Part of the “magic of the movies” is undoubtedly the musical score which swells below the images and heightens our emotional response to the story unfolding on the screen. One of the most talented practitioners of this special art is Michael Giacchino.

Michael Giacchino was born in Riverside Township, New Jersey, on October 10, 1967. His paternal grandparents emigrated from Sicily; his maternal grandparents, from Abruzzo. He holds dual United States and Italian citizenship. Mike began combining images and music at age 10 by creating stop-motion animation with homemade sound tracks in his family’s basement. After he graduated from Holy Cross Catholic High School in Delran Township, New Jersey, in June 1986, he enrolled in the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City. He majored in film production and minored in history. During his senior year, he obtained a six-month, unpaid internship in film publicity with Universal Pictures. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from SVA in June 1990, and after his graduation, Universal Pictures hired him. Mike then married. He and his wife have one son, Mick. After a year, Mike moved to Disney to work in publicity while he took night classes in instrumentation and orchestration at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).

After graduating from UCLA, Mike transferred to Disney Interactive to produce video games. His music compositions there included the Sega Genesis game Gargoyles, the SNES game Maui Mallard in Cold Shadow, and The Lion King. Mike then moved to Dream Works for which his first major music composition was written for the video game adaptation of the movie, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, in 1997. He next composed the music score for the Small Soldiers video game in 1998. Mike then went to work for Pandemic Studios to create music themes for the video games Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, Medal of Honor, Underground, Allied Assault, Front Line, Heroes 2, Secret Weapons Over Normandy, Call of Duty, and Finest Hour.

In 2001, Mike was hired by the producer of the new TV series, Alias, to write its sound track. Mike next wrote the music score for another new TV series, Lost, in early 2004. Later that year, Mike obtained his first big feature film commission when he was hired by Pixar to write the sound track for The Incredibles. For this work, Mike was nominated in 2005 for two Grammy Awards for Best Score for a Motion Picture and for Best Instrumental Composition. Later in 2005, he composed the music scores for the movies Sky High and The Family Stone, and for the TV film, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. In 2006, he scored the movie, Mission Impossible III. In 2007, he wrote the score for the film, Ratatouille, for which he received his first Academy Award nomination. In 2009, he scored the movie, Star Trek. Later that year, he wrote the music for the movie, Up, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2010. In 2011, he composed the score for the film, Super 8. Mike then moved to Marvel Studios. In 2016, he wrote the music for the movies, Doctor Strange and Zootopia. He next scored the movie, Spider Man: Homecoming in 2017. Mike returned to Pixar later in 2017 to score Coco and Incredibles 2 in 2018. Bouncing back to Marvel Studies in 2019, Mike scored Jojo Rabbit and Spider Man: Far from Home. In 2021, he scored Spider Man: No Way Home. In 2022, he was very busy scoring Thor: Love & Thunder, The Batman, and Lightyear.

On October 7, 2022, Marvel Studios released the film, Werewolf by Night, which Mike directed. Mike is continuing in his new role as a director. After his overwhelming contributions as a music composer for first video games, then TV shows and films, what does this talented Abruzzese have planned for us in the future as a movie director? Stay tuned!

Source; (accessed June 9, 2024) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Giacchino

The small town of Rotello is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of Campobasso. in the province of Campobasso. It has about 1,190 inhabitants, called Rotellesi.

The small center rises in a strategic position between the rivers Fortore and Trigno, near to the Adriatic coast, on hills cultivated with olive trees of varieties that produce a renowned extra virgin olive oil. Since 1994, the municipality is part of the association “Le città dell’olivo” (The cities of the olive tree).

There are diverse hypotheses on the origin of the name of the community of Rotello. According to the majority of historians, the name derives from the Latin “Lauritellus”, land of the bay tree.

Founded by the Normans in the middle of the 12th century as Loritello, it was for a long time a very important Molise town. The name Rotello is strictly associated to that of the Norman Counts of Loritello. In the Angevin period, the community was given to the D’Alemagna family, which was followed by the Sanframondo family in the 14th century and the Boccapianola family in the 15th century. This last family held Rotello until 1792, when it was included in the royal lands.

The historical center conserves the characteristics of the medieval town, with houses arranged in rows, separated by narrow streets, all converging in the town square where there was the most grand church of the town, but it is not there now. Massive and imposing, the Colavecchio Palace dominates the historic center of Rotello. An ancient arch of stone through which tourists are able to reach the medieval fortress of Loritello is still today one of the ways of entry into the medieval town.

On the walls and on the arches of the town, visitors are able to admire Latin writings and carved stones among which there is a fragment of a Norman relief with a wolf and a figure of a little girl in front of a house, where, according to the tradition, there was “the wheel” for the care of the abandoned babies. The little girl is interpreted as the most ancient image of Little Red Riding Hood.

The tradition of Rotello in the production of olive oil is centuries old, but still modern. The rural zones of Rotello have even given the name to two ecotypes of olive oil, recognized from the Roman epoch: the “Rosciola di Rotello” and the “Cellina di Rotello.”

From many generations ago, there exists olive oil of excellent quality. This quality is due to the respect of the ancient traditions, in particular to the care of the olive trees, that are cultivated with simple procedures, few invasive interventions, in harmony with the time and the rhythm of the seasons. The people of Rotello attribute this quality to a productive process that avails itself of the experience rooted in the Rotello people who pay particular attention to the phases of the harvest.

The attractions of the place:
— Church of Saint Mary of the Angels
— Colavecchio Palace

Dates to remember:
— August 7 – Feast of Saint Donato, the patron saint

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotello
https://www.italyheritage.com/regions/molise/province-campobasso/rotello.htm
http://www.morronedelsannio.com/molise/eng_molise/castle_rotello.htm
http://www.oliopangia.com/history-info-rotello-olive-oil-city-italy/

Tradotto da Ennio Di Tullio

Provincia di Campobasso, Regione Molise

La piccola cittadina di Rotello si trova circa 30 chilometri (19 miglia) nord-est di Campobasso, nella provincia di Campobasso. Ha circa 1.190 abitanti, detti Rotellesi.

