.

Sal Valentinetti

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 16 – OCTOBER 2017

Barcolana regatta in Gulf of Trieste, Italyis one of the world’s largest sailing racesFirst held in 1969, the Bar-

colana, held in the Gulf of Trieste,Italy, is the biggest regatta in theMediterranean and one of thelargest sailing races in the worldwith more than 2,000 participants. The 49th annual Barcolana Re-

gatta will take place on Sunday,Oct. 8. All manner of boats race,and there are illuminated nightraces.Named after the village of Bar-

cola, the regatta turns Trieste intothe unofficial sailing capital of Eu-rope for nine days. The start line istraditionally underneath the Vic-tory Lighthouse, built in 1927 tolight the gulf and serve as a monu-ment to those killed in World War I.Everyone from brave amateurs

all the way up to world-class helms-men can take part in the race thatis held annually on the second Sun-day in October.Offering some activities for

everyone, the event includes a“King of the Wind” event, in whichpeople with disabilities race in spe-cially adapted boats.Besides racing, visitors can

enjoy regional cuisine and wine,plenty of live music and prelimi-

nary yachting events starting Sep-tember 29.

For the past seven years, thechampionship has been won by Es-

imit Europa 2, an entry from theYacht Club of Monaco.

While this might not be the“heyday” for players of Italian de-scent in the National FootballLeague, a review of NFL rostersshows that there are still several ofthem and some who are very famil-iar to fans.Among the most familiar are Joe

Flacco, quarterback for the Balti-more Ravens, Danny Amendola,wide receiver for the New EnglandPatriots, record-setting kickerAdam Vinatieri of the IndianapolisColts and Jimmy Garoppolo, whodrew a lot of attention last seasonwhen he was named the startingquarterback for New England dueto Tom Brady’s suspension. (Garop-polo was intended to be the starterthrough the Patriots’ first fourgames of the season while Bradyserved his suspension, but he wasinjured in the second game.)

Joseph Vincent Flacco’s Italianancestry comes from his father’sside. His paternal grandfatherGiuseppe Flacco, immigrated fromIsola del Sasso (Abruzzo), Italy tothe United States.Amendola is half Italian and

half-Irish. The Italian comes fromhis father’s side. Both of his par-ents are from Boston, Mass.Vinatieri, who is among the top

place kickers in NFL history, alsotraces his Italian from his father’sside. His great-great-great grand-father, Felice, came from Turin(Piedmont), Italy. An interestingfact, Felice was the bandmaster forthe infamous General GeorgeCuster, but not at “Custer’s laststand.” Felice served as bandmas-ter when Custer was a lieutenantcolonel.

Garoppolo comes from “a tightknit, big Italian family” and is thethird of four sons born to Deniseand Tony Garoppolo from ArlingtonHeights, Ill.Among the other NFL players of

Italian descent who made the 2017team rosters are: Anthony Fasano,tight end, Miami Dolphins; RichieIncognito, guard, Buffalo Bills;

Frank Zombo, linebacker, KansasCity Chiefs (former Green BayPacker); Joe Bitonio, guard, Cleve-land Browns; Bruno Giacomini,tackle, Houston Texans (also a for-mer Packer); Anthony Castonza,tackle, Indianapolis Colts; AndrewDePaola, long snapper, ChicagoBears; Mike Iupati, guard, ArizonaCardinals; and Josh Mauro, defen-sive end, Arizona Cardinals.There are two NFL owners with

Italian ancestry: Steve Bisciotti,owner of the Baltimore Colts, andDenise DeBartolo York, majorityowner of the San Francisco 49ers.Bisciotti became part owner of

the Colts in 2001. Three yearslater, he bought the team entirelyfrom Art Modell. Bisciotti grew upin a working class neighborhood ofsuburban Baltimore. He founded afamily of technical staffing compa-nies known as Allegis Group, whichowns Maxim Healthcare, Aerotekand TEKsystems.DeBartolo York is the daughter

of construction magnate Edward J.DeBartolo, Sr. and the late MarieMontani DeBartolo. She replacedher father as owner and presidentof the Pittsburgh Penguins of theNational Hockey League during the1990-91 season, when the teamwon the NHL Championship Stan-ley Cup. A year later, she sold thePenguins to assist the DeBartoloCorporation. In 2000, DeBartoloYork and her husband, John York,gained control of the 49ers andother sporting assets from herbrother, Edward J. DeBartolo, Jr.Denise’s son, Jed, is now the chiefexecutive officer of the 49ers.

