We invite you to join us for a unique opportunity to explore the world of pasta through the eyes of renowned Italian chefs and culinary experts. Our second luncheon program of the year will be held at Casa Italiana on May 15, 2022, at 1 p.m.

The event is entitled “For the Love of Pasta: Preserving Italian Cuisine, Culture and Health.”  It is being co-sponsored by the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center and the Casa Italiana Language School.

Organized and moderated by award-winning author/chef Amy Riolo, a panel of five food experts and chefs will share the fascinating ways in which they are passing down not only recipes, but Italian culture, nutrition and values to their patrons, clients, and future generations.  You will learn the essence of Italian hospitality, get to the core of how pasta fits into the Mediterranean lifestyle, learn tricks of the trade when making your own pasta at home and where to find it in the Washington, D.C. area.

Moderator: Amy Riolo, award-winning, best-selling author of 11 books, and chef who has taught cooking classes at Casa Italiana.  She is also a food historian and a Mediterranean Diet specialist.

Panelists:

• Luigi Diotaiuti, owner of award-winning restaurant Al Tiramisu, who was named Ambassador of Basilicata Cuisine in the World by the Federation of Italian Cooks
• Stefano Ferrari, owner of Italian gourmet retail store LIFeSTYLE and co-founder of Italian import company Cibo Divino
• Francesco Marra, CEO of Pizza University and Culinary Arts Center and Oro Catering which runs the café in the Embassy of Italy
• Matteo Venini, a native of Lake Como who is executive chef and co-owner of Stellina Pizzerias
• Diane Welland, director of nutrition communications for the National Pasta Association, who gave a talk to AMHS in April 2018

Before the program begins, we will have a delicious lunch catered by Fontina Grille. Space is limited, and registration closes on May 12 at 5:00pm, so if you are interested in attending, please register at:

https://www.abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org/mission/events/#!event/2022/5/15/amhs-luncheon-meeting-for-the-love-of-pasta-italian-cuisine-culture-and-health

May/June 2022

Rocco Francis Marchegiano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1923.  He was named after his paternal grandfather.  Rocco’s father, Pierino, had emigrated in 1912 from the town of Ripa Teatina (population 4,050 in the 2018 Census) in the province of Chieti in the region of Abruzzo.  His mother, Pasqualina Picciuto, had emigrated from the town of San Bartolomeo in Galdo (population 4,884 in the 2015 Census) in the province of Benevento in the region of Campania.  Rocco was the oldest of six children. 

As a boy, Rocco worked out on homemade weight lifting equipment and used a stuffed mail bag hung from a tree branch in his back yard as a heavy punching bag.  Rocco attended Brockton High School where he played baseball and football. He dropped out after tenth grade to work as a chute man on a delivery truck for an ice and coal firm. He later worked as a ditch digger, a railroad track layer, and a shoemaker. 

In March 1943 at age 19, he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  After boot camp, he was transferred to Swansea, Wales, where he helped to ferry supplies across the English Channel to Normandy. While awaiting discharge, he represented the Army and won the 1946 Amateur Armed Forces Boxing Tournament.  He was honorably discharged at Fort Lewis, Washington, in March 1946.  In March 1947, he tried out for a farm team of the Chicago Cubs in Fayetteville, North Carolina, but did not make the roster.  He then returned to Brockton where he began to train as a boxer with Allie Colombo.  Rocco was five feet, 10½ inches tall, and was a heavyweight.  His handler suggested that he shorten his full name to Rocky Mack, but Rocco rejected the surname in favor of the Italian Marciano.  During the Spring of 1948, he competed in the Olympic tryouts held in the Boston Garden.  Although he knocked out his first opponent, Rocky hurt his hands during the bout and was forced to withdraw.

Rocky began fighting as a pro on July 12, 1948.  He won his first 16 bouts by knockouts, all before the 5^th round, including nine in the 1^st round.  In his 17^th fight, Rocky went the distance and defeated Don Mogard (17-9-1) in a scheduled ten-rounder for his first unanimous decision.  Rocky won his next three fights by knockouts.  He won his 21^st fight by his second unanimous decision over Ted Lowry (58-48-9).  After four more knockouts, Rocky won his only split decision against undefeated Roland La Starza (37-0-0).  

