SEPTEMBER 28 MEETING: AUTHOR PAUL PAOLICELLI ON SOUTHERN ITALY

We are pleased to present a program by acclaimed author Paul Paolicelli, who will be coming from North Carolina to speak to us at the suggestion of AMHS member Dave Ciummo. Paolicelli, a television news producer and documentary filmmaker for many years, moved to Italy for a time to learn more about his family’s roots in southern Italy.

His lifechanging experiences there deepened the admiration and affection he felt for this part of Italy, which was home to over 80% of the Italians immigrants who came to America. Paolicelli was looking for answers to the questions that had led him on this journey, and in the process he spent considerable time in Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and elsewhere. Paolicelli eventually wrote two books:

Dances with Luigi and Under the Southern Sun: Stories of the Real Italy and the Americans It Created. The topic of origins and family, which has become important to many people in recent years as evidenced by the increasing interest in genealogy, brought the author in contact with long-lost relatives and led to family reunions.

The author writes with passion about how the culture and values of the southern Italians—who left their homes because of the times and circumstances—shaped the next generations in America. In his second book, Paolicelli tells all sorts of fascinating stories of amazing people—for example, the men of Matera who took up arms and drove out the Nazis, and the benevolent commander of a concentration camp in Calabria who loaded up a van with the camp prisoners’ children and took them away - to get a gelato in town - much to their parents’ relief!!

And you learn about the interesting stories of Frank Capra and Rudolph Valentino, among others. As Paolicelli explains, “The examples of Italian immigrant families who had, in less than a normal life span, produced great American success stories such as artists, musicians, actors, scientists and bankers were endless, and the overwhelming majority of them had been from Southern Italy and Sicily. Surely there was something in the Southern Italian experience that could explain that success.” In addition to Paolicelli’s presentation, accordionist Joan Tacchetti Grauman (whose own roots are in Abruzzo) will be back by popular demand.

You may recall that she performed at the June 1 Silent Auction and played the songs remembered and loved by many. The response was so positive that we invited her back and she accepted. So we are looking forward to a wonderful program. Please bring family members, friends or guests and please make your reservations early (see the flyer elsewhere in the Notiziario).