Players and ownersof Italian descentin the NFL now

By Thomas HemmanTimes Editor

While the city of Milwaukee ex-perienced the largest influx of Ital-ian immigrants to Wisconsin in thelate 1800s and early 1900s, severalother cities in the state during thesame period saw their populationsincreased by those who departedfrom Italy for a new life in America.Like other ethnic groups, most

Italians left their homeland forWisconsin due to poor agriculturalconditions in their country. Theearliest Italian immigrants tookjobs in foundries, tanneries andcoal yards. Most of the Italian im-migration to Wisconsin was indi-rect; the majority lived in Chicagobefore migrating to Wisconsin.Kenosha, Racine and Madison’s

Greenbush neighborhood becamethe home to a sizable number of im-migrant Italians in the early 1900s.Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racineoffered industrial job opportunities.Madison’s Greenbush neighbor-hood began as a settlement of Ital-ian stonecutters who worked on theState Capitol and the State Histor-ical Society Building.One group from the Piedmont

region of Italy settled in Genoa(southwestern Wisconsin) andhelped to construct buildings rep-resentative of those in Genoa, Italy.Other areas where Italians set-

tled in Wisconsin were Campbell-sport, Fond du Lac and Plymouthand Marinette County. Theseplaces were becoming important

cheese manufacturing centers andthe immigrants helped to makeItalian cheeses that became popu-lar across the United States.

It was reported in a Milwaukeenewspaper in January 1924, “thelargest pastoral colony of Italiansin America, is located adjacent tothe little city of Cumberland.”Cumberland is in Barron County innorthwestern Wisconsin.

The story, appearing in the Mil-waukee Sentinel, goes on to state:“In this colony, there are about 160families, numbering about 2,000people, living on farms, and all inclose proximity and on the veryedge of the city of Cumberland.Most of those people are from aprovince in Italy about 80 mileseast of Rome, where farming is thechief occupation, and it is carriedon in a most intensive manner. Afew are from southern Italy, onefrom Naples and one from Sicily.

“It is interesting, too, to knowhow so many of these people cameto choose this place as their homeand what first induced them tocome here. James McNaughton,who had charge of the railroad con-struction work, was confrontedwith a strike, so he journeyed to St.Paul and returned with a crew ofItalian laborers. Among the crewwere several who had been broughtup on farms in Italy and they wereattracted to the fine stretch of landjust south of town and began tosummon their friends from the faroff country to join them.”

Among the first Italian familiesto farm in the Cumberland areawere those of George Alfonse, NickCampione and James St. Angelo.By 1920, there were more than

11,000 Italians living in Wisconsin,with about 75% of them residing inMilwaukee, Kenosha, Racine,Waukesha, Rock and Dane coun-ties.

Besides Milwaukee,where did Italianimmigrants settle in

Wisconsin?

by Blaise Di PronioNewspaper Committee Chair

Accomplice: An associate in thecommission of an act, usually awrongdoing.

It comes from the Italian com-plice or an associate or confeder-ate as well as the Latincomplicare, which means to fold orweave together.

And now, a wordfrom Italy

Truffles are a top Italian fallculinary item and are celebratedwith truffle fairs and festivals incentral and northern Italy. Going toa truffle fair is a must for foodiesvisiting Italy.

Truffles are found primarily inthe regions of Piedmont, Molise,Tuscany, Umbria, Emilia-Romagnaand Le Marche. During Octoberand November, there are manywhite truffle fairs held in these re-gions and fall culinary dishes madewith tartufo bianco (white truffle).

Going to a truffle festival isworthwhile because scent of freshtruffles fills the air and there are lo-cally made truffle dishes to try(usually for much less than youwould pay in a restaurant). Theyoften feature great regional enter-tainment and concession standsthat sell local foods such as cheese,salami, honey and regional wine.

What is a truffle?A truffle is the fruiting body of a

subterranean Ascomycete fungus,predominantly one of the manyspecies of the genus Tuber. Trufflesare ectomycorrhizal fungi and areusually found in close associationwith tree roots. Spore dispersal isaccomplished through fungivores,animals that eat fungi.Some of the truffle species are

highly prizes as food. Edible trufflesare held in high esteem in Italian,French, Croatian, Georgian, Bul-garian, Greek, Middle Eastern andSpanish cuisine as well as interna-tional haute cuisine.

Notable truffle fairsOne of the best and most popu-

larly known truffle fairs is the onein Alba in the Piedmont region ofItaly, the 87th annual “Fiera delTartufo Bianco,” which runs onweekends from Oct. 7 – Nov. 26 thisyear.

Chefs and food experts comefrom afar for the festival, where theworld’s largest truffle auction andmarket takes place. The auction isprivate, but the white truffle mar-ket in Alba is open from 9 a.m. to 8p.m.

Besides the truffle market andfair, there is lots of entertainment.Events start with a night of con-certs and gastronomic stands andend with the truffle world auctionand a white truffle walk fortourists.

Children and adults alike mightenjoy the annual donkey race.

Another truffle fair in Piedmontis in Monferrato. This white trufflefestival is held on the last twoweekends of October.

San Miniato Truffle Fair, LaTartufo Bianco (Tuscany region) isheld in the medival hill town on thesecond, third and fourth weekendsin November. It is estimated that25% of Italy’s white truffles are pro-duced in the areas in and aroundSan Miniato. November is the heartof the truffle gathering season.

