Photo of the Week: Statue of Charles V of Habsburg

Statue of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Habsburg sculpted by Vincenzo Gemito in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Photo of the Week: Statue of Alfonso V of Aragon

Statue of Alfonso the Magnanimous, King of Naples and Sicily sculpted by Achille D’Orsi in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Compra Sud — Ferdinando's Focacceria

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

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

Ferdinando's Focacceria
151 Union Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 855-1545

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

Royal Visit to New York City

chancellor@constantinianorderusa.org

Requiescat in pace, Justice Scalia

Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 — February 13, 2016)

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Justice Antonin Scalia. His passing is a great loss for this country, may he rest in peace.

Photo of the Week: Statue of Charles I of Anjou

Statue of Charles I of Anjou, King of Sicily sculpted by Tommaso Solari in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. 
Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Super Saturday at Forno Rosso

Juventus vs Napoli

A makeshift shrine to San Gennaro was erected on the bar

Photos by New York Scugnizzo

By Giovanni di Napoli

Spirits and expectations were high Saturday, for the highly anticipated showdown between Napoli and Juventus. We Napoli fans showed up in force at Forno Rosso Pizzeria (327 Gold Street) in Brooklyn, New York, to cheer our beloved Partenopei on, enjoy some camaraderie, and, naturally, eat our fill. 

The atmosphere in the restaurant was electric with excitement, equally as much for Chef Marrone’s special game day menu as for the match between these bitter rivals. Great food and drink (while watching a hard fought contest between two titans of Italian football) made for a very enjoyable evening. Sadly, the only thing missing was a Napoli victory. A late Juventus goal broke the deadlock, knocking the Vesuviani out of first place. 

Far from ruining the festivities, my friends and I relived the game over dessert and coffee while discussing what went wrong and predicting how we will finally overcome the wretched Old Lady. We can console ourselves with the knowledge that there are still thirteen games left (and 39 points up for grabs) in the campaign. We’re down, but not out. Our lads have a lot of character and will continue to fight for the Scudetto until the end. 

Special thanks to Chef Marrone and his hardworking staff for the warm hospitality, excellent service and, of course, delicious meal. You guys are the best!

Forza Napoli sempre!

Our pals Therese and Giuseppe proudly show their colors

(Above & below) Rowdy revelers are ready for an epic clash and fantastic dinner

(Above & below) Brooklyn tifosi show up in force to support their team

Diehard Napoli fans James and Anna are all smiles

(Above & below) Just some of the many different courses we enjoyed:
Fritto Misto (Panzarotti, Frittatina di pasta and Arancini)

Insalata Caprese, Piatti di Salumi and Burratina Pugliese

After a couple of delicious pasta dishes we had an assortment of pizza,
including this incredible Pizza Capricciosa

The Search for our Ancestry (XXI)

Popular Genealogy Sites - Familysearch.org

By Angelo Coniglio

Previous columns have often referred to on-line sites that are helpful in genealogic research. There are dozens of such venues, and their offerings are updated constantly. One I’ve discussed frequently is ‘familysearch’, the Mormon site which has recently made many changes, so it’s worth another presentation.

The Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints church (LDS, or Mormon) advocates reverence for ancestors and holds a belief that well-documented ancestry can help insure family togetherness in the hereafter. Its members travel the world and make microfilm photocopies of all manner of original records from the United States and dozens of other nations: civil birth, marriage and death records; church baptism, marriage and death records; and so on. These microfilms are available to anyone, for rental and viewing at LDS FamilySearch Centers (FSCs), located in communities worldwide. Certain public libraries also support this process. The LDS has begun to ‘index’ information from these records, making their images available on-line, for free.

Whether a researcher plans to rent microfilms or to avail oneself of the free on-line information, he or she should become familiar with the LDS genealogy site here called https://familysearch.org/. To use the site, go to that web address. New users should immediately go to the upper right of the page, and click ‘Sign In’. This will lead you to a page where you may click on ‘Create a new account’ and register for free, with a username and password you will have to remember for future use.

Once you’ve signed in, you’ll see a colorful and somewhat ‘busy’ page with a number of options. A tempting choice is the one labeled ‘Family Tree’. Unless you’re an experienced researcher, I’d suggest that you ignore that option until you know more about your ancestors, and about the process of developing a family tree. My strong suggestion is to click on the link titled ‘Search’ at the top of the page. This will bring you to another page, https://familysearch.org/search, with a world map. On the map, click on the graphic of Europe. A list will pop up; select ‘Italy’. 

You’ll be presented with a list of the various types of searches for Italy. At the bottom of the page is an alphabetical listing of the records that are available on-line, in the format (Country) (Province) (Town), for example, ‘Italy, Caltanissetta, Caltanissetta’, meaning the records are for the province of Caltanissetta, filmed in the provincial capital city, also named Caltanissetta. If the locality of interest is not found in the listings of on-line records, you must search to see whether the LDS has microfilms of documents that have not yet been ‘indexed’ for on-line access. To do so, click on the ‘Search’ tap at the top of the page and from the drop-down menu select ‘Catalog’, which will take you to the ‘Family Search Catalog’. 

