An Interview with Raymond Guarini, Executive Director of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society

Il Regno had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Raymond Guarini, founder and Executive Director of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society (IEHS), to discuss its history and mission. The IEHS can be found at www.italianenclaves.org and various social media platforms.

Il Regno: We appreciate you taking time from your busy schedule to answer our questions. First, can you tell our readers a little about yourself?

Raymond Guarini: Thank you for giving me the time to chat about myself and the Italian Enclaves Historical Society with you. I am 43 years old. I am a Brooklyn native living in Staten Island—something you've probably never heard of before. I have a 12-year-old son and a 2-year-old dog. I have worked in finance for 20 years. I am passionate about my faith and my heritage.

IR: What is the Italian Enclaves Historical Society?

RG: The organization was founded by me almost 5 years ago. I began exploring different Italian-American neighborhoods around the country and was photo-documenting them along the way. I decided to create Facebook and Instagram pages to showcase the visual nuances of Italian neighborhoods, or as we refer to them, enclaves. The pages became so popular that they took on lives of their own. I became so obsessed with documenting each neighborhood, that we now have over 700 enclaves and over 500 churches. We created a living document which is on a shared Google Drive that board members can update whenever we discover new places and obtain new information. Constantly growing and expanding, we recently added Canadian enclaves and churches to our database.

IR: How did the IEHS come about?

RG: I realized that my hobby of cataloging enclaves and churches was way too tall of a task to complete alone. Due to the sheer volume of information and locations, it also became clear that this venture would be expensive. So, with the help of one of our original members, I created an actual entity with nonprofit status that could be utilized as an online and in-person educational resource wherever we could.

IR: What are the biggest challenges you face and how do you overcome them?

RG: Our biggest challenges are twofold. On one hand, the workflow is just very difficult to keep consistent. We are a volunteer organization. We are sort of still a startup with very limited resources, so it is difficult to accumulate writing regarding something so esoteric regardless of how dedicated our board members might be. It takes a great deal of time and energy to coordinate our Google Drive documents, which are spreadsheets, with our Word documents, which contain the details about each enclave and church. The project is somewhat intimidating because there are so many places that require more information and they are to a certain degree under the radar.

The other challenge is funding. To properly execute this undertaking, we had to spend quite a bit of money to hire freelancers who possess the proper skillsets to help us migrate the information onto our website. We are lucky that our expenses are not overwhelming, but we would like to be able to raise more funds to speed up the process so that we can focus on other projects and disseminate our information in more efficient and interesting ways.

IR: What are the most rewarding aspects of your work?

RG: The greatest reward is the positive reactions we get from people whenever we discover a place that was lost in obscurity and share it on one of our social media pages. It is very rewarding for me to be able to see these places in person. Not only does it help me really identify with a lost time period, but also in many cases with lost virtues. Community and family were once paramount, and it seems as if our society today has lost sight of the basics that built what we all take for granted.

IR: What plans does the society have for the future?

RG: We will continue adding newly discovered content to our website. That is one of our biggest priorities. In addition to that, we would love to start a YouTube channel with more visual content and be able to disseminate more documentary-type content. We would also like to utilize Virtual Reality technology. Not so much Metaverse, as that medium is still dicey, but a static software application utilizing VR to incorporate the visual elements of the places we research.

IR: Is the IEHS a membership group? How can people join or help the society?

RG: Yes, individuals can join. Students can join for a discounted annual membership. We urge Italian-American Businesses to join as well so we can share their content on our social media channels and help shed light on lesser-known mom-and-pop shops that still haven't fully harnessed social media. Membership funds are extremely important for us to continue gathering and disseminating information. [The link to become a member is: https://italianenclaves.org/membership/]

IR: Thank you for talking with us; any last thoughts?

RG: The pleasure is all mine, thank you. I would like to encourage people to follow us on social media: @italianenclaves

Please take photos of everything: Your family, your family's traditions, and any visual elements of your family story. Video record them as well. The historical value and appreciation will be the fruits of tomorrow's inquisitive minds as to how we once lived.

Celebrating Faith, Family and Culture: An Interview With Domenic Varuzza

Lieutenant Domenic Varuzza (tan shirt) poses with pals Anthony Rainone, Tommy and Paul Lattenzio, and his father, Anthony at the 2013 feast

By Giovanni di Napoli

Today we are honored to interview Mr. Domenic Varuzza. I first met Dom years ago during the lifting of the giglio at the Feast of San Paolino di Nola in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I was immediately impressed by the young man’s character and his passion for his cultural traditions. Recognizing his leadership skills, the Board of Directors of the Feast promoted Dom to Lieutenant in 2013. He is also very active in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and other Italian American societies, including the San Cono Society and Brooklyn Giglio Boys Club. Dom has always been friendly and helpful, explaining to me the details of the events and taking me behind the scenes while the giglio was being built. Thanks to him I participated in my first lift, and it was an experience I will never forget.

In 2000, at the age of ten, Dom was a Kid's
Capo during the Children's Giglio celebration

How did you become involved in the feasts?

I guess it’s the cliché answer, but I was born into the feast like most involved. My father grew up in Williamsburg and went to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, he's been a lifter since the early 1970s, and his passion for it carried over to me. For as long as I can remember, my life revolved around it, and nothing excited me more as a kid. I always wanted to be more involved and from the first time I stepped under the kids’ giglio, I didn't want to come out.  