There are food and craft stands.Entertainment and restaurantsfeature reasonably priced truffle

menus. If you haven’t eaten truf-fles, this event provides a great wayto introduce yourself to them.San Giovanni d’Asso, near Siena

in the Tuscany region, has a trufflefestival the second and third week-ends of November. A truffle mu-seum is open on those weekends.

Another town in Tuscany,Volterra holds its white truffle fairin late October and early Novem-ber.

Acqualagna, a town in LeMarche, calls itself the “truffle cap-ital.” It holds a white truffle fair onweekends starting at the end of Oc-tober through mid November.

Sant’Angelo in Vado, near Urba-nia (Tuscany) has a fair on week-ends starting the second weekendin October.

In Umbria, Pietralunga holds itsMostra Mercato del Tartufo (TradeFair of Truffles) in mid October.Città di Castello hold a truffle andforest products fair in November.

Heading into Emilia-Romagna,Bobbio holds a truffle and mush-room fair the first weekend Sundayof October. Savigno, in the hillssouthwest of Bologna, holds theSagra del Tartufo the first threeSundays in November. Sasso Mar-coni, in the province of Bologna,holds a truffle festival the firstweekend of November. Calestano,in the picturesque setting of themountains south of Parma, holds ablack truffle fair every Sunday frommid October through mid Novem-ber.As for the region of Molise, San

Pietro Avellana, sometimes calledthe home of the white truffle, holdsits truffle market the first weekendof November. The town is nearMolise’s northwestern border,about 35 kilometers (not quite 22miles) west of Agnone.Although the Molise region is

often overlooked as a truffle desti-nation, a large percentage of Italy’struffle actually come from this re-gion.

THE ITALIAN TIMES OCTOBER 2017 – PAGE 17

The Italian Times welcomes your inputThe Italian Times is extending

an invitation to our readers to sub-mit articles and/or suggestions fornews stories for future publicationin our printed and online edition.The Newspaper Committee and

Editor Tom Hemman have devel-oped a series of guidelines to re-vamp the publication’s editorialpresentation with a concerted effortbeing made to make it more cur-rent, relevant and reader friendly.We welcome interested individ-

uals to submit articles and/or sug-gestions for news stories to EditorTom Hemman at themman@iccmil-waukee.com You may also contactNewspaper Committee ChairBlaise DiPronio at 262-376-0019 oremail him at bdipronio@wi.rr.com.Articles can be submitted in Eng-lish or Italian.The following criteria has been

established for news articles:

1). Must be relevant, newswor-thy, pertaining to and of interest tothe Italian American community.2). Can be current, developing,

historical or anecdotal.3). Must be of original content

and authorship.4). If not original, copyright and

authorship permission must begranted in writing and propercredit must be given.5). Cannot be of a political na-

ture or content.6). Cannot jeopardize the Italian

Community Center’s bulk mail sta-tus. Guidelines are established inUnited States Postal Service Publi-cation 417.7). Cannot promote products or

services better suited to paid ad-vertising.8). Must be limited to 300 words

or less. Any article exceeding the300-word limit will be rejected un-

less the writer is granted a pre-de-termined waiver based on merit. Awriter can appeal the word limit tothe editor and the Newspaper Com-mittee. The final decision is that ofthe editor and the committee.8). Must be electronically sub-

mitted (i.e., email) as a Word docu-ment to themman@iccmilwaukee.com.9). Articles submitted in Italian

should also include an accurateparaphrased English translation.10). Every submission is subject

to editorial review, editing, dead-line restrictions and space avail-ability in the newspaper.11). We reserve the right to re-

ject an article for publication in thenewspaper and on the ICC website.Here, we are giving you a partial

list of potential subjects for articles.1). Tutorials on how to play

bocce, scopa, briscola and tombola

and their rules and regulations.2). Recipe box with recipes from

Italy, hand-me-downs, memberspecialties, local Italian restau-rants and bakeries.3). Reviews of Italian connected

movies, music, books, art, displays,exhibitions and so on.4). Sports clubs’ news for soccer,

bicycling, skiing, etc.5). Auto and motorcycle club

news featuring Italian vehicles.6). Italian clubs in the many

schools teaching Italian, reportingtheir activities and fun things.7). Awards, promotions and ac-

colades given to members.8). Upcoming events, entertain-

ment, dinners, dances and other ac-tivities.9). Profiles on donors, members

and volunteers.10). Births, weddings, gradua-

tions and obituaries.