The 27-year-old Rocky then took a break to marry 22-year-old Barbara Cousins in 1950.  They had two children, Mary Anne (1952-2011) and Rocco Kevin.  After returning to the ring, Rocky scored three more knockouts before his 30^th bout which he won by a third unanimous decision in a rematch against Lowry who was then (61-56-10).  Four more knockouts were followed by his 35^th fight which was his fourth unanimous decision in a bout with Willis “Red” Applegate (11-14-2).  After two more knockouts, the 28-year-old Rocky took on the 37-year-old former champ, Joe Louis, whose record was (66-2-0).  Rocky won a technical knockout in the 8^th of their scheduled ten-round match.  Louis retired after the fight.

After four more knockouts, Rocky was finally given a shot at the world title.  His 43^rd bout was fought against the current heavyweight champ, 38-year-old “Jersey” Joe Walcott (51-16-2), in Philadelphia on September 23, 1952.  Although Rocky was knocked down in the first round, he rallied to knock out Walcott in the 13^th round of a scheduled 15-round fight to become the new world champion.  On May 15, 1953, the boxers held a rematch in Chicago where Rocky knocked out Walcott in the first round.  Walcott retired after the fight.  Rocky’s 45^th bout was held on September 24, 1953, at the Polo Grounds in New York City where he earned a technical knockout against his former nemesis, Roland La Starza, in the 11^th round of a scheduled 15-round fight.  Rocky’s next title defense was against the 33-year-old former champ, Ezzard Charles (85-10-1), who went the distance in a 15-round match in Yankee Stadium in New York City on June 17, 1954.  Charles was the only fighter to last 15 rounds against Rocky, who won a unanimous decision.  Exactly three months later, Rocky won a rematch against Charles in the same ring by a knockout in the 8^th round.  On May 16, 1955, Rocky defended his title in San Francisco against the 27-year-old European and British champion, Don Cockrell (66-11-1).  Rocky won a technical knockout when the fight was stopped in the 9^th round.  Rocky’s last title defense was against the 38-year-old Archie Moore (149-19-8) on September 21, 1955, back in Yankee Stadium.  Although Rocky was knocked down in the 2^nd round, he knocked out his challenger in the 9^th round.  Rocky then announced his retirement on April 27, 1956, at age 32.  He finished his career with a record of 49-0-0.  He is the only undefeated heavyweight champion and his knockout-to-win percentage of 87.8% is the highest in heavyweight boxing history.

After retirement, Rocky moved his family to Wilton Manors, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and hosted a weekly boxing show on television.  He also became a vice president of Papa Luigi Spaghetti Dens which franchised restaurants out of an office in San Francisco.  On August 31, 1969, he visited the home of former race car driver, Andy Granatelli, who was then the chief executive officer of a motor fuel additive company named STP based in Chicago.  After dinner, Rocky left to fly with a friend, Frank Farrell, 28, to Des Moines, Iowa, on a private plane piloted by Glenn Betz.  It was dark and bad weather set in, so Betz tried to land the plane at a small airfield outside Newton, Iowa, but hit a tall tree two miles short of the runway and crashed.  All three were killed on impact.  Rocky was one day short of his 46^th birthday.  The National Transportation Safety Board blamed the accident on pilot error.

Rocky was interred in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale.  His wife died from lung cancer five years later at the age of 46 and was entombed next to him.  In 1977, The Ring magazine ranked Rocky as the greatest Italian-American boxer.  Rocky was also inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame.  A bronze statue of Rocky was unveiled on the grounds of Brockton High School on September 23, 2012, the 60th anniversary of his winning the world heavyweight title. A bronze statue was also erected in his father’s home town of Ripa Teatina.

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Marciano
• https://eniwikipedia.org/wiki/Ripa_Teatina
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Bartolomeo_in_Galdo
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Louis
• https://en.wikipedia/wiki/Jersey_Joe_Walcott
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezzard_Charles
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cockell
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Moore

May/June 2022

The beautiful small town of Carapelle Calvisio is located in the natural park known as the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. It has approximately 120 inhabitants, known as Carapellesi.

It is probably best known as the smallest community in Abruzzo and as being one of the smallest non-alpine comunes in Italy. Its territory was featured, along with Rocca Calascio, in a medieval fantastic movie, “Ladyhawke,” starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

It comprises a handful of stone houses perched at about 900 meters above sea level, among the wooded hills covered with oaks and pines, with a magnificent panoramic view of the Aquila basin up to the Maiella massif and the Navelli plain.