Dom and his father lifting in the Bronx

We sincerely appreciate your efforts to carry on the traditions of our people. Can you tell us why you do it?

It really comes down to passion and culture, something that tends to get lost in the shuffle as generations pass. In my opinion, Williamsburg, Brooklyn is the last surviving Italian neighborhood left in New York City. We have Italians of all ages and generations still living here, raising families and running businesses, and to me that’s all because of the feast and our parish. Without the giglio, there’s no feast and without the feast, the doors of our church wouldn't be able to stay open. I personally feel responsible for keeping that tradition alive and to make sure we don't lose our Italian culture. I had an extremely close relationship with my nonno, and was raised in a traditional Italian speaking family, its something I don't want to lose, and even more important to be able to pass that down to my children and future generations.  

Through the years (2010-2012): Dom always carries the left rear of the giglio

What does it feel like to participate in the lifting of the giglio and how has your role as a Lieutenant changed this?

If you love the tradition like I do, there’s nothing like it. I can speak for many, from the minute you hear the first note from the Giglio Band, your heart starts racing and goose bumps pop up on your arms. Especially when you get to share it with friends and family under there with you, you just feel a part of something special. Being a lieutenant changes a lot because you have much more responsibility, and it could be stressful. You're responsible for organizing the men before the feast; a lieutenant is in charge of approximately 40 men. The safety of the lifters is in your hands as well as the thousands in the crowd. A misconception is that it’s the capos that turn the giglio or boat, but in reality it’s the four lieutenants working together on turns, guiding the giglio between stands and crowds of people. There’s a lot of subtle things a good lieutenant should know, such as which way to pivot the giglio, what parts of the street are more narrow, how to situate your strongest lifters, and make sure you tell your lifters before each lift what the plan is, so nobody gets hurt by anything unexpected.  

Dom and his father in Nola, Province of Naples, 2005

You also lifted the giglio in Nola; can you tell us how that came about and what was it like?

Nothing is like Nola, and I can’t explain that enough. The passion, culture, history and pure joy that consumes the town of Nola in June is unrivaled by anything. I always say if you go to Nola, and aren't overcome by the spectacle and beauty of the feast and gigli, you don't belong near a giglio. It’s like being a baseball player and you think Fenway or Wrigley are just another ballpark. Lifting in Nola was the greatest experience of my life, it’s like a well-oiled machine; every guy knows what he's doing, everybody lifts the correct way, to the Nolani it is their world. They embraced me and took it as an honor that I wanted to be a part of their festa. Several members of the giglio community in America have developed relationships with the giglio boys in Nola and more specifically the paranza Fantastic Team; they welcome us with open arms each year. Its something I wish I could do every year, and have been fortunate enough to do twice.  

The giglio celebration is all about faith, family and community

What can we expect from this year’s Feast? 

Well this year’s feast is the 128th feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and 112th year lifting the giglio in Brooklyn. A lot of people in the neighborhood are excited about this years feast because we have a beloved neighborhood and parish man as our number 1 capo, Paul "Bo" Pennolino. His son Anthony is actually a lieutenant as well, so it is another example of family and feast traditions being passed on. The Turk of this years feast also has some significance, Joey Aragona is our Turk, and is one of the few members of our feast and neighborhood whose family descends directly from Nola. The thing I love about our feast is that it has become a tourist attraction as well, Williamsburg has become a weekend destination for many across NYC, and the more people that get to experience and witness our great tradition, the better it is.  

Lt. Dom in action: Directing the paranza (lifters) during the 2014 feast 

What was the motivation behind the Columbus Day Giglio with the Brooklyn Giglio Boys Club?

The Columbus Day Giglio started in 2012 with a group of neighborhood teenagers wanting to build a small giglio for fun to dance in the street. For most in Williamsburg, the feast isn't just a July thing, we eat, breathe and live the feast 365 days a year. "O Giglio e Paradiso" which is the Brooklyn giglio song, is the lifeblood and anthem of our neighborhood. When the guys from the Giglio Boys social club heard about it, they offered help and said to do it on Columbus Day during their party honoring our day of Italian heritage. The Giglio Boys are a social club that has been around for 20 years. It was started by the Nunziata brothers, whose passion and love for the giglio tradition and neighborhood has greatly contributed to expanding what we do in Williamsburg. A couple hundred people turned out for the first giglio in support of our neighborhood youth.  Since then, the giglio and crowd have grown in size, and in 2014 we had 3 pieces of the face from the Beccaio Fantastic Team giglio from Nola, it was about 40 feet tall with the San Paolino on top. It has been a great experience because it involves the youth of Williamsburg, as it teaches them how to build and dance the giglio the right way, which is something they're going to have to learn and want to be a part of if we hope to carry the traditions that were passed down to us.  

Dom (far right) with friends during the 2012 giglio in the Bronx

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences. Any last thoughts?

Come to Giglio Sunday on July 12th, I promise there is no Italian Feast like it in America. And if you don't prefer the hot sun, we lift the giglio at night on Wednesday July 15th. If anybody wants to be involved or learn more about our feast and the giglio tradition, just find us on Facebook @olmcfeast or olmcfeast.com. There’s nothing we love more than sharing our tradition with those eager to discover more. Buona Festa a tutti!

