New Book: Fear in the World by Corrado Alvaro

New title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• Fear in the World by Corrado Alvaro

Publisher: Vagabond Voices

Publication Date: March 23, 2021

Paperback: $10.88

Language: English

Pages: 295

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Feast of Santa Zita

Santa Zita, ora pro nobis

St. Zita, pray for us that we will patiently accept the daily chores Almighty God asks of us and that we will give generously of our time to the poor.

April 27 is the Feast of Santa Zita (1212-1272), Virgin. She is the patron saint of domestic workers, bakers and housewives. According to tradition, Zita was a humble and pious maidservant who, at the age of twelve, was sent to work for a wealthy family in the Serene Republic of Lucca. One day, losing track of time while in prayer at church, she returned late to her master’s kitchen and found the bread she was supposed to bake already made. Thanking her fellow servants for their assistance, they each told her they had not done so and that it was the angels who had baked the loaves for her. 

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to St. Zita. The pictured prayer card was a gift from a friend. Evviva Santa Zita!

Prayer to St. Zita

 

Almighty and glorious God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we ask that through the intercession of your servant, St. Zita, we may grow in grace and virtue as she did. By her steadfast prayers may we find a renewed love for the poor and heartfelt compassion towards those less fortunate than ourselves. By her example of hard work done with great joy and diligence, may we learn how to serve you through earnest fidelity to our state in life and a spirit ready to embrace your will for us in our daily duties. Amen.

Photo of the Week: Maria de Vexillo in the Chiesa San Pietro Caveoso in Matera

Photo by Andrew Giordano

Bust of Servant of God Francesco II was Installed in the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples

Photo courtesy of Angela Cuccillato

April 24, 2022, Napoli — A bronze bust of Servant of God Francesco II di Borbone, the last King of the Two Sicilies, was installed in the Chapel of the Royal Tombs in the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples. Viva 'o Rre!

Startling Discovery of an Unintended Time Capsule Dating Back to the Early Twentieth Century

A deltiologists dream: (L) Unused postcard of Mussolini. (R) Italian colonial
forces charging into battle, Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935-1936) 

My colleagues and I recently unearthed a small cache of Fascist era historical documents stored in a metal container at a job site in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Sadly, the large storage facility we were brought in to explore was flooded and left in a shambles after a pipe burst. To add insult to injury, it was subsequently ransacked by careless thieves. Among our client’s personal effects and familial papers, we were able to salvage some old sheet music, contracts, postcards, letters, stamps and even a near-perfect 1933 Chicago World Fair medal commemorating the trans-Atlantic flight of General Italo Balbo (1896-1940). With the owners permission, I’m sharing a few pictures of some of the more interesting and culturally significant discoveries. For now, the collection will be catalogued, studied, and properly stored, but the ultimate goal is to find it an appropriate home for posterity.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, April 21, Feast of Sant'Anselmo d'Aosta

Two of the less risqué postcards from Abyssinia and Eritrea

(L) Italian ships in the port of Massawa in Eritrea.
(R) Neapolitan Futurist Rodolfo de Angelis (1883-1965)

(L) General Italo Balbo, aviator and Fascist leader. (R) Italy mocks
the economic sanctions imposed by the League of Nations

Front and back of the 1933 Chicago World Fair medal commemorating
General Balbo's trans-Atlantic flight. Found in an old envelope,
I may have been the first person to touch the medal since 1933. 

(Front & back) Sheet music for Cartulina 'e Napule (Postcard from Naples)

(Front & back) Sheet music for Ritorna Vincitor! (Victor returns!)