World Pasta Day is celebratedon Oct. 25 every year. The chiefpurpose is to encourage an appreci-ation for the nutritional and culi-nary advantages of pasta. EatingItalian food, featuring homegrownpasta, is one of the pleasures oftraveling in Italy.Pasta is the well-recognized part

of the Italian diet. The Italian peo-ple eat more pasta than any otherethnic group in the world. Italy alsomakes nearly one-third of the pastathat is consumed globally.It has been reported that pasta

utensils have been found in theearly Roman archaeological sitesand the Etruscan tombs, demon-strating that pasta has been eatenby the Italians for long time. World Pasta Day was started in

1995 in Rome. A worldwide panel ispromoting all the nutritional ad-

vantages of the pasta. In 1997, Oct.25 was formally declared as WorldPasta Day.In spite of what fashionable

diets have claimed in recent years,foods which are enriched with car-bohydrates, such as pasta, are nu-tritious and serve as body fuel thatenergize the body. They are en-riched with vitamin B, necessaryfor cell formation, mental alertness,and energy conversion and are veryhelpful in boosting the immune sys-tem.Scientific studies have con-

firmed that a pasta diet is a goldstandard for healthy eating.Pasta is a worldwide food, which

is consumed on all the continents.It is often combined with vegeta-bles, legumes, cheese, olive oil, andfish and is dressed in the varioussauces.

World Pasta Daycelebrated Oct. 25

Truffle festivals of Italy

White truffle, washed and cut.

The date of October 8th com-memorates Santa Reparata inFirenze (Florence, Italy). The city’s first cathedral was

named after this saint who remainsa co-patron of Florence.In ancient times, the festivities

on this day included two races: oneon horseback and one on foot, bothrunning across the city.Nowadays, in remembrance of

these races, a modern-day foot race

is held which starts and ends in Pi-azza San Giovanni, in front of theDuomo. Runners in the race arepicked among the local footballers,and the competition is kicked off bya marching procession of the Flo-rentine Republic dressed in periodcostume.The procession leaves from Pi-

azza di Parte Guelfa (near PiazzaRepubblica) and marches on to-wards the Duomo at 4 p.m.

Feast of Santa Reparatacelebrated in Florence

da Senatore Renato TuranoDa settimane si dibatte sulle

pensioni e sui pensionati all’estero.Il Presidente dell’INPS Tito Boeriha denunciato quello cheevidentemente lui consideraun’anomalia, ovvero, il pagamentoall’estero di alcune prestazioni“assistenziali” che invece, secondol’orientamento dell’Istituto,dovrebbero essere vincolate allaresidenza nel Paese erogatore.Boeri, ha stigmatizzato il fatto chel’Inps paga 1 miliardo di euro inpensioni all’estero a pensionati iquali hanno versato pochicontributi in Italia. A fronte dipochi contributi, ha continuatoBoeri, sono molti i pensionatiall’estero i quali beneficiano diprestazioni non contributive. Sitratta, secondo il presidentedell’Inps, di un’uscita per lo Statoitaliano che non rientra nel circuitoeconomico del nostro paese sottoforma di consumi. Insomma di unospreco ingiustificato.Boeri ha poi rincarato la dosericordando che nel 2017 con lanuova normativa sulla 14maintrodotta dalla Legge di Bilancio siè ampliata in modo moltoconsiderevole la platea tra iresidenti all’estero aventi dirittocon un’impennata del 131% delnumero dei beneficiari. Una

notizia, questa, cheimmediatamente, si è diffusa sulleprime pagine di alcuni quotidianion line dal titolo privilegiatipensionati italiani residentiall’estero.

E pensare che da tempodenuncio l’irrisorietà dell’importodelle pensioni pagate all’estero, econsiglio al presidente Boeriinnanzitutto di non dimenticare ilcontributo economico reso all’Italiadalle rimesse e dai molteplici evariegati investimenti dei nostriconnazionali. Bisognerebbe daredelle risoluzioni sugli annosiproblemi che riguardano i nostripensionati all’Estero come, ilsistema di rilevamentodell’esistenza in vita, lo stallo dellastipula e del rinnovo delleconvenzioni bilaterali di sicurezzasociale, il fenomeno degli indebitipensionistici la tempistica che c’ètra la richiesta della domandapensionistica e la sua erogazione edaltri ancora.

Si rischia così facendo diconfondere le acque senza risolverealcun problema. I nostriconnazionali all’estero percepisconopensioni a cui hanno diritto grazieai contributi versati durante la lorovita lavorativa in Italia, che, moltospesso, ammontano a pochi euro e

pagano le tasse dove la leggeprevede. Non dimenticando ilgrosso contributo dei nostriconnazionali all’estero allapromozione del Made in Italy nelmondo e quindi all’export italiano,siamo d’accordo con il PresidenteBoeri che bisogna fare chiarezza masenza fuorviare la realtà ai finimediatici e soprattutto cercando difare le dovute differenze senzaoffendere intere Comunità.

Voglio ricordare che i rapportipensionistici tra Italia e USA sonoregolati da convenzioni bilaterali disicurezza sociale. La Convenzionecon gli Stati Uniti è in vigore dal 1°gennaio 1986 e si applica a tutti ilavoratori, loro familiari esuperstiti assicurati in Italia e negliStati Uniti. Ai fini della prestazioneitaliana, per la totalizzazioneinternazionale si richiedono almeno52 settimane di contribuzione,mentre per quella statunitensesono richieste almeno 78 settimane.Ai fini dell’ammissioneall’assicurazione volontariaprevista dalla legislazione italiana,i periodi di contribuzioneaccreditati in Italia possono esseretotalizzati con i periodi diassicurazione negli Stati Uniti.