Neighborhood banner congratulating Dom's promotion to Lieutenant

An Interview with Stephen LaRocca, President of the Saint Rocco Society of Potenza in NYC

Stephen LaRocca at the San Rocco Feast in New York City

By Giovanni di Napoli

Stephen LaRocca is an attorney and senior partner at the New York law firm of Stephen LaRocca, PLLC. He is very active within New York City’s Italian American community; giving lectures, participating in cultural events and supporting many charities. Stephen is the president of the Saint Rocco Society of Potenza, Inc., a mutual aid society, which performs important charitable services as well as organizes several cultural and religious functions, including the annual Feast of San Rocco at Saint Joseph’s Church (5 Monroe Street) in Manhattan. He was generous enough to share some of his thoughts about the Feast and his work with the readers of Il Regno.

What does the San Rocco Feast mean to you? 

The San Rocco Feast means everything to me. Firstly, it allows me to demonstrate my love and devotion to my beloved patron, St. Rocco and secondly, to preserve and reaffirm the beauty and dignity of our Southern Italian way of honoring Saints. St. Rocco and his feast are central to my definition of myself.

The San Rocco Feast has the reputation of being one of the more traditional Feasts in New York City, what makes this so?

Keeping tradition

We have tried to preserve the traditional customs prevalent in all Southern Italian feasts and processions at the time of the great Italian immigration. I can be a bit difficult and unwavering because I firmly believe that there is only one way to conduct a feast; the original way.

We still carry the statue on our shoulders for the entire procession; money is pinned to the statue and stops are made for anyone wishing to approach the statue and venerate St. Rocco. A live band leads the procession as well as “u cinte” or candle house built by my dad, Sal LaRocca. “Vows of Wax”, voti di cera, images of various human body parts representing St. Rocco’s healing are still carried through the streets, as well as oversized candles by various devotees.

Sadly, some of these customs have even disappeared in Italy; yet, they are “going strong” in New York City.

Obviously with the gradual disappearance of Southern Italian neighborhoods, the Feasts have dwindled in size and in many cases completely disappeared; to what do you attribute the persistence of certain Feasts, especially in areas that are no longer predominately Italian? 

Voti di cera

I believe that certain feasts survive where others don’t due to a number of factors. Feasts that celebrate Saints widely venerated throughout Southern Italy have a better chance of surviving because they draw devotees from the entire Southern Italian community. Saints particular to one or two towns often lose their hold due to intermarriage with people who do not share that particular town of origin and the passage of time.

In addition, organizing a feast, however small, is a challenging and time consuming effort which in today’s hectic world, is often impossible for those individuals who in the past, were able to perform the necessary tasks.

Why not move the celebrations to areas where Italian Americans now live?

I am usually against moving. The feasts are often the only memory of our dynamic presence in an area. Moving erases all traces of our history in that area.

In addition, our traditional neighborhoods are usually more accessible by public transportation and can draw wide areas of our “recent” diaspora to the suburbs.

Have you seen a renewed interest in the Feast in recent years? If so, what do you think are the reasons for this?

Our people yearn for the lived Mediterranean spirituality, the peasant religion of our ancestors. Often, through Americanization and the passage of time, we have lost this. But once reintroduced or “reminded”, our people will once again flock to our feasts.

Devotees carry the u cinte

What are your biggest obstacles in keeping the tradition alive?

The biggest obstacle is ignorance and complacency. If you don’t understand the meaning of the Saint and how his/her feast should be celebrated, you won’t have an interest. Sausage and peppers, although lots of fun, cannot be your reason for attending a true feast.

Secondly, people are no longer accustomed to sacrifice — it’s easier to go to the beach than to dedicate time to a Saint.

A common complaint I hear from the various societies is the lack of youth in their ranks. How do you think this problem should be approached? 

Youth need to be educated and taught that the Saints are very real and will help you in every day life. I have seen many a lukewarm person fall passionately in love with a Saint after experiencing a miracle.

What can we look forward to at future San Rocco Feasts?

You can look forward to bigger and better processions with even greater participation. St. Rocco loves his children and will keep drawing them to Lower Manhattan each year for many years to come. Viva San Rocco!!!

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

You can contact Stephen S. LaRocca - Society President at Stephen@Stroccosociety.com

An Interview With Santi Buscemi

Santi Buscemi

Photo by New York Scugnizzo

By Giovanni di Napoli

Santi Buscemi teaches English at Middlesex County College in Edison, New Jersey. He received his B.A. from St. Bonaventure University, and completed studies for his doctorate at the University of Tennessee. He developed an online course on Sicilian literature for The Dante University Foundation of America and is the author of several college textbooks including A Reader For Developing Writers (McGraw-Hill). In 2009, Dante University Press published his translation of Luigi Capuana's acclaimed collection of fairy tales C'era una volta under the title Sicilian Tales. He has also contributed translations of Capuana's work to The Journal of Italian Translation, Italica, and Primo. Dante University Press recently published his translation of Capuana's verist masterpiece, The Marquis of Roccaverdina. He was generous enough to share some of his thoughts about Sicily and his work with the readers of Il Regno.