(Front & back) Sheet music for Pugnale Fascista (Fascist dagger)

(Front & back) Sheet music for the antifascist
L'Assassino 'e Matteotti (The Assassin and Matteotti)

1936 one-cent Navy stamp with Revolutionary War
heroes Captain John Paul Jones and Captain John Barry

1929 Italian stamps depicting King Vittorio Emanuele III

1929 Italian stamp depicting Vittorio Emanuele III
with postmark from Naples' train station

A 1930 United States ten-cent carmine rose numeral postage
due stamp affixed to a Library of Congress notice with a pin

A copy of Le Glorie di S. Francesco Saverio nell' antico
Regno di Napoli by Nicola Rillo S.J., second edition, 1923

(L) S. Francesco Saverio ricave da S. Ignazio i'odine di partire per la Indie.
(R) Berardino Siciliano – Bozzetto del quadro di S. Francesco
Saverio del Cappellone del Gesù Nuovo

(L) Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo e obelisco dell'Immacolata innalzato del
celebre p. Pepe. (R) Luca Giordano il celebre "Fa presto" (Autoritratto)

A foldout with Micco Spadaro — La peste a Napoli nel 1656

Prima Chiesa eretta nel mondo in onore di
S. Francesco Saverio (ora di S. Ferdinando)

Altare di S. Francesco Saverio nella Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo (Disegno del Vaccaro)

New Book — The Return of Proserpina: Cultural Poetics of Sicily from Cicero to Dante

Forthcoming title that may be of interest to our readers. Available at Amazon.com

• The Return of Proserpina: Cultural Poetics of Sicily from Cicero to Dante by Sarah Spence

Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Hardcover: $120.00
Paperback: $39.95
Language: English
Pages: 216

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Feast of Sant’Espedito di Melitene

Sant'Espedito di Melitene, ora pro nobis

April 19th is the Feast of Sant’Espedito di Melitene, Centurion and Martyr. Widely venerated throughout Southern Italy, he is the patron saint of merchants and sailors. He is also invoked against procrastination, and desperate and urgent causes.

According to tradition, Sant’Espedito was a Roman centurion in Melitene, Armenia who converted to Christianity. The Devil, in the form of a crow, attempted to delay his conversion by repeatedly cawing cras, which is Latin for “tomorrow.” Resisting the Evil One’s temptation he defiantly stomped on the bird, proclaiming Hodie, Latin for “Today.”

Sant’Espedito was beheaded for the Faith during the Diocletian persecutions in 303 AD.

In celebration, we’re posting a prayer to St. Expeditus. Pictured is my makeshift shrine dedicated to the saint. Evviva Sant’Espedito!

Prayer to St. Expeditus

St. Expeditus honored by the gratitude of those who have invoked thee at the last hour and for pressing cases, we pray thee to obtain from the all powerful goodness of God, by the intercession of Mary Immaculate, (today or such a dav) the grace we solicit with all submission to the Divine Will. Amen.

Photo of the Week: Exterior of the Basilica di San Gennaro Extra Moenia ("Beyond the Walls")

Frescoes depicting the life and martyrdom of San Gennaro
Photo by Andrew Giordano

Pasquetta – Little Easter 2022

Frittata di maccheroni

In remembrance of the risen Christ's meeting and subsequent dinner with his disciples on the road to Emmaus, a small town outside Jerusalem, Duosiciliani (Southern Italians) celebrate Pasquetta, or Little Easter. Traditionally family and friends would pack a lunch and take a short trip to the shore or countryside in commemoration of Christ’s journey, but because Easter Monday is not a national holiday here in the States, and people have to work, it’s not always easy to organize group outings. Nonetheless, we still try to keep the tradition whenever possible. This year, we brought some leftovers from our Easter dinners, including pizza chiena and sanguinaccio, and made the customary frittata di maccheroni. Picnic basket in hand, we found a peaceful location at a nearby park to reflect on our many, many blessings. Buona Pasquetta!

Pizza chiena

Sanguinaccio

Grazie Easter Bunny!

(L) Portrait of SG King Francesco II by Camillo Guerra.
(R) Replica by R. Bröse of ca. 1916 statue of Blessed Emperor Karl

New framed portrait of Servant of God King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies and statue of Blessed Emperor Karl of Austria will make fine additions to my little oratory.