The village stands on one of the last southern reaches of the Gran Sasso massif and the historic center preserves, almost intact, its ancient urban structure of a medieval fortified village, with the houses leaning against each other and separated by narrow alleys that occasionally open into small spaces.

The area around Carapelle Calvisio has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the many finds dating back to the Paleolithic era.  Initially occupied by the people of the Vestini, the area was then conquered by the Romans around the 4th century B.C., after the defeat of the Samnites.  With the fall of the Roman Empire, the population moved to the hills and found shelter inside a fort and monasteries.

Despite or maybe because of its small size, the history of Carapelle Calvisio has been troubled. Starting from the 12th century, Carapelle was referred to as a Castrum, that is, as a fortified village. In 1273, Charles I of Anjou conquered this part of Italy, definitively defeating the Swabians.  The Angevins put Carapelle Calvisio among the territories of a new barony. At the end of the 1300s, the Angevin ruler Charles III of Durres granted the barony in fiefdom to Peter, Count of Celano.

In following years, the castle was reinforced and nowadays traces of the ancient fortress can be found in the highest part of the town.

Later the Spanish kings of Aragon arrived and the barony was assigned first into the hands of Antonio Piccolomini and then Ottavio Cattaneo. During the Renaissance period, the Church of Saint Francis was established and embellished with frescoes.

In 1579, the territory was under the dominion of the Medici, Grand Dukes of Tuscany, who created the Medici State of Abruzzo to ensure the supply of the fine Carfagna wool, produced by local sheep. This is a fine dark-colored wool with which they made the military uniforms and robes of the monks.

With the Medici and the wool trade, the town went through a period of relative prosperity. Churches were embellished and Palazzo Piccioli was placed in the center of the town.

Like many Abruzzo territories, Carapelle Calvisio also saw many of its inhabitants emigrate in search of fortune after the unification of Italy and after the World Wars. And unfortunately, the village was seriously damaged by the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake.

The most valuable agricultural products in the area are cheeses, sheep meat, olive oil, saffron and especially truffles, which in ancient times were discovered with the use of trained pigs.

One of the characteristic dishes is fried figs, used to season savory dishes such as pasta and eggs, while among the desserts there is the ferratelle (waffle cookies), prepared for the feast of the patron saint, San Pancrazio.

Visitors to the area describe it as a magical place to visit, steeped in the past, and as a starting point to discover the Gran Sasso National Park, which has been described as one of the most beautiful parks in Italy.

After a first wave of emigration started towards the United States, at the time of World War I, a second large emigration followed in the 1950s. Canada, France and Australia were the main destinations. Nowadays in Toronto, there is a Carapellese community five times the present population of the village.

What to See

• The historical center
• The church of St. Francis of Assisi, decorated in the baroque style with beautiful frescoes
• The Shrine of St. Pancrazio.

Important Dates

• May 12 – Feast of St. Pancrazio, the patron saint
• August 15 – Feast of Emigrants

       

Italiano

   

Tradotto da Ennio Di Tullio

Provincia di L’Aquila, Regione Abruzzo

Il bellissimo paesino di Carapelle Calvisio si trova nel parco naturale noto come Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga. Conta circa 120 abitanti, detti Carapellesi.

Probabilmente è meglio conosciuta come la più piccola comunità in Abruzzo e come uno dei più piccoli comuni non alpini d’Italia. Il suo territorio è stato protagonista, insieme a Rocca Calascio, in un fantastico film medievale, “Ladyhawke”, con Michelle Pfeiffer.

Si compone di una manciata di case in pietra arroccate a circa 900 metri sul livello del mare, tra le colline boscose ricoperte di querce e pini, con una magnifica vista panoramica sulla conca dell’Aquila fino al massiccio della Maiella e alla piana di Navelli.

Il paese sorge su uno degli ultimi lembi meridionali del massiccio del Gran Sasso e il centro storico conserva, pressoché intatta, l’antica struttura urbanistica di borgo fortificato medioevale, con le case addossate l’una all’altra e separate da stretti vicoli che di tanto in tanto si aprono in piccoli spazi.