It's been my experience that Sicilian Americans are usually proud of their heritage, but your work has gone beyond personal pride and brings us elements of Sicilian literature and folklore not usually found in English. What started you on this path and why do you pursue it?

It started when I was a child.  My father reminded us of the richness of our Italian heritage, and I went through my formative years having to fight off the negative stereotypes of Italians in the popular media. I am certainly not unique in this. However, I also started to encounter some prejudices against Sicilians and southern Italians in general from other Italian-Americans, most of whom, by the way, had little knowledge of their own origins. Their people, they were in the habit of claiming, had come from Rome! Right!! While most of them could not utter a word of Italian, they insisted that their ancestors had spoken the “real Italian” (as if there is such a thing) and their demeanor made it clear that the Sicilian my family and I spoke was a poor bastardization of la bella lingua. Then, the Godfather and a slew of other Sicilian gangster movies came out, and that made matters worse. Whenever I discussed this issue with my father, however, he emphasized the great accomplishments that Sicily, like all of Italy’s children, had made to western civilization, and I took comfort. And after my first trip to Italy and Sicily in 1976, my eyes were opened even wider and my appetite for all things Italian—especially southern Italian—became insatiable. I started reading the history of the Mezzogiorno—delving especially into the Greek, Roman, Byzantines, and Norman patrimonies of the south, and I was amazed that what my father had told me was true. My pride grew and grew.

Shortly after my mother and father passed, I experienced a career change, which allowed me more free time to read and research topics dear to my heart. First on the list was Sicily.  One of my ideas was an anthology of Sicilian literature in translation (I am the author of several college anthologies used in freshman English). I found, however, that few Sicilian authors—other than Verga, Pirandello, and Quasimodo—had been translated at the time. During my research, I stumbled on Capuana who, for reasons explained later, caught my attention.  

All of this led my pride to grow, as it continues to do to this day.  

In your introduction to Luigi Capuana's Sicilian Tales, you said that prior to your visit in 1976 you thought of Sicily as a "stagnant backwater." Sadly, this popular misconception persists. What do you believe caused you to feel that way and what was it like to discover otherwise?

As I said above, the effects of the media and my contacts with other Italians and Italian-Americans created a negative image of Sicily in me. In fact, until I graduated from college, I had made every effort to fit into the stereotype of the modern American male. Back then, it simply wasn’t fashionable to embrace one’s ethnicity. I can remember, asking my mother not to pack me eggplant sandwiches for lunch! I wanted peanut butter and jelly, like the other kids in school. And I couldn’t understand why we had to have pasta every night. I thought fried chicken, greasy pork chops, French fries, hot dogs, and cheeseburgers were healthier than pasta fagioli, or spaghetti with lentils, broccoli, asparagus, escarole, Swiss chard, or any other vegetable you can name. And I craved pasty Wonder Bread, like all my friends ate, not that fragrant, crusty manna from heaven that they made hot and fresh at the Italian bakery down the street! Can you believe it? Now that I look back, I realize that the narrow mindset I had adopted was a result of my desire to fit in with the restrictive and often insulting social environment I had to navigate. I also realize that many of my actions may have saddened my parents, and I believe that, in a way, my celebration of Sicily in my writing and in other endeavors is an attempt to make it up to them. The first college textbook I wrote carries the following dedication: “For Joseph and Theresa Buscemi and for the other Sicilian heroes who came to this country to make a better life for their children.”       

You have an online course called “The Literature of Sicily: A History.” Can you tell us a little about it and what you hope your students will learn from it?

The course covers the beginnings of Sicilian literature to the end of the 20th century. It also contains some history so as to explain political and intellectual motivations affecting the culture and literature of Sicily. Great attention is paid to the medieval Scuola Siciliana, which began during the reign of the Norman kings and then reached its apex in Palermo at the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Sicily. The poets of this school pre-date Dante and are the first to write literature in an Italian vernacular. In fact, Dante pays them homage in his On Eloquence in the Vernacular and credits them for starting Italian literature. Among the finest of these was Giacomo Lentini, the inventor of the sonnet. That’s right, it was a Sicilian who invented the sonnet; it wasn’t Petrarch. 

The course also devotes a great deal of space to the veristi, the nineteenth-century Naturalists including Verga, De Roberto, and, of course, Capuana. For me, the veristi produced the finest literature in Italy since Mazzoni, and Capuana especially, made enormous contributions to modern literary criticism.  

As to what I would like students of the course to take from it—I would like them to learn what I learned. That in literature, and in many other fields, Sicilians have made a tremendous contribution to Western culture. I want them to be able to prove to their friends, their colleagues, and especially their children that Sicily is no “cultural backwater.” 

With so many great Sicilian authors to choose from, what inspired you to translate Capuana?

When I first visited Sicily in 1976, I stayed with my Aunt Nina and Uncle Ignazio in our ancestral town of Menfi (Prov. di Agrigento). They lived on a street called Via Capuana. My aunt explained that the street honored a Sicilian scritore. Years later when I began planning my anthology of Sicilian literature in translation, I came upon the name Luigi Capuana, and I remembered what my aunt had said. Unfortunately, I could find only one short poem by Capuana in English, but I soon discovered that he had been very prolific. My reading of Italian was quite limited; however, Capuana had written several books of fairy tales (“fiabe’) for children, and I tried my hand at these. It was tough going at first, but with the aid of a dictionary, I got by. My confidence grew when I was able to get a few of my translations published in Forum Italicum, Italica, and The Journal of Italian Translation. I continued to work, and when I had finished the 20 tales in C’era una volta, I submitted them to Adlofo Caso of Dante University Press, who took a chance on me and published them under the title Sicilian Tales. He has recently published my translation of Capuana’s Il Marchese di Roccaverdina. 

