A Look at the 19th Annual Festa di San Donato in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Viva San Donato! 
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Friday after work, I made my way to Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the 19th Annual Feast of San Donato. Organized by Francesca Mazza (and her gracious family) the ceremony took place outside their beautiful home at 158 Conselyea Street.

Normally held on August 7th, this year's celebration was postponed a few weeks because Franca and her family made a pilgrimage to Sassano (SA) for the Feast of San Rocco. Little by little the intimate celebration continues to grow, attracting new devotees every year. Thankfully, the change in date did not adversely affect this year's turnout.

Thank you Franca for your hard work and dedication. As always, you did a magnificent job. It was an honor and a privilege to celebrate with you and I look forward to doing so again next year. Viva San Donato!

An altar is erected in front of the Mazza residence

The reliquary sits on the altar

A close-up of San Donato's relic

Before Mass, we pray the Rosary

Nearly one hundred pilgrims celebrated Mass

Father Tom gave an impassioned homily

After Mass, devotees venerate the relic

We were treated to some delicious refreshments

Pastiera di spaghetti (spaghetti pie)

Le Chiacchiere

Thank you to the Mazza family for your kindness and generosity

For more photos visit us on Pinterest

Also see: 
• A Look at the 18th Annual Festa di San Donato, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Photo of the Week: Statue of Roberto Guiscardo at Montecassino

Robert Guiscard (the Cunning), Duke of Apulia and Calabria, Montecassino Abbey

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Announcing the 2015 Saint Padre Pio Festival, Tuckahoe, New York

Also see:

A Look at the 2013 Feast of Padre Pio in Tuckahoe, New York

Feast of the Madonna Della Luce

Evviva Maria!

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

The last Sunday in August is the Feast Day of Maria Santissima Della Luce (Our Lady of Light), Patroness of Palermiti, Calabria. To commemorate the occasion I'm posting a Prayer to the Madonna della Luce.* The accompanying photo was taken at Sacred Heart Italian Church in Boston, Massachusetts. In nearby Hingham, where large numbers of immigrants from Palermiti settled, the Feast is celebrated each Sunday before Labor Day. 

Preghiera

O Regina dei Martiri, Addolorata Maria, eccomi ai vostri piedi a supplicarvi del vostro patrocinio. O Madre pietosissima, non respingete la mia preghiera, non guardate i miei peccati che piango ai vostri piedi. Io sono indegno dei vostri benefici, ma la bontà vostra, che non ha limiti, mi dà speranza e, Madre vi chiamo, Madre tenerissima e potentissima Regina. Molte lacrime avete asciugate, molti dolori addolciti in virtù dei crudelissimi dolori vostri, in essi dunque ripongo la mia fiducia. Per questi dolori, lenite le mie pene ed impetratemi dal vostro divin Figliuolo Gesù la grazia particolare che qui prostrato vi domando... e di poter meritare una corona di gloria immortale nel S. Paradiso. Amen.

* Thank you Madonna Della Luce Society of Hingham, Massachusetts for providing us with the prayer

Announcing the 103rd Pilgrimage and Feast in Honor of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Utica, New York

http://www.stanthonystagnes.com/

Assunta Spina (1915)

Festival of Contemporary Music: Ensemble Dissonanzen

Monday, September 14 (6PM)

Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
(212) 879-4242

Ensemble Dissonanzen will feature a live sound track of the silent film masterpiece "Assunta Spina," also known as "Neapolitan Blood," which this year marks the centenary of its production.

It was, in fact produced twenty years before the birth of Cinecittà, with shooting in the streets of Naples, offering impressive views of the city (Mergellina, Pal. Donn'Anna in Posillipo, Nisida, etc.) by a team of extraordinarily talented professionals lead by director and actor Gustavo Serena, but mainly by a bubbling Francesca Bertini, diva of silent film. Continue reading

Source: Italian Cultural Institute

Announcing the 2015 Feast of Saint Padre Pio, Glendale, New York

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Scenes From the 40th Anniversary Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Arancini, stuffed with peas and ragù
Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Last night, after work, I decided to stop by the Santa Rosalia Feast one more time before Sunday's procession and Mass. Unable to go on Friday (because I'll be attending the Feast of San Donato in Williamsburg) or Saturday (because I'll be attending the Feast of San Rocco in Astoria) this was going to be my last chance to partake in the festivities and enjoy the delicious Palermitano street fare.