I periodi di assicurazioneinferiori alle 52 settimane in Italiae a 78 settimane per gli Stati Uniti(che non danno luogo, quindi, allatotalizzazione internazionale) sonocomunque presi in considerazionedall’altro Stato, sia ai finidell’accertamento del diritto, cheper la determinazione dell’importo.Questo solo se il lavoratore hamaturato nell’altro stato il periodominimo previsto dall’Accordo e nonmatura il diritto a una prestazione

senza fare ricorso allatotalizzazione internazionale.L’interessato deve presentare la

domanda di pensione attraverso deimodelli rivolgendosi a deiPatronati. Ribadisco l’importanzadel servizio che i patronati dannoalle nostre Comunità e punto diriferimento di tutti. Infine etornando all’inizio del mio articoloè evidente che bisogna fare unanetta distinzione tra i Pensionaticosiddetti di vecchia emigrazione ei nuovi che emigrano per unaconvenienza di tassazione sullepensioni nei Paesi esteri. Nonbisogna fare confusione sulle duecategorie di pensionati per nonoffendere milioni di Italianiall’estero che hanno contribuitonegli anni passati attraverso leproprie rimesse a tenere alta labilancia commerciale dell’Italia.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 18 – OTTOBRE 2017

La Pagina ItalianaPensioni sotto assedio

di Blaise Di PronioTutti voi avranno familiarità

con l’alfabeto americano e le sue26 lettere. Ma quanti di voi sannoche l’alfabeto italiano, anch’esso,come quello americano, basato suun originale nato nel VII secoloa.C. in Italia e continuamentemodificatosi negli ultimi 2500anni, non utilizza tutte le 26lettere? L’alfabeto base italiano èformato da 21 lettere: cinquevocali (A, E, I, O, U) e 16consonanti. Le lettere J, K, W, X eY non fanno parte dell’alfabeto inuso e servono solo per i prestitilessicali (ad esempio termini comejeans, weekend, ecc.) e nomistranieri (escluse alcune eccezioni,come nel caso dei nomi Jesolo,Bettino Craxi e Juventus, tuttiderivanti da varianti linguisticheregionali). Al giorno d’oggi leparole inglesi si fanno stradalentamente all’interno delvocabolario italiano, causandomolto fastidio al vostro scrittore edanneggiando la lingua madre.Come detto sopra, una delle

lettere che non appartengonoall’alfabeto italiano è “J”. Il suonoJ in italiano deriva dallacombinazione tra le lettere G ed Io E, con una pronuncia chesomiglia a quella delle parolegiant e gentleman. Alla luce di ciò,alcuni anni fa, quando lessi ilnome Jennaro su un camioncinodi prodotti ortofrutticoli, nededussi immediatamente che ilproprietario non aveva originiitaliane nè americane, altrimentiil nome avrebbe dovuto esserescritto Gennaro. Ad un certopunto mi resi conto cheprobabilmente la sua originedoveva essere italiana, dato chetutte le aziende di venditaall’ingrosso di prodotti agricoli

sembravano essere di proprietà diimmigrati italiani e/o dei loro figliinoltre il nome Jennaro eraaccettato e riconosciuto dallacomunità italiana e dall’ItalianCommunity Center (ICC).

In occasione di un recentepranzo con nientedimeno che ilgiudice e avvocato Bill Jennaro,questo mistero sul nome è statosvelato. La storia iniziò con suononno Mauro Gennaro e il figlioAnton, zio di Bill. Entrambilavoravano, come di consueto, nelsettore dei prodotti ortofrutticoli.Iniziarono l’attività nel garage sulretro della loro casa nella zonasud-est di Milwaukee con uncavallo ed un carretto per poipassare ad un furgone. Per nonessere sopraffatti sul mercato acausa del monopolio praticatodalla concorrenza tedesca,decisero di avere anch’essi ilproprio nome inciso sul furgone esul carro.Sfortunatamente, quando

prepararono la scritta daconsegnare al produttore diinsegne, scrissero la lettera G incorsivo con una forma chesembrava una J e questa fu cosìerroneamente riprodotta. Anchenoi abbiamo avuto testimonianzavisiva di questa somiglianzagrazie ad un esempio che ci hamostrato il giudice Jennaro.Allora non fu possibile farridipingere il furgone poiché eratroppo costoso, inoltre si pensò cheforse la versione sbagliata delnome risultava più semplice dapronunciare. Il resto del raccontoappartiene, come si suol dire, allastoria di Milwaukee e alleleggende metropolitane.

– Tradotto dall’Ingleseda Laura Duronio

di Donato Di PronioCi riferiamo a quegli umili

lavoratori che, in una radura delbosco, innalzavano mucchi conici ditronchi e rami d’alberi (dettecarbonaie) e li facevano bruciareper trasformarli in carbone.