What were your biggest challenges when translating Sicilian into English?

My biggest problem is finding a comprehensive dictionary of Sicilian. The Basic Sicilian-English Dictionary by Joseph Bellestri has been invaluable, but it is not comprehensive. So I found and Italian-Sicilian Dictionary online. It has helped a lot. In addition, however, the meanings of words in Sicilian can vary from area to area. So, a word I learned a home might have a slightly different meaning when it appears in one of Capuana’s dialect plays. I still need to find a good source of Sicilian idioms, not to mention a comprehensive source for Italian idioms. Two other sources of assistance are my friends Nino Russo, whom I met online, and Ninni Maglione, my good friend in Capuana’s home town of Mineo, Sicily. 

What's next after The Marquis of Roccaverdina? Do you have plans to translate other works by Capuana or perhaps a different Sicilian author?

I have read and started to translate Capuana’s Giacinta and Frederico De Roberto’s I Vicere. I am half way through both, but have had to put these aside to prepare the final manuscript for Il Marchese and to complete some smaller projects. I intend to pick up on Giacinta soon. Also I have translated several of Capuana’s Sicilian plays and am looking for a publisher. Finally, I am working with a private translating firm in New York on a scholarly book on the history of Neapolitan music. 

Other thoughts?

I just finished reading a dissertation entitled Luigi Capuana and His Times by Eugene Scalia (Justice Scalia’s father). It provided me with innumerable insights into the author. I plan to do more reading in the scholarship, but most of it is still in Italian. So, oh well, I guess I’ll have to go to Italy again!! 

You can contact Santi Buscemi at sbuscemi11@comcast.net

English Dept.

Middlesex County College

Edison, NJ 08818

732-548-6000 ext 3254

An Interview with Author Anthony Di Renzo

Anthony Di Renzo

By Giovanni di Napoli

We are honored to have the opportunity to interview Anthony Di Renzo before the release of his new historical novel Trinàcria: A Tale of Bourbon Sicily. Slated for publication in November, 2013 by Guernica Editions, the book chronicles the destruction of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the Italian Revolution. He was kind enough to provide us with an advance digital copy, and I'm sure it will become a must read for anyone interested in the nonconformist view of the Risorgimento and Italian Unification.

Mr. Di Renzo is an Associate Professor at Ithaca College, specializing in Classical rhetoric, professional writing and Italian history. He is the author of Bitter Greens: Essays on Food, Politics, and Ethnicity from the Imperial Kitchen (SUNY Press, 2010) and has published numerous essays and stories for various literary journals, including "Eternal Death" in Feile-Festa 3 (Spring 2008), "Lucullan Feasts" in River Styx 76: A Readable Feast (Spring 2008) and "Dark Chocolate" in Voices in Italian Americana 19.2 (Spring 2009).

Many Americans of Southern Italian descent are proud of their heritage, but you have made an extra effort to explore it. Could you tell us how your interest in Sicily began and why you pursue it?

My Sicilian mother, steeped in the island’s legends and folklore, first sparked my interest, but I probably never would have investigated Sicilian history if it hadn’t been for my teachers. I don’t mean that in a positive way. When I was growing up, most middle school and junior high teachers thought it a civic duty to make first-generation Americans as ashamed as possible of their ancestral country. Only then would these students become “real” Americans. There was nothing subtle about this indoctrination. “You people weren’t even human until you came to this country!” one teacher declared. This blatant ignorance about the Golden Door period, this contemptuous dismissal of Southern Italian culture, goaded me into uncovering the facts for myself. I’ve been digging ever since. Whitewashed history is a vast tundra. More bodies are buried there than in the Meadowlands.     

Among institutions of higher education, how does Sicily fare within Italian American studies?

Goethe considered Sicily the key to understanding Italy. It is also the key to understanding Italian American history. In both cases, certain characteristics are exaggerated and distorted in startlingly instructive ways. The Risorgimento’s failures in Sicily, too grotesque to ignore, encapsulate and explain Northern Italy’s exploitation and colonization of the entire Mezzogiorno. This calamity directly caused the Southern Italian Diaspora at the turn of the twentieth century.

When you teach Italian American History, what do you emphasize and hope your students understand?

The political, economic, and agricultural collapse of the Mezzogiorno was not a natural phenomenon, no more than Irish potato famine was a natural phenomenon. Both resulted from cruel and arrogant political policies designed to subjugate, even eradicate, a provincial population considered too backwards to benefit the state. That fact explains the impetus behind mass emigration. Northern politicians were quite happy to see Southern peasants leave Italy. It was a form of ethnic cleansing. 

Although Italian businesses and Italian government promoted the New World as the land of opportunity, both treated America as Botany Bay: a place to dump undesirables. We should question, therefore, the conventional myths about immigration and assimilation. These fig leaves cover up the shameful hypocrisies of liberal democracy on both sides of the Atlantic. The betrayal of the Italian Revolution in the late nineteenth century would be repeated by the betrayal of the American Dream in the early twentieth century. 

