Ciao Italianista

Italian genealogy research led me to Schilpario

Finding Angela

My Italian genealogy research reveals an amazing discovery and more questions in my quest to find my Italian roots Finding Angela is a sequel to my Italian genealogy research in Searching for Giuseppe. For the last 35 years, I have been consumed by discovering where my ancestors came from in Italy. Why is this important?… Read more »

Searching for Giuseppe

My life-long quest to find the Italian birthplace of my great-grandfather I am searching for two people: Giuseppe and Angela. I have been looking for them for 35 years and I still can’t find them. Sometimes I get so close. But just when I am about to pin them down, they slip away, lost in… Read more »

How to Teach Your Child Italian in 30 Minutes a Day

To help you teach your child Italian in 30 minutes a day, we adapted the Homeschool Languages curriculum to online classes Have you tried to teach your child Italian before but have given up because you yourself don’t know Italian? Or did you give up because you don’t have a community of Italian speakers near… Read more »

Do Italian Courtesy Forms Sometimes Make You Feel Stupid?

Don’t worry. You are not alone. For English-speaking people, it feels strange using formal verb and pronoun forms with certain people and informal forms with others. Here are some of the reasons why we feel awkward using the Italian courtesy forms and ways to get over it. When do you have to worry about courtesy… Read more »

Healthy Sustainable Italian Risotto

And the new contemporary Italian cuisine Ciao Italianista, I learned so much about modern Italian cuisine making this healthy sustainable risotto that I had to share it with you. I learned how to make this risotto from Antonia Klugmann during her conversations with Maddalena Fossati, the director of La Cucina Italiana. They held a live… Read more »

Gelato al Gianduia Was My Favorite in Italy, So I Made it at Home

Ciao Italianista, what is your favorite gelato? Mine is gelato al gianduia. I don’t know if I love gianduia more for its rich, creamy, decadent, chocolaty, nutty flavor or for its name. Gianduia…..I wonder if I can make gelato gianduia at home? Gianduia is simply a paste made from mixing hazelnuts with chocolate. But the… Read more »

How to Make Focaccia

Ciao Italianista, did you know that focaccia is the oldest and still most popular of Ligurian foods? Ligurians start the day with cappuccino and focaccia. Make focaccia the same day you make fresh pesto and dip the focaccia into the pesto all day for a delicious vegetarian treat. The classic focaccia all’olio is a low… Read more »

How to Make Pesto

Ciao Italianista, this month we are making and tasting food from Liguria. Nothing is more Ligurian than pesto. And it is so simple to make. Just gather some small tender leaves of fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, salt, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Then mix them all together except the cheese using a mortar and… Read more »

Emergency Exit: Young Italians Abroad – Movie Review

Ciao Italianista, I have another movie review for you. Emergency Exit: Young Italians Abroad is a 2014 documentary playing now on Amazon Prime Video. This film explores the reasons why young Italians have no hope for a future in Italy and are forced to go abroad for work. Director Brunella Fili follows the lives of… Read more »

Sotto il Sole di Riccione – Movie Review

Ciao Italianista, I have a movie recommendation for you. Sotto il Sole di Riccione or Under the Riccione Sun is a movie that came out in July 2020 and is playing on Netflix. It is about a group of 20 year-olds who return every summer to the same beach in Riccione for a week. The… Read more »