Per preparare una carbonaia (inalcuni paesi detta lu catozze ) siinfilavano nel terreno dei tronchialti tre quattro metri ed intornointorno vi si accatastava la legnacoprendola alla fine la catasta cosìottenuta con fogliame ed erba verdie con terra. Si dava, poi, fuoco allacatasta badando che la legnabruciasse lentamente eininterrottamente, senza fiammaper evitare che si incenerisse. Dopocirca una settimana quando il fumodiventava di colore turchino etrasparente (il che significava chela legna era tutta carbonizzata), lacarbonaia veniva accortamentecoperta per far spegnere il fuoco permancanza d’aria: il carbone perpronto.

Questo mestiere che richiedesacrifici di ogni genere, si diffusenell’immediato dopo guerra1939/45: la disoccupazione eragenerale, il lavoro mancava e la …fame la faceva da padrona. Tanti,nei paesi ricchi di boschi, siimprovvisarono boscaioli ecarbonai, affrontando un lavoroduro, di stenti e di privazioni, che li

costringeva a lunghi soggiorni inmontagna, ad arrangiarsi in riparioccasionali, grotte e capanne. Ilcarbone ricavato era vendutosoprattutto nei paesi delcircondario. Fortunato chipossedeva un asino o un mulo,quadrupedi da somaparticolarmente adatti per isentieri montani, chi no, “sicaricava” un sacco di carbone sullatesta e sulle spalle e andavaoffrendolo di porta in porta.

Raccontava un vecchiocarbonaro che un giorno, mentreera intento al suo duro lavoro, videspuntare tra i pochi alberi ancorain piedi, i berretti di due GuardieForestali: “loro” le ignorarono e“queste” prudentemente feceromarcia indietro, sicuramente cosìconsigliate dalla visione delle lorofacce sfigurate dalla fatica e dallafuliggine!.

Voglio qui ricordare l’usanza diquelle brave massaie nelle cuiabitazioni ancora oggi si accende ilfocolaio: quando la brace è bellaviva e abbonante, infilano alcunicarboni ancora ardenti in unrecipiente metallico che chiudonosubito dopo con un coperchio. Labrace, per mancanza d’aria sispegne trasformandosi incarbonella … pronta peralimentare i fornelli fissi e portatili(barbecue) dei buongustai!

L’angolo delle curiositàMestieri estinti oquasi: Il carbonaio

Ribattezzarsi instile italiano

Senatore Renato Turano

THE ITALIAN TIMES OTTOBRE 2017 – PAGE 19

Pescara: La città nuovissimaAncora dopo la prima guerra

mondiale, alla foce del fiumeomonimo esistevano due cittadinemolto diverse tra loro. A sud la piùantica Pescara (ora Portanuova),cresciuta sui resti della fortezzacinquecentesca che presidiava ilfiume e la statale 16 Adriaticaall’innesto della Via Tiburtina-Valeria sbocco della più importantevalle d’Abruzzo. Dopo lacostruzione della ferrovia, deibastioni non resta quasi nulla, epoco anche del successivoinsediamento (il Bagno penale ealcuni modesti edifici tra cui la casadi D’Annunzio).A nord del fiume, nella stretta

fascia di terra che si allunga tra lecolline e il mare si era invece

sviluppata dal 1806, prendendo afulcro il santuario della Madonnadei Sette Dolori, CastellammareAdriatico, che con l’arrivo dellaferrovia e la costruzione dellaStazione (1863) aveva avuto uncerto sviluppo. Commerciale,artigianale e ‘popolare’ Pescara;borghese, signorile e turisticoCastellammare Adriatico, ancora alprincipio del XX secolo scanditodalle grandi ville dei possidenti. Lafusione dei due comuni (1926)avvenne, patrocinante GabrieleD’Annunzio, con la nomina acapoluogo di una piccola provinciaricavata da quelle di Chieti eTeramo, a cavallo del fiume.I nuovi edifici del capoluogo si

realizzano il più possibile lungo

l’Adriatica, oggi corso VittorioEmanuele, che continua a essere laprincipale arteria cittadina, eunisce i due nuclei attraverso unponte, edificato nel 1934: ilTribunale, la Camera diCommercio, il tempio dellaConciliazione in lato Portanuova; inlato Castellammare Adriatico ilBanco di Napoli, le Poste, ilComune, la Provincia, questi ultimia formare una grande piazzamonumentale (piazza dei Vestini,oggi Italia) che avrebbe costituito ilnuovo centro cittadino. Nasceinoltre il quartiere di case popolaridetto dei Pescatori (1934) e vienecompiuta (1939) la bonifica deiterreni tra la vecchia Pescara e il

mare.La densa occupazione delle aree

centrali successiva allaricostruzione postbellica porta lacittà a espandersi verso l’esterno.La realizzazione della zonaindustriale tra Pescara e Chieti, icollegamenti autostradali e l’asseattrezzato, l’insediamento di alcuneFacoltà dell’Università D’Annun-zio, le nuove sedi di uffici regionalie statali, la nuova Stazione centraledelle Ferrovie dello Stato, il portoturistico modificano ancora ilquadro generale offrendo nuovepossibilità e preparando Pescaraalla sfida con il terzo millennio.