Sfincione, Sicilian focaccia topped with tomatoes, onions and anchovies

Without my Friday Fast restrictions, I was able to enjoy the grilled meats 

Marinated peppers 

I was going to try something different for dessert,
but I couldn't resist having another Baked Iris

For more photos visit us on Pinterest

Also see:
• Back For Seconds: Scenes From the 40th Anniversary Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at the 2015 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• A Look at the 39th Annual Festa di Santa Rosalia, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at the 2014 Santa Rosalia Feast, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• A Look at the 2013 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at 'The Feast'
• It's Back! The Santa Rosalia Feast Returns to Bensonhurst
• The Twilight of the Feast
• The Feast of Santa Rosalia (18th Ave Feast)

Congratulations Therese and Giuseppe!

Announcing the 5th Annual Feast of San Donato, Montclair, New Jersey

For more info visit the St. Donato Society of Montclair, New Jersey on Facebook

Compra Sud — Michela Musolino

Let's support those who keep our traditions and folkways alive

Michela Musolino
Musician (singer, percussionist)

www.michelamusolino.com

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Also see:
• Concert Dedicated to the Brigands of Southern Italy
• AcquAria Pay Homage to the Sea at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò
• An Evening of Cantu with Michela Musolino
• Reclaiming a Tradition: An Interview with Michela Musolino

Visit our Compra Sud Directory for complete listing

* Our recommendations will be unsolicited, and only from our personal experience. No second hand suggestions will be made.

Announcing the 34th Annual John Basilone Memorial Parade, Raritan, New Jersey

www.basiloneparade.com

The Light of Southern Italy: Paintings from the 19th Century Neapolitan School

October 8th through November 5th
Monday through Saturday, 10:00am—5:00pm

Italian Cultural Institute
686 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
(212) 879-4242

Opening at the Italian Cultural Institute, The Light of Southern Italy, is a carefully selected exhibition, curated by Marco Bertoli, of 34 beautiful paintings rarely seen in New York and the United States. This is the second exhibition from this collaboration at the Institute following The Macchiaioli in October 2014. And is the next step in Bertoli’s project to bring 19th-century Italian painting, in all of its diversity and splendor, to an American audience while paying tribute to the artistic heritage of the many Italians who built the dynamic Italian-American community. The exhibition highlights artists from across Italy’s southern regions including Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, and Sicily. Mastering light and chromatic effects, these painters created landscapes, seascapes, genre scenes, and portraits of great beauty.  The intensity of the light in these images transports the viewer to the Mediterranean and conveys the aura of the south of Italy which was characterized by the excavations at Pompeii, the grandeur of Vesuvius, the rugged coastline, and the humble allure of the local people. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, in his celebrated Voyage in Italy, Naples and the surrounding countryside “… have left an indelible impression.” Continue reading

Source: www.artfixdaily.com

Announcing the 67th Annual Feast of the Madonna Addolorata, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

www.mariaaddolorata.com

Announcing the 2015 Ferragosto in The Bronx

www.bronxlittleitaly.com

Feast of Sant'Audeno Vescovo di Rouen

Evivva Sant'Audeno! 
Photo by New York Scugnizzo

August 24th is the Feast Day of Sant'Audeno (St. Ouen, Archbishop of Rouen), patron saint of Serra di Pratola, Avellino. The cult of Sant'Audeno was introduced to southern Italy by the Normans, who founded several churches in his honor, including the small sanctuary in Montaperto, Avellino; the Chiesa di Sant’Audeno in Aversa, Caserta; and the Apulian-Romanesque Church of Sant’Audeno in Bisceglie, Puglia. Built in 1074, the Church in Bisceglie is one of the oldest consecrated to the French Bishop in southern Italy. An architectural treasure, the church houses a small relic translated from Normandy.