Il territorio intorno a Carapelle Calvisio è stato abitato fin dalla preistoria, come testimoniano i numerosi reperti risalenti al Paleolitico. Inizialmente occupata dal popolo dei Vestini, la zona fu poi conquistata dai Romani intorno al IV secolo a.C., dopo la sconfitta dei Sanniti. Con la caduta dell’Impero Romano, la popolazione si trasferì in collina e trovò rifugio all’interno di un forte e di monasteri.

Nonostante o forse proprio per le sue ridotte dimensioni, la storia di Carapelle Calvisio è stata travagliata. A partire dal XII secolo Carapelle fu indicata come Castrum, cioè come borgo fortificato. Nel 1273 Carlo I d’Angiò conquistò questa parte d’Italia, sconfiggendo definitivamente gli Svevi. Gli Angioini collocarono Carapelle Calvisio tra i territori di una nuova baronia. Alla fine del 1300 il sovrano angioino Carlo III di Durazzo concesse la baronia in feudo a Pietro, conte di Celano.

Negli anni successivi il castello fu rinforzato e oggi tracce dell’antica rocca si trovano nella parte più alta del paese.

Successivamente arrivarono i re spagnoli d’Aragona e la baronia fu assegnata prima ad Antonio Piccolomini e poi a Ottavio Cattaneo. In epoca rinascimentale fu eretta la Chiesa di San Francesco, abbellita con affreschi.

Nel 1579 il territorio passò sotto il dominio dei Medici, Granduchi di Toscana, che crearono lo Stato Medici d’Abruzzo per garantire l’approvvigionamento della pregiata lana Carfagna, prodotta dalle pecore locali. Si tratta di una pregiata lana di colore scuro con cui si confezionavano le divise militari e le vesti dei monaci.

Con i Medici e il commercio della lana, il paese visse un periodo di relativa prosperità. Furono abbellite le chiese e al centro del paese fu collocato Palazzo Piccioli.

Come molti territori abruzzesi, anche Carapelle Calvisio ha visto molti dei suoi abitanti emigrare in cerca di fortuna dopo l’Unità d’Italia e dopo le Guerre Mondiali. E purtroppo il paese è stato gravemente danneggiato dal terremoto dell’Aquila del 2009.

I prodotti agricoli più pregiati della zona sono i formaggi, la carne di pecora, l’olio d’oliva, lo zafferano e soprattutto i tartufi, che anticamente venivano scoperti con l’utilizzo di maiali allevati.

Uno dei piatti caratteristici sono i fichi fritti, usati per condire pietanze salate come pasta e uova, mentre tra i dolci vi sono le ferratelle, preparate per la festa del patrono San Pancrazio.

I visitatori della zona lo descrivono come un luogo magico da visitare, ricco di passato, e come punto di partenza per scoprire il Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso, che è stato definito uno dei parchi più belli d’Italia.

Dopo che iniziò una prima ondata di emigrazione verso gli Stati Uniti, all’epoca della prima guerra mondiale, seguì negli anni ’50 una seconda grande emigrazione. Canada, Francia e Australia sono state le destinazioni principali. Oggi a Toronto c’è una comunità carapellese cinque volte la popolazione attuale del villaggio.

Attrazioni del luogo:

• Il centro storico
• La chiesa di San Francesco d’Assisi, decorata in stile barocco con bellissimi affreschi
• Il Santuario di San Pancrazio

Date da ricordare:

• 12 maggio – Festa di San Pancrazio, patrono
• 15 agosto – Festa degli Emigranti

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carapelle_Calvisio https://www.italyheritage.com/regions/abruzzo/laquila/carapelle.htm https://discoverplaces.travel/en/Places2/guide-to-carapelle-calvisio/

May/June 2022

Readers may recall that the March/April Notiziario featured an article on the Abruzzese town of Bugnara, recounting how AMHS member Willy Meaux recently bought a farmhouse and some land in his grandfather’s hometown so he and his wife, Mary Bernard, can retire there someday.  From the front door of his farmhouse, Willy can see the beautiful Gran Sasso.

But Willy is not the only AMHS member with ties to the town.  Mario Marinucci’s late father, Cristino, as well as his father’s brothers, Rosario and Vince (Mario’s uncles), and his father’s sisters, Elia and Gilda (Mario’s aunts), are from the town.

