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Let's Leaf Through Our Album...
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So here we go. First come two places that are particularly dear to us from Franky Team: Firenze and Livorno, our hometowns. Above, the bronze statue of Davide, towering Piazzale Michelangelo and the whole Florentine city.
Below, the canals in the Livorno neighborhood called "La Venezia". This part of the town, recalling the city of Venice, dates back to the Medici family: the canals were used to ship goods from the port to the warehouses.
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Bianca Friundi is the Curator and Communication Director at the Museo Italo Americano in San Francisco (https://museoitaloamericano.org/). Bianca was born in Milan (in the tiny round picture a view of her beloved Brera neighborhood), but her maternal great grandfather was from Trento when that part of Italy still was an Austrian domain. Bianca herself has lived in Pergine Valsugana, Trentino, for years: her shot is an aerial view of the magical Castel Pergine, perched on a hill towering the valley, with the lakes Caldonazzo and Levico in sight.
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Loreto Nardelli and Nicoletta De Angelis are an Italian Canadian couple who loves Italy and good food. Their kitchen is always up and running, as you can see for yourself through their website https://www.sugarlovespices.com/, from where they spread both creative recipes and good vibes. Nicoletta, who was born in Rome, shared with us a glimpse of the Eternal City. Loreto was born in Canada to Italian parents: thanks to this, beside his deep love for Nicoletta, he has strong bonds to his Italian heritage.
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"Calascibetta, my father's hometown, lies directly in the center of Sicily, across from the town of Enna, and is a small town with an important history as a central bastion for Christianity. Its name derives from the Arab 'q’alat shibet' which means 'the castle on the top of the mountain'. Calascibetta is also home to the Necropolis of Realmese, a site of 288 'cave' tombs dating back to the 9th and 6th centuries B.C., and it is the second most important Necropolis of Sicily".
Matteo Platania is the founder and co-host of mi.o - modern Italian network (https://www.modernitalian.org/feed), a community of people sharing their passion for Italy, the Italian Language, and Italian culture. He is a first generation Italian-American with dual citizenship: his visit to Calascibetta, and the years as a student and management consultant in Europe, led to the creation of mi.o as a place for others to discover Italian culture and learn to incorporate it into their daily lives.
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"I've spent significant time in my father’s town of Isca Sullo Ionio in the province of Catanzaro, and I regularly visit my aunt and cousins who live there. My mother comes from Fonterossi in the province of Chieti (not portrayed, editor's note), from where she immigrated to the United States with her mother and siblings. Each location is a great hideaway for peace, relaxation, warm people, and delicious local food!"
Gina Andracchio is a co-Host of mi.o - modern Italian network (https://www.modernitalian.org/). She's a first-generation Italian-American who spent countless summer vacations in Italy as a child: to formalize her education and deepen her understanding of her ethnic background, Gina later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Italian Language and Literature and conducted language lessons to children and adults in the U.S.
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This is Castelfranco in Miscano, province of Benevento. The pictures have been sent by Renée Louise Jarusinsky: her maternal grandmother, Maria Grazia Paoletta, was born here. She left in 1921 at 18 years old, to build a new life in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Renée Louise, who lives in Brooklyn, goes to Castelfranco whenever she can (she's in Italy right now, by the way), and has bonded with her Italian "cousins".
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"Growing up, my family would often take trips to Italy to visit my late dad's town. It was amazing to be a kid on those streets. Even after my father passed away, I continued to visit my family there. When I last visited Orsara di Puglia (province of Foggia, editor's note) in December 2019, I felt that something needed to be done to bring the vivacity of the town back. It's still a magical town, but the population has gone down some and I want to bring people to come back and visit, people to stay and telework for months at a time, and descendants to discover their roots. There aren't many towns on Earth where I'd let my ten year old go frolic with her cousins, but I do every time in Orsara".
Giovanna Di Biccari is an actress and producer in the Washington, DC area. She has created Amici di Orsara on Facebook and Instagram, where she shares pictures of the town, and helps descendants from around the world finding distant relatives. Giovanna is running a campaign to bring descendants to Orsara in 2022.
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"The challenge of choosing a single postcard or sight to share of the places in Italy I have loved was so hard. From Florence and Roma to Positano and more is beauty, diversity and fine art and cuisine. However, the single place I found that captured the essence of all of Italy's was the island of Sicily when I toured in 2013. There was the whole of history of the ancients, temples, Roman ruins, amphitheaters as well as nature's beauty. It also happens to be the home of my paternal ancestors. So how can I choose. I decided to pick a place that was unique to my experience: Mount Etna. I had never been on top of a volcano before. It was a truly magnificent adventure filled with unusual rocks and dark soils that spoke to me of nature's majesty and wonder. Here I am on Mt. Etna in Sicily in 2013."
Louisa Calio
Louisa Calio is a poet, writer, multimedia performance artist, and teacher.
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Just for this special issue, we have asked our "personal travel planner" Cassandra Santoro (http://www.travelitalianstyle.com) to send us a travel tip in the shape of an Italian postcard from a place particularly dear to her. And here it is Atrani, province of Salerno, a true hidden gem on the Amalfi Coast. "When you say Amalfi Coast, everyone soon thinks of Amalfi itself. But there's much to explore. Atrani is basically a tiny, quiet fishing village. I love its being off the beaten path, its crystal clear sea, and its friendly people. Sure thing Atrani is my home away from home".
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One smile before you go...
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Raise your hand if have never seen one traveling to Sicily. The Sicilian carretto, iconic presence on the Mediterranean island, it's not just a traditional mean of transportation developed into a work of art. UNESCO has started the procedure to make it a World heritage, acknowledging the role of the carretto in spreading Sicilian traditions and craftmanship.
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