Blessed Emperor Karl in dress uniform

Preserving Italian Immigrant Music Making at the Center for Italian Modern Art (CIMA)

Thursday evening Prof. Joseph Sciorra, Ph.D., Director for Academic and Cultural Programs at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College (CUNY), presented a short, but fascinating multimedia presentation on the preservation of Italian Immigrant Music Making at the Center for Italian Modern Art (421 Broome St.) in Manhattan. Utilizing electronic slides of old sheet music and portraits of some of the many musical artist discussed, as well as audio samples of Neapolitan and Sicilian popular music from the early twentieth-century, Prof. Sciorra brought to light the rich, but often neglected, history of Italian immigrant music making. He also underscored the invaluable service the Calandra Institute provides in preserving this important cultural legacy.

Unexpectedly, famed film director Martin Scorsese greeted the attendees and introduced Prof. Sciorra via video conference.

Martin Scorsese addresses the audience from his study

Following the lecture was a brief Q&A session with Ernie Rossi, beloved proprietor of E. Rossi & Company (193 Grand St.), Little Italy’s celebrated music publisher founded in 1910 by his grandfather, Ernesto Rossi. Ernie spoke about his family’s role in publishing and distributing Italian music. A talented musician and songwriter in his own right, Ernie performed two of his own songs for the audience: “The Other Side of Forever” and “Fa Amore Con Te.”

(L) Master of ceremonies Nicola Lucchi, Managing Director of CIMA.
(L) Guest speaker Prof. Joseph Sciorra

Eduardo Migliaccio "Farfariello" (1880-1946) as Emperor Haile Selassie

Concetta and Eduardo Rossi with salesman in hat

Ernie Rossi discusses the history of Italian music in Little Italy, New York

Ernie performs a couple of songs for the audience

Before leaving guests were able to view the museum’s current exhibition, Staging Injustice: Italian Art 1880-1917, curated by Giovanna Ginex. The exhibit will run until 18 June 2022. A few highlights are pictured below.

Sulla fossa (On the Graveyard Pit), 1876, bronze, Achille D'Orsi

Venditore di cerini or Il cerinaio (The Match Seller),
1872-1878, oil of canvas, Antonio Mancini

(L) Un panattiere. Lavoro notturno (The Baker: Night Work), 1891,
bronze, Antonio Carminati. (R) La ruffiana or La mezzana
(The Procuress), 1883-1885, painted plaster, Medardo Rosso

Abbandonati (Abandoned), 1903, oil on canvas, Luigi Nono

Madre (Mother), 1917, oil on canvas, Adriana Bisi Fabbri

The Way of the Cross — Solemn Candlelight Good Friday Procession in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

Statue of the Dead Christ outside St. Dominic's Church

Led by retired Bishop of Brooklyn Nicholas DiMarzio, some two thousand priests, deacons and parishioners from Saint Athanasius, Saint Dominic, the Basilica of Regina Pacis, Saints Simon & Jude-Most Precious Blood, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Saint Finbar, Saint Mary Mother of Jesus, Saint Bernadette, and Saint Frances Cabrini participated in this year's Good Friday Via Crucis procession and prayer service from St. Dominic's Church to the Basilica of Regina Pacis in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

(L) Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio. (R) The faithful carry Our Lady of Sorrows

Members of the Associazione Culturale Pugliese Figli Maria SS. Addolorata

A penitent carried a large wooden cross for the entire procession 

Members of Santa Rosalia–Regina Pacis 

The Red Mike Festival Band played traditional Good Friday Marches

Members of the Italian-American Apostolate of St. Mary, Mother of Jesus

Members of St. Dominic's Church

Members of St. Finbar Church

Members of the St. Frances Cabrini Society of Brooklyn

Members of Gruppo Italiano Sant'Atanasio (G.I.S.A.)

Members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church

Members of the Holy Name Society of St. Bernadette 

Clergy greet the participants as the approach Regina Pacis

The procession concluded outside the Basilica of Regina Pacis
with prayer service and blessing with the Relic of the True Cross