This double betrayal continues to affect Southern Italian Americans, especially within the Sicilian American community, even in subtle ways among their more assimilated children and grandchildren. Bitter disillusionment explains why many of us can be so insular, continue to suspect all political and educational institutions, and are reluctant to form social and cultural networks, even when they would benefit us. Instead, we should unite, ally ourselves with other ethnic groups, particularly the newest immigrants in Italy and America, and fight for justice at a time when political and financial institutions seem determined to reproduce the imperialism and plutocracy of the early twentieth century. 

What inspired you to write Trinàcria: A Tale of Bourbon Sicily?

A bizarre historical footnote worthy of Leonardo Sciascia. Shortly after Luchino Visconti had filmed The Leopard in Sicily, I was recovering from a nearly fatal bout of dysentery in Villabate, a suburb of Palermo. This was the first time my mother had returned to her hometown since the Second World War. At the time, I was just a boy, battling fever and nausea, but the local gossip distracted and entertained me. Many of my mother’s former neighbors had attended Visconti’s shoot. Some had even worked as extras. Everyone, however, had stories to tell. The most amusing concerned Ciminna, a mountaintop commune 30 miles southeast of Palermo. 

Visconti had used this town as Donnafugata, Prince Fabrizio’s ancestral fief. After the wrap, the mayor and the council had petitioned 20th Century Fox to rebuild the sets. Apparently, the American tourists no longer wanted to see Ciminna’s authentic Greek ruins, a three-thousand-year-old temple to Demeter. Instead, they wanted to pose in front of Burt Lancaster’s fake palazzo and collect autographs.

I had always thought this anecdote was a tall tale, until a documentary on Visconti’s film confirmed it. History, I realized, doesn’t stand a chance against public relations. This insight provided the frame for the novel. Family history and scholarly interest in the Risorgimento supplied the canvas and the paint. Red and gold, of course: the colors of the Sicilian flag. 

When doing the research for Trinàcria, what did you find the most interesting? Was there anything that you would have liked to add that wasn’t included in the book?

It was fascinating to learn how much British and American companies and investors helped to shape the Italian Revolution. Their motives were hardly pure, and their meddling contributed to the debacle that destroyed Sicily. Even today, Sicily lacks a functioning regional economy, thanks partly to this old pattern of internal corruption and external exploitation.

What would have happened, however, if Sicily had achieved independence in 1848? What if it had become a functioning democracy of Sicilians, by Sicilians, and for Sicilians? Either Sicily would have remained a separate country or it would have joined Italy on its own terms. The novel speculates on these questions but never directly addresses them. Ruggeru Sèttimu, president of the Sicilian Republic for sixteen months before his lifelong exile in Malta, barely appears. Even so, these issues are worth considering during the bicentennial of the Sicilian constitution.  

What's next after Trinàcria? Do you have any plans to explore the Abruzzese half of your heritage?

Currently, I’m revising After the Fair is Over, the sequel to Trinàcria. This immigrant saga deals with Donna Zita’s great-grandson, Commendatore Attilio Tumeo, who journeys from his father’s carriage shop in Villabate to the Franklin Automobile Company in Syracuse, New York. Ironically, money from his used car dealership pays to preserve the Marchesa’s crypt in the Catacombe dei Cappuccini.

My last book, Bitter Greens: Essays on Food, Politics, and Ethnicity from the Imperial Kitchen (SUNY Press 2010) partly discusses the Abruzzese half of my heritage. But I would like to investigate more fully how this remote of regions, Italy’s Yosemite Park, continues to resist globalization. Gas companies, for example, are trying to introduce fracking. The outcome is uncertain, but I’m betting on the mountain goats.

Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. Any last thoughts?

Eduardo Galeano, a writer I deeply admire, reminds us of the importance of memory. Memory alone can save us from the collective amnesia of postmodern society, a cross between a shopping mall and a concentration camp. We need to wake up from the American Dream before it anaesthetizes our entire planet. Hypnotists have convinced us that all that matters is success. Either you’re somebody or you’re nobody. But instead of trying to be somebodies, Southern Italians and their descendants should embrace being nobodies. We are nobody’s children, owners of nothing. We speak dialects, not language; believe superstitions, not religion; practice handicrafts, not art; have folklore, not culture. We are not human beings but human resources. We do not appear in the world’s history books but in the local tabloids. Nobody will tell our stories but ourselves.

* * *

The following links allow you to visit the book's campaign site and to view its promotional video:

• http://www.indiegogo.com/trinacria

• "Trinàcria: The Past Never Dies"

The fundraiser is sponsored by Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere.