– Dal sito comunale:comune.pescara.it

Meriggiare pallidoe assortoMeriggiare pallido e assortolungo un rovente muro d’orto,

ascoltare tre i prunie gli sterpi

schiocchi di merli,fruscii di serpi.

Osservare fra frondiil palpitare

lontano di scaglie di mare,mentre si levanotremuli scricchi

di cicale dai caldi picchi.

E andando nel soleche abbaglia

sentire con triste meravigliacom’è tutta la vitae il suo travaglioin questo seguitareuna muraglia

che ha in cima cocciaguzzi di bottiglia.

Eugenio Montale (1896-1981) Pemio Nobel Letteratura 1975.

1. (Dialect): Dumand’ a l’ost’ se elle gha del bun’ vin. El te dis’ si! Literally: Ask the innkeeper if the wine is good. Of course, he’ll an-

swer yes. Equivalent: Ask a stupid question and you’ll get a stupid answer.

2. Non si puo avere la botte piena e la moglie ubriaca. Literally: You can’t have a full barrel [of wine] and a drunk wife.Equivalent: You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

3. Quando si manga non si parla, perche si combata con la morte.Literally: When one is eating, one is not supposed to talk because one

is fighting with death.Equivalent: Don’t eat and talk or you might choke and die.

4. Chi nun tene appetito trova tutto o salato a sciapito. Those who aren’t hungry find everything salty or tasteless.

5. Ne ammazza piu la gola che la spada.Literally: The throat kills more than the sword. Meaning: More people die from gluttony than from wars.

6. (Dialect) Pe’ fa cuntend lu’ marit la femmen a da ess gne lu vin,chiu’ pas lu temb e chiu’ devent bon. To make her husband happy, a woman must be like wine-the more

time passes, the better she gets.

7. (Dialect) La votte piccule fa lu vi’ bone. Literally: The small barrel makes good wine.Meaning: If you can’t afford to have a lot, you’ll appreciate the little

you have.

– Thanks to: italyrevisited.org

Detti popolari:Popular sayings

Italian idioms andexpressions

1. Stare con le mani in mano.Literally: To be with your hands in your hand/hold your hands with

your own hand.Equivalent: To sit on your hands.

2. Non ci piove.Literally: It doesn’t rain on it.Equivalent: No doubt about it!

3. Piove sul bagnato.Literally: It rains on wet ground.Equivalent: When it rains, it pours.

4. Acqua in bocca! Literally: (Keep the) water in your mouth!Equivalent: Keep it to yourself.

5. Non sei capace di tenerti un cece in bocca.Literally: You’re not able to keep a chickpea in your mouth.Equivalent: You can’t keep your mouth shut.

6. A caval donato non si guarda in bocca.Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

7. L’amore vince sempre. Literally: Love always wins.Equivalent: Love conquers all.

E fatt’na risataUna signora al ristorante si lamenta dicendo: “Cameriere? C’è una

mosca nella mia minestra!”e il cameriere: “Sssssssss.......altrimenti la vogliono tutti!”.

Una donna moooooolto grassa parla tra sè e dice:“Ho capito perchè sono così grassa, uso sempre uno shampoo in cui c’è

scritto ‘per dare corpo e volume’...per cui da ora in poi userò il detersivo per piatti che dice ‘toglie il

grasso...anche quello più difficile!”

Una signora compra una televisione e il commesso chiede: “Di quantipollici la vuole signora?”

e lei: “Ehm..non lo so..comunque la preferirei senza mani”.

Qual è la differenza tra una colomba e una donna?La colomba è l’uccello della pace, la donna è la pace dell’uccello.

C’è una donna molto brutta che dice ad una sua amica :”Lavoro alcentro protezione animali”.

l’altra donna allora fa :” Come animale o come protettrice deglianimali?”.

Sapete che differenza c’è tra una donna e una macchina? Una è bella, sensuale, Rossa, alta e la ami tanto, l’altra è un essere

vivente.

Per fare una meraviglia prima bisogna fare uno schizzo....ecco spiegato perchè Dio creò prima l’uomo e poi la donna,

Un tizio entra in un locale e vede una donna bellissima vestita di rosso, l’avvicina e dice: “Se vedo rosso divento un toro” e lei: “Se vedo 100€ diventouna vacca.”

Sapete perchè le donne stanno tanto a telefono? Per mantenere la linea.

Annamaria va dalla madre che rimane impressionata dalla suamagrezza.

“Tesoro è inutile. non puoi vivere con tuo marito. quando ti decidi adivorziare? “

e la figlia rispose”Quando sarò arrivata a 50 kg!”