The catalog covers genealogical resources held by familysearch, the Salt Lake City https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Family_History_Library \\ Family History Library Family History Library, and selected local https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Introduction_to_LDS_Family_History_Centers \\ Introduction to LDS Family History Centers FamilySearch Centers (FSCs). It’s a guide to birth, marriage, and death records; census records; church registers; books; periodicals; family histories and many other records that contain genealogical information searchable online, on microfiche or microfilm, in books or computer files. This page also allows searching by ‘Place’, so you can enter the name of the town of interest directly, to see what records are available for it, whether on microfilm or on-line.

Many catalog entries on familysearch include images of records. When an image is available on-line, a camera icon will appear to the right of the microfilm note associated with that image. A record’s availability on microfilm is shown by an icon of a film reel. Most microfilm and microfiche records can be sent to your nearest https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Introduction_to_LDS_Family_History_Centers \\ Introduction to LDS Family History Centers FSC. If the records are on-line, their ability to be viewed may vary.  The LDS is required to obtain permission to film records, which may be subject to rules set by a municipality, parish, archive, or even the Italian government. For this reason, some records may be viewed on-line on any home computer; some may be viewed on home computers if the user registers and signs on to familysearch; and some may be viewed only from computers at LDS FSCs. Further, those available on home computers can generally be printed out or downloaded, but there may be restrictions on printing or downloading from FSC computers.

Coniglio is the author of the book The Lady of the Wheel, inspired by his Sicilian research. Order the paperback or the Kindle version at http://bit.ly/SicilianStory. Coniglio’s web page at http://bit.ly/AFCGen has helpul hints on genealogic research. If you have genealogy questions, or would like him to lecture to your club or group, e-mail genealogytips@aol.com.

Photo of the Week: Statue of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen

Statue of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen sculpted by Emanuele Caggiano in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. Photo by New York Scugnizzo

Compra Sud — Faicco's Pork Store, Brooklyn

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

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

Faicco's Pork Store
6511 11th Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11219
(718) 236-0119

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

Sunday of the Scarves

The War Against Neapolitan Identity Continues

Photo courtesy of www.calciomercato.napoli.it

By Giovanni di Napoli

As Partenopei fans filed into San Paolo Stadium on Sunday to see their beloved Napoli take on Empoli, authorities confiscated scarves bearing images of the Bourbon coat of arms. Inexplicably deemed “offensive,” stewards (with police support) at the Curva B entrance seized all scarves from men, women and children with the heraldic symbol of the pre-unification rulers of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and deposited them (like our history) into trash bins.

In what now is being sarcastically called the “Sunday of the Scarves,” one cannot help but see the hypocrisy and double standards against the people of the south. Not only are the historical and traditional symbols of other regions (e.g. the Lion of Venice, the Fleur-de-Lys of Florence, the Capitoline Wolf of Rome, etc.) not being curtailed (nor should they), abusive and derogatory chants in the terraces aimed at southerners continue unabated. It would seem that the rediscovery of our particular historical and cultural heritage is considered more “offensive” than the insults regularly hurled at southerners.  

Perhaps its a good sign; local pride has seen such a dramatic rise in recent years that we can no longer just be ignored and ridiculed, now our symbols must be suppressed. This means the precarious facade is crumbling; the south is rising again. Now we need to start seeing our symbols appear at other stadiums and venues across the south. Napoli capitale nostra!

Graphic courtesy of New York Scugnizzo

* * *

For the record, Napoli beat the Tuscan side 5-1 and remain in first place in Serie A. They face Lazio next. Forza Napoli!

Photo of the Week: Statue of Roger the Norman

Statue of Roger the Norman sculpted by Emilio Franceschi in a niche on the western facade of the Palazzo Reale di Napoli (Royal Palace of Naples) in the Piazza del Plebiscito (formally Largo del Palazzo Reale), Naples. 
Photo by New York Scugnizzo

New Books

Some new and forthcoming titles that may be of interest to our readers. All are available at Amazon.com

• Oscan in the Greek Alphabet by Nicholas Zair

Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition
Publication Date: January 22, 2016
Hardcover: $99.99
Language: English
Pages: 258

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• Sicily's Rebellion Against King Charles: The Story of the Sicilian Vespers by Louis Mendola

Publisher: Trinacria Edition
Publication Date: April 25, 2016
Paperback: $36.00
Language: English
Pages: 260

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• Dangerous Perfection: Ancient Funerary Vases from Southern Italy edited by Ursula Kästner and David Saunders

Publisher: J. Paul Getty Museum; 1 edition
Publication Date: June 18, 2016
Hardcover: $60.00
Language: English
Pages: 176

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Click here to see more books