Exciting new Italian films opening up across the United States

Over the next few months, Italian films will dominate the US film world, here are a few spectacular films out in theaters now and this summer.

THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS

a film by Felix van Groeningen and

Charlotte Vandermeersch

L’IMMENSITA

a film by Emanuele Crialese

NOSTALGIA

a film by Mario Martone

For more on many Italian films, please visit  Cinema Made in Italy 

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Italian American Sunday Dinner: Making Meatballs

Sunday dinner and my mother makes the best meatballs in the United States.. sorry she does! Here are a few montage photos of her making them. The recipe is also secret.. maybe we'll get her to give it up and so we can share with the Italian American Girl audience. LoL. Enjoy! Tweet

National Italian American Foundation Profiles Italian American Girl In Their Monthly Newsletter.

Exciting news for ItalianAmericanGirl.com, this month the National Italian American Foundation has profiled my personal story and work on creating the Italian American Girl blog. This is a great honor and I would like to thank the staff at the foundation for including me on such a wonderful monthly newsletter. Please check out the story on their newsletter page on the official National Italian American Foundation site:

http://niaf.org/news/news_monthly/2009/news_monthly.asp Tweet

Discovering Your Italian Heritage Through Research & Ancestory.com

One of the greatest parts of being Italian American is knowing your heritage and culture. Many Italian Americans are aware of their heritage but only through family storytelling and no real tangible photos, names, or locations of their original Italian ancestors.

An amazing feeling is knowing who are you and where you come from. You are American but knowing your roots as an Italian is really a wonderful feeling and a sense of full cultural identity. Part of knowing your roots requires research, education and an open mind. When some people embark on finding relatives it usually turns up negative because you can get frustrated with the Italian translations and lack of information. But today, there are so many resources to help you find your ancestors, whether they were immigrants or portions of them still in live in Italy.

A really great resource is Ancestory.com its an online archival system that allows you to retrieve information from archived historical documents filed with various government offices. There is a fee for joining and requesting the information-- but I say, if you're really passionate about your heritage and family then consider this a contribution to your education for you and your children. Good luck and if anyone has a cool story about reconnecting with their Italian families, do share!!

http://www.ancestory.com/

Another great book available on Amazon about Italian Geneology:
http://tinyurl.com/clnr98 Tweet

Voglio Fare L'Americano...Sunday Dinner --Part Due.

Today of course is Sunday and once again I am lucky enough to eat Sunday dinner at my parents home. I was happy today because my mother made the sauce with my favorite, porpetti. Oh, just amazing. Then, my father drew wine out of the barrel from the wine we made this past October. Now, the wine is not ready yet but he wanted to test its consistency and let me tell you the consistency could kick your butt. Its definitely strong. Can't wait for it to be completely done.

So, in the course of our dinner today, my father was very reminiscent about his life when he first was married to my mother. They were both saying how they would take trips to the Meadowlands race track, go into Manhattan, and visit with friends. I just think its so funny, that they actually went out and did fun stuff, I mean if any of you know Italian parents, you know its takes a lot to convince them to leave the house or do anything fun.

My father was talking about the times he worked three jobs and had money to do or buy anything for the family. He claims as he says, "volevo fare l'americano." He says there was almost a sense of romance to living, working and engaging in the American lifestyle. His greatest memory is buying his first American car, a Chevy Impala. I guess the vibe was very Frank Sinatra-ish. Everyone wanted to be American.

My father's feelings and opinions were pretty strong today as we also discussed the crashing economy and the declining American pride. I guess the idea of such a great America and the excitement he talks about from when he came to America, made me think.."Do I feel or think that?" I mean, he sounds like he's talking about a time that can never be duplicated. I guess it can't, but I wonder will we as Americans, Italian-Americans ever feel the romance or excitement of a great America again? Its hard to imagine right now, but I will remain hopeful. I'm here because the idea of a great America was real for my parents, so I will do my best and then some to keep that idea alive. Yet another reflective moment about growing up Italian-American.

(pic-My father & me) Tweet

What To Do When Your Italian Relatives Come To Visit..??

OK, so I have become the unspoken social director for my family when it comes to entertaining my relatives, who are visiting from Italy. I have a few friends of mine who call or ask me what they should do with their cousins while their in town, because they have no clue what the Italians want to do or expect.

Well, let me start by saying that most Italians, expect a lot. They have no clue about our work hours or how long we stay out of the house in the course of a day. They do expect lunch, not McDonald's (maybe sometimes) and a good dinner too. They want to hit as many sights as possible (if you have younger relatives in) and for as little money as possible.

Now, my cousins have been here a few times and each time they come its awesome, but I have to prepare myself that I will be extending myself more than usual. The American lifestyle compared to the Italian is completely different, so when the relatives are here..it might be disappointing to them if you're not available to entertain them.

At one point, I let my Italian guilt get to me and was overwhelmed because my work schedule was tough. So, I decided to give them an itinerary and time schedule and it seemed to work. A good thing was, I was working in NYC, so I had them commute in with me in the morning, brought them to the office (which I made headquarters), gave them a list of locations, landmarks and streets, and sent them on their way. I obviously gave them my cell phone too, just in case.

But you know, cutting the chord and giving them a list of things to see, really worked. Even if you live in the suburbs, you can easily put the Italians on a bus or train and just give them specifics. You also have to remember, Italians are so much more versed in public transportation than we are..I needed to give them more credit. I guess I just thought they would need more help getting around.

Well, here is a list of top things to do for your relatives when visiting:

1. Visit the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. http://www.nps.gov/stli/


2. Take An Apple Bus Tour--(Best way to see NYC.) http://www.newyorksightseeing.com/


3. Go To Hard Rock Cafe In NYC- http://www.hardrock.com/


4. Take A Road Trip to Atlantic City- http://www.atlanticcitynj.com/


5. Take a Small Weekend To Miami- (JetBlue has great specials) Italians love Miami http://www.jetblue.com/


6. Bus Trip to Montreal, Ottawa or Washington D.C- http://www.greyhound.com/
   

So, here is the list, but believe me New York takes days to cover and there is so much to do and see. So, sometimes its best to just let your relatives figure out their own schedule and time frame. Also, I always make sure my relatives fly into Newark and not JFK. Newark is so much more accessible from this end, but if you're a New Yorker the NY airports might be better. So, always make sure you find out where they are flying into and out or talk with them before they book it and make sure its to the right airport. But when you finally get to see your family its amazing and you should savor it, I do. Good Luck and if you want more tips and info there is so much, so just email me for details. Ciao!

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Locating Your Long Lost Relatives in Italy.

Sometimes, looking and researching family ancestry in Italy can be extremely difficult and complicated if you don't know what or who you are looking for. Knowing where you come from and connecting with your background or family is a large part of a person's identity, so reconnecting with your roots is sometimes an essential task in learning about yourself.

If you ever watch these reuniting shows, like "Troy, the Locator" on the WE network, you can see how extensive and hard the process is, now take that and add the fact you are going to broaden your search into Italy..no doubt...its a big endeavor. So, in finding your ancestors or living relatives you should start with basic web resources that can narrow your search or give you an idea of places or people. Remember using Google is also key in locating information. Here are a few good sites and a genealogist-- I came across. Start here, read about it and then move onto the next step. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day. Good Luck. (PS- Remember find credible people and sites..don't get scammed.)

http://www.italiangenealogist.com/inglese/home_english.html

http://www.italyworldclub.com/genealogy/

http://genealogy.about.com/od/italy/Italian_Genealogy_Family_History.htm Tweet