I Am An Italian Family

I’ve been to many hotels and restaurants around the United States and Canada that offer an afternoon tea that emulates the British tradition. I must say that the presentation of the assortment of delicate food items along with the impeccable service provided make tea feel more like a celebration or event than just a simple meal. It was interesting to learn that one of my favorite childhood dishes came directly from Florence, Italy. The green spinach fettucini that my grandmother would make for me, with a very light Alfredo sauce, was so delicious. I was aware of the term Florentine to indicate that spinach is a featured ingredient in the dish, but did not put two and two together to realize that Florentine is a direct reference to Florence

As an Italian-American, I was and am still told by my mother, grandparents, and great-grandparents how proud I should be of my heritage. I was taught to respect my great-grandmother who, after arriving in America along side her husband, fully committed herself to raising her four sons and eight nieces and nephews in a two-bedroom house in Pennsylvania. She was motivated by the drive of a better life in a new, strong country for the young-ones she loved. I was taught to treasure both food and family, praying each night through the Blessed Mother. I was handed Pizzelles and Almond cookies as snacks throughout the day, and listened to Dean Martin through the stereo almost every night. My grandmother’s family came from Mezzogiorno, while my grandfather’s family hailed from the North Country. Though I had never been to Italy, as a child, I still knew the significance of being Italian and was thankful. It was not until I entered public school that I began to understand the teasing that my own ethnic group was subject to on a near daily basis.

For me, being an Italian American means that I have come from a long line of hardworking immigrants who came to the United States to make a better life for their children while still maintaining their Italian cultural pride and heritage. From the time that I was a small child, I was taught to be proud of my Italian heritage. From the young age of four or five, I can remember sitting in the kitchen while my grandmother and great-grandmother would be cooking and they would tell me how my great-great grandparents immigrated to the United States from Calabria. They told me how my great-great -grandfather came with little money and could not speak English. He worked in the mines and sold wood on the side in order to make a living. A few

Towards the middle of the excerpt, Bourdain mentions several different types of pasta: “spaghetti alla chitarra, linquine, garganelli, taglierini, fusilli” (33). Bourdain specifically states in the beginning of his novel that his main targets were those in the restaurant business, but he includes everyday people in his audience as well. These pasta names may seem normal to those in the restaurant business, but to the common English reader, whos food knowledge is limited to random phrases picked up from watching cooking shows like Top Chef, it’s a list in a foreign language. This evokes overwhelmed and lost feelings in readers due to the sheer amount of unknown words. Therefore inducing a better understanding of how out of place Bourdain may have felt because of his

The Italian culture has been developed into a staple of American life, especially with a preexisting history ingrained into communities across the United States.

Generations upon generations of people have been thriving in Spanish speaking countries. Cuba is no different, through traditional clothing and special holidays they always are in tune with the past. With flamboyant traditional attire, that rivals the suns bright color and Spring flowers, coupled with fun to watch free flowing up beat music like Guaguancó or Pachanga, the Cuban culture is very exciting. In order to start to describe my family ties with Cuba, I will use an analogy: With every spin of a vibrant dress it seems as if the hands of time slowly turn back time. As the clock goes back so does my family history. In the early 1920's my great grandmother and her family made the trip from Spain to Cuba. Ever since then my family has had bearings

This is where the smells of cooked tomatoes, garlic, cheese, fresh focaccia bread, and pasta can be found in infinite bounds. Despite not having personally traveled to Italy, my connecting link to Italian cuisine can be found through this restaurant and their pasta. As Brombert (2013) explains in Italian Identity in the Kitchen, or Food and the Nation, Italians abroad are referred to as “macaroni-eaters,” for dried pasta, or maccheroni, particularly those from the southern regions. The experience that one encounters in Pagliacci’s is very much how I would imagine restaurants in Italy to be, packed with tables close together to encourage the social environment that is so crucial to Italian culture. An essential component upon entering is of course bread, an endless supply of freshly made focaccia bread to be exact. This is in line with the Italian custom to always eat bread with a meal, for it is very much an essential component. Similar to the history of bread, in which it was used as the last stand against hunger, when eaten to excess this mouth-watering bread can come close to being a meal in it of itself. The dish that I fall back on most frequently here provides me with an intimate knowledge of the flavors of the Italian world for it involves many classic ingredients. Fresh tomatoes soaked in red wine, mushrooms, basil, and olive combined with the linguine noodle and topped with

The Italians’ holiday culture helped to make America a more diverse nation. Their family-centered culture and regional affiliations resulted in highly concentrated settlements called, Little Italies. Entire villages in Italy would travel over to America to form these settlements. Many were heavily clustered in cities in the mid-atlantic and midwest states. The immigrants typically viewed themselves as residents of a particular region or village, not as “Italians.” Their daily habits and life reflected this, as they usually only associated with fellow kin or villagers called paesani. The Italians were working on becoming a member of American society while still trying to maintain their old customs. During holidays, Italian immigrants still utilized traditional customs such as folk songs, folklore, and dances for special events. However, like so many of the Italian aspects of life, they were so regionally specific that they defied easy characterization.