For more info visit Anthony Di Renzo

Also see Mr. Di Renzo's interview with the Times of Sicily: "The Past Never Dies — Though God Knows it Tries: An Interview with Anthony Di Renzo"

An Interview with Documentary Filmmaker Ivana Corsale

By Olivia Kate Cerrone

One of the most heartbreaking problems facing Italy today is the ongoing reality of toxic waste dumping in populated areas and farmland. The Neapolitan areas of Marigliano, Acerra and Nola have become known as Italy’s “Triangle of Death,” a phrase coined by Dr. Alfredo Mazza, from his groundbreaking research published in The Lancet Oncology, a British cancer journal. Even the popular film Gomorrah, which contained scenes of the notorious Camorra burying barrels of toxic waste underground in Naples, gave the issue special mainstream public attention. A recent article published in the UK’s Independent remarked that “Dr. Mazza stated how over ‘two hundred and fifty thousand people in the region have been exposed to toxic pollutants for decades.’” Even more tragic is the fact that many of those who develop cancer or other related illnesses to exposure are often in their early twenties and thirties. Continued public awareness is the key to fostering real social change. Sicilian-born filmmaker, Ivana Corsale has taken on this complicated subject matter in her new documentary, Campania In-Felix (Unhappy Country), which focuses on the lives of those living in the “Triangle of Death.” The film is currently being shown throughout the United States and Italy, and has most recently screened at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, the Thin Line Film Fest, and the Santa Fe Independent Film Festival. Corsale has received numerous awards for her work, including the Puffin Foundation Grant, the Carole Fielding Grant from the University of Film & Video Association, and fiscal sponsorship by the International Documentary Association. Born and raised in Sciacca, Sicily, Corsale moved to the United States, where she earned an undergraduate degree in journalism and international studies from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She has worked as a journalist at The Dallas Morning News where she further explored her storytelling skills through video. At The News, she researched, shot and edited stories for the newspaper’s website. As a graduate student in documentary studies at The University of North Texas, Corsale produced, directed and edited Cutting History, a short documentary about one of the oldest barbershops in the city of Denton. Ivana’s second film, another short documentary called Beyond The Notes, explored the lives and struggles of musicians. Campania In-Felix is Corsale’s first feature length film.

Olivia Kate Cerrone: What inspired you to make the film Campania In-Felix? With so many pressing concerns facing Italy right now, such as the struggling economy and severe lack of jobs, why do you believe that the “Triangle of Death” environmental catastrophe is deserving of an international spotlight?

Ivana Corsale: I was feeling the urge of documenting a contemporary issue in Italy. Living outside of my home country for more than a decade, I have seen Italy affected by several problems and I’ve also observed a general decline of social and cultural values. A few years ago, I was reading Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano. The last chapter of the book, titled “The Land of Fires,” offered an account of the illegal dumping of toxic waste, how organized crime was involved and also how the presence of toxic waste in Campania was affecting people’s health and their environment. I thought it was an important issue to explore and present to an American audience because it touched on so many aspects beyond the obvious environmental problem. I thought it was important to reveal the strong bond tying the people from the region with their land, and how this attachment with the land is now completely disrupted. Several documentaries had been done on this issue, but I didn’t see anything that touched on the cultural, social and economic aspects of this environmental issue. So, after looking at all of the viable topics to explore, I quickly realized that this was fertile ground for a documentary that could make viewers think about the important bond that exists between people and their land. 

OKC: Your documentary offers powerful footage of the Camorra’s various dumping sites throughout this region, as well as interviews with residents, land workers, physicians and activists, who have all been negatively affected by the toxicity of the area. Their experiences lead one to surmise that the Italian government hasn’t taken these issues seriously enough. For instance, Dr. Antonio Marfella, an oncologist from the area, revealed that while the local government did intervene to save dying livestock through various testing, there is still no report of the government taking any action in monitoring the effects had upon those human beings that worked alongside the animals. Furthermore, one of the film’s most chilling moments brought viewers to the site of a collection of manmade quarries (the largest in Europe) containing poisoned groundwater that feeds into wells and springs, contaminating the region’s local drinking supply. What do you believe to be is the cause of the Italian government’s hesitancy to address this urgent environmental health crisis? 

IC: There have been speculations (often elaborated by investigative journalists in Italy) of links and collusions existing between the Italian government and organized crime. This may suggest how and why the government is not taking any action to solve the problem. Another point to be made is that during the Berlusconi’s government, the direction on environmental and waste issues was often to build incinerators rather than to implement recycling programs. I personally tend to believe that the involvement of politics involved in organized crime is at such a high stake that it’s not in the best interest of the government to take any legal action into the Campania region. 

OKC: One of the more heartbreaking segments of Campania In-Felix is the story of the Cannavacciuolo family, whose livelihood as shepherds (once spanning many generations) has been destroyed by the continual poisoning of both their land and sheep in Acerra, along with the loss of a relative, Vincenzo Cannavacciuolo, to cancer. Their story revealed that since 1986, Montefibre, a chemical factory owned and operated by the Pellini family, dumped approximately 56,000 barrels of toxic waste in farmland areas, as well as dumping waste into local canals and construction materials containing asbestos under bridges and alongside roads. Have any charges been brought up against the Pellini family or revealed an ongoing association with the Camorra? If not, why?

IC: Just a correction: Montefibre was not owned by the Pellini family. The Pellinis own a waste facility that used to dump toxic substances into water streams and farm land near Acerra. There is currently a class action lawsuit between the Cannavacciuolos and the Pellinis. The trial started in 2006 and as of today it has not reached a final verdict. The charge is for illegal trafficking and disposal of toxic waste. Unfortunately, the justice system in Italy works very slow, especially for cases and trials involving organized crime activity. 