Il piccolo centro sorge in una posizione strategica tra i fiumi Fortore e Trigno, vicino alla costa Adriatica, su colline coltivate con ulivi di varietà che producono un rinomato olio extra vergine di oliva. Dal 1994 il comune è parte dell’associazione “Le città dell’olivo”.

Ci sono diverse ipotesi sull’origine del nome del comune di Rotello. Secondo alla maggior parte degli storici, il nome deriva dal latino “Lauritellus”, terra dell’alloro.

Fondata dai Normanni nella metà del XII secolo come Loritello, fu per lungo tempo un’importantissima paese molisana. Il nome Rotello è strettamente associato a quello dei Conti Normanni di Loritello. Nel periodo angioino, il comune fu dato alla D’Alemagna famiglia, a cui seguirono la Sanframondo famiglia nel XIV secolo e la Boccapianola famigllia nel XV secolo. Questa ultima famiglia tenne Rotello fino al 1792, quando fu compreso nelle terre regie.

Il centro storico conserva le caratteristiche del paese medievale, con le case arrangiate in file, separate da strette vie, tutte convergenti nella piazza del paese dove ci era la chiesa più grande del paese, ma non c’è ora. Massiccio e imponente, il Palazzo Colavecchio domina il centro storico di Rotello. Un antico arco in pietra attraverso il quale I turisti si potevano raggiungere la rocca medievale di Loritello è ancora oggi una delle porte d’ingresso nella paese medievale.

Sulle mura e sugli archi della cittadina, visitatori si possono ammirare scritte latine e pietre scolpite tra cui c’è un frammento di rilievo normanno con una lupa e una figura di una bambina davanti ad una casa, dove, secondo alla tradizione, ci era “la ruota” per la cura dei bambini abbandonati. La figura della bambina è interpretata come l’immagine più antica di Cappuccetto Rosso.

La tradizione di Rotello nella produzione dell’olio d’oliva è secolare, ma ancora moderna. Le zone rurale di Rotello hanno addirittura dato il nome a due ecotipi di olio d’oliva, riconosciuti dall’epoca romana: la “Rosciola di Rotello” e la “Cellina di Rotello”.

Da molte generazioni fa, ci esiste olio d’oliva di eccellente qualità. Questa qualità sia dovuta al rispetto delle antiche tradizioni, in particolare alla cura degli ulivi, che sono coltivati ​​con procedimenti semplici, pochi interventi invasive, in armonia con il tempo e il ritmo delle stagioni. I Rotellesi attribuiscono questa qualità ad un processo produttivo che si avvale dell’esperienza radicata dei Rotellesi che pongono particolare attenzione alla fase della raccolta.

Le attrazioni del luogo:

• Chiesa di Santa Maria degli Angeli
• Colavecchio Palazzo

Date di ricordare:

• 7 agosto – Festa di San Donato, il patrono

January/February 2025

AMHS WORKING WITH LEADERS IN THE ITALIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY

President Chris Renneker Picked to Attend Italian-American Future Leaders Convention

Christopher Renneker, our AMHS president, will be going to the Italian-American Future Leaders convention in Florida in January. Chris’ application to the Class of 2025 was accepted and he will be joining a network of young leaders and professionals from across the United States.

The sessions of this 3rd annual IAFL convention will be held January 17-20, 2025, at the Panthers Stadium in Sunrise, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale. After Chris returns, he will report to us on the convention in an article for the Notiziario.

The organization’s purpose is to bring together hundreds of young Italian Americans collectively to discuss, appreciate, and elevate their heritage. The goal is to inspire these young leaders to assume leadership roles in Italian-American organizations across the country.

The IAFL program was founded two years ago by John M. Viola, Basil M. Russo, and Patrick A. O’Boyle, all officers of the Italian Sons & Daughters of America (ISDA). Viola was formerly head of the National Italian-American Foundation.

The IAFL is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between younger and older Italian-American generations. The convention aims to not only offer a platform for young Italian Americans to network and brainstorm but also nurture personal connections and a sense of communal identity.

IAFL describes itself thus: “IAFL is searching for visionaries, disrupters, creators, and can-doers (ages 21-35) who can lead the Italian-American community in one direction — forward.”

(Submitted by Nancy DeSanti)

AMHS Board Member Working With IAOV

The Italian-American One Voice Coalition (IAOVC) is dedicated to fighting discrimination directed against Italian Americans and preserving Italian-American heritage.  AMHS Board of Director member and attorney Anthony Andreoli and the UNICO McLean chapter recently hosted the IAOVC president Andre’ DiMino who discussed his experiences dealing with anti-Italian prejudice, the continuing fight against this type of bias in media, and the continuing dedication to maintain our Columbus Day holiday.

The IAOVC holds monthly Solidarity Sessions with the Native-American population to collaborate in the struggle against those cultural forces seeking to divide our nation.  These sessions are held via monthly Zoom meetings and persons interested in attending these sessions are welcome to reach out to Andre’ for information at andre@iaovc.org.

(Submitted by Tony Andreoli)

A Career in Government Comes to a Close

AMHS Happy Hour at Puro Gusto

By Maria D’Andrea-Yothers

AMHS members and friends enjoyed Happy Hour on January 10 at Puro Gusto in Washington, D.C. From left, Mamta Sampemane, Teresa Black, Laura Gentile, Helen Free, Sam Yothers, Maria D’Andrea-Yothers, Chris Renneker, and Melis Mull.

January/February 2025