There are Indians, Mexicans, Asians and many others diverse businesses established in Little Italy. Chicago is known for its diversity. In Chicago all sorts of food, clothing, and music reflect numerous cultures. There are numerous ethnic enclaves that have put Chicago on the map for its diversity. However, not every ethnic enclave is what it seems. Compared to most ethnic enclaves in Chicago, Little Italy is no longer what it was 115 years ago. You will not find a Chinatown or a Paseo Boricua atmosphere - you will not see Italians – you will not hear the language – and you will not have much access to authentic Italian foods. Little Italy is Italian in name only as it no longer fits the definition of an ethnic enclave. Italians, like other immigrants living in enclaves, feel the need to celebrate their culture and history. Although they no longer live in the area, many return in August to celebrate their roots. Even though Little Italy is a mix of ethnic diversity, Italian-Americans still share the sense of cultural pride shared by other ethnic

The food that helps to identify the Italian culture was not drastically changed by American food. One way that their food was changed by American culture, according to Robert Woods, was that Italians consumed “a better quality and variety of food than in Italy” (Diner 51). Many Italians that immigrated to the US were able to incorporate more foods into their daily diet. For example, in Italy they would only consume meat a few times a year, but in America they had meat a multiple times a week. Also, olive oil became a main staple in many Italian-Americans’ homes. The white bread that they consumed in the States was also much better in comparison to the black bread they once ate in Italy. Also, Italians in America developed a “fondness for beer” (Diner 600) and would commonly consume it with their meals. On the other hand, the Italians had a large impact on the food culture of America. The American food culture began to replicate Italian food by using “Italian” herbs and labeling things “Italian style.” For example, Americans would eat “Italian sausage,” but sausage was a rare dish that was specific to certain towns in Italy (Diner 61). They would also incorporate “Italian” seasonings into dishes like meatloaf. In addition, pizza was replicated and transformed into the pizza we know now. The pizza that was a result of it

A consistent theme portrayed throughout Humanities thus far has been the impact of certain individuals or events that have influenced the history of society to where it currently stands today. For my Italian-American family, these themes have proved to be true throughout their stories of immigrating to the United States. For both my father and mother’s sides of the family the search for freedom, opportunity and overall betterment in lifestyle caused my relatives to move to the United States during the World War ll era. As we have seen throughout the texts studied thus far this semester, the history of modern society has been shaped by a variety of factors. For the purposes of this class, the assigned catastrophe teams served as four broad

It may be considered rude to talk about religion, the mafia, politics or personal family matters.

Coming from a heavily Italian family line, there are some traditions and rituals that we do and some that we do not do because we have become Americanized. For example, there are certain Italian foods that typically do not appear at the dinner tables of American families during holidays. During Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, my family makes a special Italian appetizer called “antipasto”, which is generally spicy Italian offerings, cold cuts, and special Italian cheeses. Also during those dinners, there is a heavy pasta dish that is eaten before the main course. During Christmas, my family shows off our Italian culture by putting up the “presepio”. “The presepio (manger or crib) represents in miniature the Holy Family in the stable and is the center of Christmas for families” (Christmas in Italy: Traditions 1). My family has kept these examples of Italian culture alive and we practice them in America. A part of our Italian culture that my family gave up in America is the Italian language. The older generations of family that were Italian born typically threw away the Italian language when coming to America. English took precedent over any other language because it was the language that was spoken by the majority of Americans. In America my family has adjusted to the American traditions, but kept some parts of Italian culture alive in our American

In puberty a classmate delivers a cruel blow by telling her "you have a great big nose and thick legs" (Piercy 223). Here we see the beginning of a conflict that will plague the young girl for the rest of her life. Although a girl can be healthy and intelligent, it is not expected for her to possess the physical qualities of "strong arms and back, abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity" (Piercy 223). These traits typically being male, the young girl sees them as being unnatural and negative. The girl feels as if she owes society an apology for possessing these characteristics. Piercy drives the point home by writing, "everyone saw her fat nose on thick legs"