Southern Italian devotion to Sant'Audeno was immortalized in the Miracula Sancti Audoeni, a collection of Saint Ouen’s miracles written after 1047 in Normandy. Included are stories of pilgrims from Andria and Monte Gargano in Apulia who visited the saint’s shrine in Rouen and were miraculously cured of their ailments.

To commemorate the occasion I'm posting a Prayer to Sant'Audeno. The accompanying photo was taken at Our Lady of Good Council Church in Inwood, Long Island.

Prayer to Sant'Audeno

God our Father, enable us who honor the memory of Sant'Audeno, archbishop and confessor, to share with him in the joy of eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen

Photo of the Week: Arcangelo Michele at Villa San Michele in Anacapri, Capri

Arcangelo Michele at Dr. Axel Munthe's Villa San Michele in Anacapri, Capri

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Announcing the 19th Annual Festa di San Donato, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Also see: A Look at the 18th Annual Festa di San Donato, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Back For Seconds

Scenes from the 40th Anniversary Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

I had such a good time yesterday I couldn't wait to come back

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Devotees pin donations on to the saint at the outdoor chapel

Even though I abstain from meat on Fridays, I had no problem finding something delicious to eat for supper. I started off with a delicious rapini arancini

Next, I enjoyed some littleneck clams on the half shell

followed by a half dozen baked clams

with a little seafood salad on the side

I completed my meal with an espresso and one of my all-time favorite pastries, a Baked Iris (stuffed with sweet ricotta) from Villabate Alba Pasticceria

For more photos visit us on Pinterest

Also see:
• Opening Night at the 2015 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• A Look at the 39th Annual Festa di Santa Rosalia, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at the 2014 Santa Rosalia Feast, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• A Look at the 2013 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at 'The Feast'
• It's Back! The Santa Rosalia Feast Returns to Bensonhurst
• The Twilight of the Feast
• The Feast of Santa Rosalia (18th Ave Feast)

Announcing the 89th Annual Feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Cambridge, Massachusetts

www.cosmas-and-damian.org

Opening Night at the 2015 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Evviva Santa Rosalia!

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

Yesterday kicked off the 2015 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. A neighborhood staple for 40 years, the celebration features nightly entertainment, games, rides, and plenty of delicious food. The festivities continue until Sunday, August 30th. 

Enjoy the many amusements, but please don't forget the true reason for the celebration and honor our glorious patroness Santa Rosalia. The procession from the chapel (18th Ave. and 72nd Street) starts Sunday, August 30th at 2 PM. Mass will be celebrated at St. Dominic's Church (2001 Bay Ridge Pkwy) at 3 PM.

Opening night was a blast! Meeting up with some friends for dinner and a little lighthearted revelry brought back a lot of fond memories. 

Be sure to visit our friends Jill and RoseAnn at the Big Chair
for a few laughs and a fun souvenir

Stop by Lucy's and try some of their delicious Sicilian specialties.
 Sal started me off with some grilled stigghiola 

Stigghiola (roasted lamb intestines)

Boiled pork hocks and feet 

Fried peppers and marinated artichoke hearts 

Grilled octopus 

Our new friend Lidia enjoyed some pig's feet salad 

For dessert, I devoured my brioche con gelato at Villabate Alba Pasticceria

Caffe Italia still makes one of the best shots of espresso in Brooklyn

For more photos visit us on Pinterest

Also see:
• A Look at the 39th Annual Festa di Santa Rosalia, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at the 2014 Santa Rosalia Feast, in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• A Look at the 2013 Feast of Santa Rosalia in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
• Opening Night at 'The Feast'
• It's Back! The Santa Rosalia Feast Returns to Bensonhurst
• The Twilight of the Feast
• The Feast of Santa Rosalia (18th Ave Feast)