And Gino Marinucci said his connection to Bugnara is that his home is two miles from the paese. From his bedroom window, he said he can see the entire town crested on the side of the mountain west southwest of him. He noted that Bugnara is roughly 5 miles from Sulmona and he lives about halfway down the road which the Bugnaresi use to go to Sulmona, a much bigger city.

Gino noted that his first cousins, Cristino (Mario’s father) and Gilda (Mario’s aunt), lived next door to him.  Gino said the house was like a duplex and he had to walk past their front door to access his house, commenting, “You can’t get much closer than that.”

Last but not least, AMHS Past President Omero Sabatini said that his mother, Carmela, when she was still single, had worked as a midwife at Bugnara. There, he said, she was known as ostetrica condotta (He noted that in Italy, an obstetrician is called ostetrico or ostetrica).  Omero said, “Given the Italian tendency to inflate titles, a midwife is often called ostetrica, even though in the old days she only had two years of specialized training.” Omero added that condotta means that she was an employee of the municipality. As such, he said she could charge no fee to women on relief (sull’elenco dei poveri), but charged a fee determined by law to all other women; the amount varied depending on the economic resources of the mother.

Omero noted that in the dialect of some parts of Abruzzo, babies are not delivered. They are picked up. Omero said that many people had told him, “Your mother picked me up.”  He said his mother always spoke with nostalgia about her years in Bugnara. Being young, single and beautiful, Carmela, according to Omero, was courted by every eligible man in town, but she married one from her own village of Secinaro and said goodbye to Bugnara. “Thank God,” says Omero, “or I would not be on this earth.” 

May/June 2022

On March 5, GWU’s Societa’ di Cultura Italiana held its first annual Spring Gala with great success.  This event represented an achievement in many different areas of my life and in the history of the club.  Covid-19 forced us online between March 2020 and September 2021, but this school year, we were finally able to begin in-person events with restrictions. The gala was our first major event since February 2020 and we had the largest turnout our club has ever had during my four years at GW with over 130 people in attendance. We could not have imagined this event going any better and are so happy that everyone enjoyed the food from local Italian restaurants and socializing throughout the evening.

I dreamed of organizing a gala for the club since I was a Freshman representative in 2018 and with the help and dedication of the club’s Executive Board, we were able to finally host it. The aim of this event was to drive cultural awareness and celebrate the influence of Italians on the United States and our modern traditions and allow students to partake in a bit of ‘cultura italiana‘. Thanks to our great sponsors, we had a sampling of Italian foods and giveaways from local businesses to foster a sense of community between our students and D.C. Our sponsors included Toscana Market, Il Canale, San Lorenzo, La Tomate, Al Dente, Capo Deli, Dolci Gelati, Carmine’s and NIAF. We truly cannot thank them enough for the amazing food, cookbook, and gift cards they donated to make our event a success.

The aim of this event was to drive cultural awareness and celebrate the influence of Italians on the United States and our modern traditions and allow students to partake in a bit of ‘cultura italiana‘.

         The gala was in time for Festa della Donna and International Women’s Day on March 8and honored some important women. Our Italian department at GW is small, but mighty, and happens to be made up of all female professors. Antonella Longoni, Lynn Westwater, Paola Warfield, and Alessandra Harness were each given a small bouquet of Mimosa flowers and personalized notebook during the ceremony. They have crafted amazing classes on a vast number of topics, worked diligently to spread the Italian language, and supported our club, and especially me, over the past four years. The final honoree was AMHS’ own Maria D’Andrea-Yothers. She was honored at the AMHS meeting on March 27^th for supporting me during my internship with the Society in my freshman year and providing many opportunities to continue to grow my involvement in D.C.’s Italian community. Thanks to her, I continued my involvement with the AMHS and am now fortunate enough to participate on the Board of Directors. These women go above and beyond to help students interested in this amazing culture and we could not be more grateful.

        Overall, the gala was an extremely meaningful event for GW’s Italian club and a great note to end on for my time at the university. I truly could not have been more surprised by how many people wanted to attend and the businesses that were so generous to donate to us to help us put on this event. We know these past two years have been challenging for everyone, which made their efforts even more appreciated. I feel like I left my mark on GW, and I cannot express how much this event meant to me. Though I am graduating in May, I hope this gala continues as an annual event to help foster connections between Italian students, those interested in Italian, and the local community of Italian businesses and restaurants.

May/June 2022