Siamo Una Famiglia

A Night at the Movies

Two of our members and five of their friends attended the showing of Solo Mio at the Georgetown AMC theater.  The movie was well worth the trek to the theater: funny, scenic, and heartwarming.  Perfect for the month of love.  We plan to host more events like this and would appreciate your feedback on what kept you from joining us so we can accommodate more members.

Carnevale 2026

On Sunday, February 22, the local Italian and Italian-American community celebrated Carnevale. The Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society has been a long time supporter of the annual event. The event usually takes place at Casa Italiana but this time took place in Montgomery County. 

The event is truly a cultural treasure and a great experience of the vibrancy of our local community. There are many people in costume and homemade sweets in addition to catered foods such as pizza and sandwiches, along with a lovely selection of prosecco and wine and non-alcoholic drinks. 

It was particularly heartening that there were so many children at the event. It was a great chance to engage the younger generation and to encourage them to connect with their culture.

The principal activity was dancing! There was a DJ spinning a mix of classic and contemporary Italian music and many participatory line dances. 

Hopefully we will see you all there next year.

Spanning the Generations

AMHS President Emeritus Lucio D’Andrea enjoyed a 93rd birthday celebration on March 28 with his family in North Carolina.  Lucio is pictured here with his great-granddaughter Sofia Nemes-Popper, who is 5 and one-half months old.

More About the Maremma, Abruzzo’s Unique Sheepdog

On the evening of March 8, the Maremma Sheepdog Club of America hosted a webinar that provided fascinating historical insights into the unique breed. In this webinar, Sarah Letts traced the ancient history of the Maremma Sheepdog to explain how they were specifically bred to “close guard,” to stay with the flock and bark only when needed. Sarah compared this to the different environments of other Livestock Guardian Dogs, specifically the Great Pyrenees and the Kangal, who were bred to range a larger area, work more independently from their shepherd and scout for predators.

For those who may have missed it, you can view the webinar on the club’s You Tube page HERE.