Words in anItalian namefrompage 14

66 words in “Napoli”:1. piano 2. apiol 3. plain 4. lapin

5. pilao 6. aloin 7. paoli 8. nopal 9.lain 10. loan 11. pial 12. noil 13.pian 14. pila 15. pion 16. lino 17.nail 18. opal 19. lipa 20. lion 21.plan 22. naoi 23. pail 24. pina 25.

lipo 26. nipa 27. pain 28. loin 29.anil 30. lin 31. ion 32. lip 33. apo 34.poa 35. pin 36. alp 37. pal 38. oil 39.lap 40. poi 41. pan 42. pol 43. lop44. ail 45. ani 46. ain 47. nil 48. nip49. pia 50. nap 51. lo 52. na 53. in54. io 55. ai 56. no 57. al 58. pa 59.oi 60. an 61. la 62. on 63. op 64. pi65. li 66. po.

THE ITALIAN TIMESPAGE 20 – OCTOBER 2017

Report from the Milwaukee ItalianImmersion program at Victory K-8After a restful summer break

the staff at Victory is ready for an-other year of adventures during thetransition to full Italian immersion.The immersion program has ex-panded to second grade for the2017-18 school year. Students ingrades 3, 4, and 5 are receiving Ital-ian instruction for two to threehours per week.The entire Italian staff has re-

turned with the addition of a K5teacher, James Richie.Damaris Ayala is Victory’s new

assistant principal. The school stillhas some openings for new stu-dents in the 2017-18 academic year.Please call the office at 414-304-6700 if you are interested in en-rolling a student in the Italian

program.A new initiative in the Milwau-

kee Public Schools is YOTA, “Yearof The Arts.” This initiative intendsto promote the arts while increas-ing student engagement. Studentswill be exposed to the arts throughclassroom instruction and relatedfield trips. In September, someclasses attended an educationalscreening sponsored by the Mil-waukee Film Festival. There will bemany more opportunities through-out the year to promote creativityin the classrooms and develop theappreciation of the arts. YOTAopens up many possibilities to buildcommunity partnerships and en-hance students’ accessibility to thearts.

The staff at Victory K8 and Mil-waukee Italian Immersion School isexcited to continue to build the im-mersion program and provide sucha unique learning environment for

the children of the greater Milwau-kee community.

– Submitted byElizabeth Zizzo

Italian Immersion Program

Amici Italiani, an Italian dancegroup based in Rockford, Ill., willbe hosting the Italian Folk Art Fed-eration of America’s (IFAFA) con-ference on Nov. 10-11. Thisnationwide organization wasfounded in 1978 by Elba FarabegoliGurzau with the intention of pro-moting Italian folk dance activitiesthroughout the United States.Today it includes singing and

dancing groups from several statesincluding California, Iowa, NewYork, Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)and Wisconsin with the highly ac-claimed Tradizione Vivente, theItalian Dance Group of Milwaukee.The folk dance conference will

include two days of fun-filled activ-ities to promote Italian folk danceculture, such as dance instruction,cooking and craft classes, costumes

and singing, all concluding with aFesta Folcloristica banquet on Sat-urday evening.The entire Italian community is

welcome to participate in thisevent, as it is a wonderful way tonot only build friendships withother Italian Americans, but tolearn about and preserve our an-cestors’ folk traditions, which arebecoming more challenging in thisera of social media.You are also invited to become a

member of the IFAFA community.For more information on conferenceand membership, visit the IFAFAwebsite at www.italianfolkartfed-eration.org. You may also contactBea Ricotta, Amici Italiani’s danceinstructor, atBeaRicotta@gmail.com or by phoneat 815-520-1010.

Amici Italiani, RockfordItalian dance group, tohost national Italian folk

dance conference

New K5 teacher James Richie is seen here with Sabrina Lupoli, a re-turning teacher in the Italian Immersion Program at Victory K8 School,and a kindergarten student.

Eurochocolate is an interna-tional chocolate exhibition in Peru-gia (Umbria), Italy, dedicated topeople’s passion for the sweet flavorof cocoa. Admission and all activi-ties during the 10-day festival arefree.Each year, the Eurochocolate is

held in Perugia’s historic piazzas.Since 1993, this event has been rec-ognized as one of the largest choco-late festivals in all of Europe. Itallows guests to discover the differ-ent flavors of chocolate from cul-tures around the world.About 900,000 visitors are ex-

pected to come to Perugia for thefestival. Some of the activities in-

clude experimental tastings, cook-ing classes, performances, sculpt-ing and art displays, all, of course,involving chocolate. Many snackswill be available for purchase suchas chocolate liqueurs and bricks,from only the top chocolatiers onthe planet including Perugina, thefamous hometown chocolatier.

A “Chococard” can be purchasedat the festival, which offers guestsspecial privileges, discounts, con-tests, prizes and free tastings.

This year, the festival staff isinviting guests to share the bestmoments of Eurochocolate 2017through the hashtag #ConChi.

Chocolate lovers festivaltakes place in Perugia,Italy in Oct. 13-22