A federally funded waste incinerator stands adjacent to Mario Cannavacciuolo's abandoned land outside Acerra, Italy. The Cannavacciuolo family has been destroyed by illegal toxic waste disposal as his flock of sheep, of about 3000, died due to dioxin contamination. His brother, Enzo Cannavacciuolo, died shortly after, and tests show his body contained levels of dioxin, purins, and PCBs 30 times the amount allowed by the World Health Organization. (Photo by Matt Nager/Courtesy of unhappycountry.com)

OKC: In an interview with Joe Brown of the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, you remarked that “a social reawakening should occur in Southern Italy. The people who are most affected by the dumping appear somewhat resigned and think that no possible and rational solution can occur at the moment….in order to create change, there should be a solid and unified movement among activist groups. Right now, the few activists in the area appear isolated in their action.” Why is there a lack of solidarity among these activists when so much continues to be at stake for the land and its people? What could be done within Italy and perhaps among Italian American communities in the States that could help raise awareness or support to help solidify these activist groups? 

IC: It’s difficult for me to say why there is such a lack of solidarity among these activists. From what I observed, I could see that the few activist groups who were still fighting for the rights of their land had some reservation of hope for the future. Other activists, who were more involved years before, appeared more resigned and seemed convinced that there was no hope for the future generations or for the land. They had fought before and saw no clear resolution or involvement from the government. As a result, they had lost any hope that they may have had before. I think it’s important to restore a sense of hope among people in Italy. Unfortunately, I have seen symptoms of hopelessness among Italians in general, who cannot trust their political and social organizations anymore. There seems to be a lack of trust toward these institutions and, as a consequence, a loss of values among several levels of society in general. I think Italian-American communities can and should find a bridge of communication with Italian communities in Italy and rediscover and explore the country that is today. I often find that Italian-American communities in the United States are not in tune with the Italy of today. I think that it’s important to restore a sense of cultural awareness, understand and explore the issues that Italy faces today. This can be done through cultural, social events, discussions that connect old and new generations of Italian-Americans. Knowledge and awareness are the first steps that can lead to action. 

A burned out car and piles of illegally disposed computers, trash, and toxic chemicals lie abandoned next to farm land near Marigliano, Italy. While organized crime can be blamed for much of the illegal toxic waste dumping from Northern Italian companies, local citizens have, as well, become accustomed to illegal dumping of waste leading to further contamination of the countryside. (Photo by Matt Nager/Courtesy of unhappycountry.com)

OKC: Is it possible in the Italian legal system that a class action suit could be filed among those residents affected by the toxicity against their local government for not taking proper measures to protect their citizens against the illegal waste dumping and allowing many of the sites to remain for years without properly cleaning them up? If this is not possible, why not? Are there any legal measures that Italians could take to bring justice to the countless thousands who have been affected and/or lost loved ones? 

IC:  I think a class action suit is possible, but because the Italian justice system moves so slow, I am not sure what the results may be. Because of the possible collusion between the government and organized crime, I also fear that the justice system may easily be obstructed in the course of a lawsuit. I think the only possible way to bring justice is to unify all the activist groups, all levels of society and have them lead a profound protest/revolutionary movement that will not end until the government will take action. I think a profound social and civil reawakening has to occur in order for millions of people to lead such a movement. 

OKC: Since the release of Campania In-Felix, has anything further been done by the local governments of the “Triangle of Death” region, such as instating new recycling programs or cleaning up of any new waste sites?

IC: No real means of action has been taken locally in order to solve the problem. Some local governments have implemented recycling programs that sometimes work and other times are not very efficient. Summertime is usually the worst season when piles of trash tend to accumulate more, and incinerating garbage and waste becomes the norm in the countryside. 

OKC: Campania In-Felix is currently on tour to various film festivals around the United States. How has the film been received so far?

IC:  The film has been received with success and interest here in the United States. People often ask how and why the Italian government hasn’t done anything to solve the problem. The aspect that viewers always remember is how profound the relationship between people and land is. I think that’s the message they are left with after they watch this film. And that’s exactly what I want people to remember. I want them to reflect on that important relationship between us and the place we live in, and how that relationship can be present (and it is present) in other parts of the world. 

OKC: Do you have any new film projects underway or future topics you would like to focus on as a director? Do you hope to continue raising awareness about the “Triangle of Death” catastrophe or other Italian social issues?

IC: I think today’s Italy is fertile ground for new documentaries and stories that are deserving attention. I would like to now focus less on environmental issues and more on social and economic issues, which are the current topic of discussion in Italy right now. I’m always interested in the idea of raising awareness about this current environmental issues in Italy. I don’t think many people are aware of the complexities of the issue and I believe the first place to start raising awareness and discussion is in schools among students and professors. 

OKC:  Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us your experiences. Any last thoughts?

IC: What I want people to remember after watching this film is that Campania In-Felix is not just a story about environmental injustice. I believe that it's a reminder of how we are connected to the land, and the place we live in. I want viewers to look at this film and issue and realize that what's happening in Campania, this broken balance between people and their land, can occur anywhere else. 

You can contact Ivana Corsale at: ivana.corsale@gmail.com

or visit her at unhappycountry.com

You can contact Olivia Kate Cerrone at: Olivia.Cerrone@gmail.com

or visit her at oliviacerrone.com