The annual AMHS Ferragosto Picnic was celebrated on Sunday, August 13, at Fort Ward Park in Alexandria, Virginia, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Approximately 40 AMHS members, friends, and family came together to celebrate a day of fun, food, friendship, and bocce. As in years past, there was an abundance of food, from antipasti, grilled kielbasa, pasta salads, potato salads, fresh fruit, and desserts, to be shared and enjoyed by all. Of course, no picnic celebrating Italy and its traditions would be complete without vino (Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose); and birra (Peroni). Special thanks to Lucio D’Andrea for sharing his homemade limoncello, and to Maria D’Andrea-Yothers for sharing a bottle of Ole Smoky margarita-flavored moonshine which was acquired during a recent vacation in Tennessee. 

While the sun shined brightly, there was ample shade covering and pop-up canopies to keep attendees cool. Many thanks to all those who were able to join in a day of celebration. Special thanks to everyone who helped with set-up and tear-down. Fort Ward Park was once again the perfect setting for a day of celebration.

To find out more about the origins of Ferragosto, celebrated every year on August 15, and how it is celebrated, see 15th of August: origins and facts about the Italian Tradition of the “Ferragosto” | Visititaly.eu

Dear members and friends:

I hope that this message finds you in good health and enjoying the waning days of summer. Over the course of the past two months, we have had some interesting programs, and we plan to offer at least one more before the fall. On July 9th, we organized a self-guided tour of the exhibition “Going through Hell: The Divine Dante” at the National Gallery of Art. The group of approximately 15 members and friends learned a great deal about the impact of Dante through the ages and discussed some of their insights afterwards at the Cascade Café. You can read more about it in Maria D’Andrea’s article. Later in the month, on July 30th, we offered a virtual presentation by Michael Markowitz on the evolution of Roman coinage during the period from about 300 BC to 476 AD. His lecture and slides provided a fascinating glimpse into how Roman coins reflected the events of Roman history and how, in one particularly interesting case, a Roman coin led to the assassination of Julius Caesar. Nancy DeSanti’s article on the talk contains additional details and commentary.

On August 13th, we held our annual Ferragosto picnic at Ft. Ward Park in Alexandria, Virginia. One of our most popular events of the year, the picnic provided an opportunity for members and friends to enjoy a barbecue, many homemade dishes, wine and beer, desserts, music, bocce, and good fellowship — all against the backdrop of a beautiful day. One week later, on August 20th, we organized a self-guided tour of the exhibition “Imagining the future – Leonardo da Vinci: In the mind of an Italian genius”. The tour, which took place at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington, D.C., featured an exhibition of twelve volumes of the sketches, musings, and drawings of Leonardo, including twelve original drawings from the “Codex Atlanticus.” Participants enjoyed a lunch following the tour. 

Going forward, we will close out our summer programs with a general meeting at the Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center (CISC) on September 10th at 1:30 p.m. Our guest speaker will be Carmine Vittoria who will discuss his book “Hidden in Plain Sight: WWII, Mussolini, and the Plight of Internment Camps in Southern Italy.” Vittoria’s book shines a light on the situation of Jewish internees and townspeople caught in the crossfire of warring armies. Dr. Vittoria was a featured speaker at a previous AMHS event in 2019 and his presentation was very well received. 

Our Society will sponsor a special musical event in the fall, which should be of interest to our members, friends, and the broader Italian-American community in the Washington D.C. area. The Ensemble Sangineto, a trio from northern Italy, will perform at CISC on October 29th at 1:30. The well-known Italian folk music group incorporates musical strands from throughout Europe in its repertoire — classical music, Celtic music, Gregorian chants, musical theater, modern pop, and jazz. We can also expect selections of traditional Italian music with fresh interpretations of folk tunes from each of Italy’s regions. The concert should be an exciting and enjoyable event that is worth marking on your calendar. Stay tuned for additional details, including the opening date for ticket sales, ticket prices, and information about how to purchase them.

The Society’s officers will be rotating out of their positions at the end of this year. If the thought of helping to steer our organization over the next two years by providing your ideas and insights is one that appeals to you, please get in touch with me or anyone on our Executive Committee. There is also an opportunity to serve a term on the Executive Committee, as three of its members will conclude their terms at the end of this year. As you can imagine, this is an important moment for the AMHS as it looks to remain vibrant in the years ahead. The chance to help prepare our organization for the future is here now! Please think about grabbing it!

Finally, keep in mind that our online shop remains stocked with many gifts that display our AMHS logo. If you have not checked it out recently, now would be a good time: Abruzzo & Molise Heritage Society Merchandise (cafepress.com)

Thanks for reading and enjoy the arrival of fall.

Regards,
Ray LaVerghetta

September/October 2023

AMHS is pleased to present Professor Carmine Vittoria as the speaker at our next luncheon program at Casa Italiana on Sunday, September 10, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. 

AMHS members may recall that Professor Vittoria gave us a talk in June 2019, just after he had finished his took “Bitter Chicory and Sweet Espresso,” his own story of hardship and survival as a boy growing up in the small town of Avella near Napoli before, during, and shortly after World War II. 

He spent two years writing the book, whose title is a metaphor for the hard times and better times during the period 1940-1949. He told this human and military story from the point of view of what a young boy saw and heard then in the town of Avella. His own family endured many hardships, but he likes to quote the Neapolitan credo “ci arrangiamo” (we manage by ourselves).

More recently, during his retirement in Florida, Professor Vittoria has written two historical fiction books, which he will discuss in his talk. 

The first book, “Once Upon a Hill,” fuses historical facts with personal stories. It is a story of corruption and camaraderie in Boston’s predominantly Italian-American North End, where Professor Vittoria lived for many years. He tells the story of two Italian immigrants from the Naples area. They follow two distinct paths at a time when mob ties were commonplace and immigrants struggled to acclimate to a new country.

With one entering academia and the other entering the Mafia, the two individuals in the book eventually find their way back to each other through the most unconventional circumstances. 

The lives of the main characters are intertwined with a corrupt political and social landscape. In a tumultuous period of American history, the book describes the struggle to provide and survive. The struggle was one that many immigrants faced daily as they attempted to navigate their newfound surroundings.

The second book, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” is a gripping tale of survival and resilience, shining a light on the plight of Jewish and other internees and their relations with townspeople in remote areas of Calabria and elsewhere in southern Italy. They were caught in the crossfire of warring armies during World War II. The book describes how, despite the turmoil and chaos of war, a special kind of empathetic connection emerged between these two communities, and how their lives became entangled in unexpected ways. 

After the war, Professor Vittoria himself left his home in Avella to come to the United States. Eventually, he taught applied physics for 32 years at Northeastern University in Boston where he established a world-class research laboratory in the development of new microwave films. He also worked at the Naval Research Lab for 20 years on projects involving microwave magnetic materials and Stealth bomber technology. While working on this technology, he obtained a patent which remains secret to this day, for which he was paid $50 by the U.S. Government. 

Professor Emeritus Vittoria received his Ph.D. in applied quantum physics from Yale University in 1970. He is the author of four scientific books and over 500 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. He has been granted over 25 patents which have been cited more than 10,000 times. His four scientific books have been distributed worldwide in universities and libraries. He also wrote a book on soccer. For over 25 years, he has been a champion bocce player. In his retirement, he plants fig trees and runs a bridge club.

His story is a remarkable one and Professor Vittoria will share some of it with us.