
Fostering the Heritage of Abruzzo & Molise
The Abruzzo and Molise Heritage Society of the Washington, D.C. area was established in June 2000 by a small group of Abruzzesi and Molisani (natives and descendants of immigrants) who eventually settled in the Washington, D.C. area.
Although the community of Italians and Italian-Americans in the Washington D.C. area is rather modest, it has a relatively large number of Abruzzesi and Molisani who recognized the need to foster the cultural heritage of these two regions specifically, as well as Italy broadly.
The Society welcomes anyone who has an interest in preserving and sharing in the rich traditions and values that are unique to Abruzzo, Molise, and to Italy in general to join!
[section]LATEST POSTS
Annual Wine Tasting at Casa Italiana A Big Success - The AMHS annual wine tasting, held November 17, 2024, featured a return visit by Zachary Casagrande, who was back by popular demand after giving a very well-received talk in November 2023.
Former Art Conservator Stefano Scafetta to Speak at January Meeting - The featured speaker for our meeting on Sunday. January 26, 2025, will be Stefano Scafetta who retired in November 2008 as the senior conservator of paintings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) in Washington, D.C.
My Time in Italy - At the beginning of 2022, I was at a crossroads as my Bachelor’s program was coming to an end, and I was not certain of my next steps... About six months later, shortly after my 22nd birthday, I packed one giant suitcase and moved to Torino.
A Look at AMHS Programs in Recent Years - As my 11 years of organizing programs for the AMHS came to an end on December 31, 2024, I thought our members might be interested in seeing an overview of the programs we have had. In planning the programs, I always looked to further the educational, cultural, and social goals of the Society...
One Way to Say Thank You: Renaming an AMHS Scholarship - In considering how best to acknowledge these many contributions of the D’Andrea family, the AMHS looked to the scholarship program as perhaps the ideal vehicle for conveying its recognition and gratitude.
Michael Giacchino: Talented Composer of Film and TV Musical Scores - Part of the “magic of the movies” is undoubtedly the musical score which swells below the images and heightens our emotional response to the story unfolding on the screen. One of the most talented practitioners of this special art is Michael Giacchino.
Rotello - The small town of Rotello is located about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northeast of Campobasso. in the province of Campobasso. It has about 1,190 inhabitants, called Rotellesi.
Siamo Una Famiglia - Christopher Renneker, our AMHS president, will be going to the Italian-American Future Leaders convention in Florida in January. Chris’ application to the Class of 2025 was accepted and he will be joining a network of young leaders and professionals from across the United States.
AMHS President Elected to NCCA Board - By Joseph “Sonny” Scafetta, Jr. AMHS President Christopher J. Renneker was elected on November 13, 2024, to the Board of Directors of the National Christopher Columbus Association (NCCA) of which the AMHS is an organizational member. His three-year term begins January 1, 2025. Chris works as an examining trademark attorney in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office located in Alexandria. Chris succeeds AMHS Secretary Joseph (Sonny) Scafetta Jr., whose three-year term covering 2022 through 2024 ends on December 31, 2024. Sonny is the senior counsel for the intellectual property law firm of Ditthavong, Steiner, & Mlotkowski in Alexandria. Sonny succeeded former AMHS President Maria D’Andrea-Yothers who served a three-year term on the NCCA board from 2019 through 2021. She was the first AMHS officer to have a seat on the NCCA board. Maria is the Director of the Office of Textiles & Apparel for the International Trade Administration in the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. She will retire from that position on December 31, 2024. The NCCA has been responsible since 1995 for coordinating with the National Park Service to put on the annual ceremony at the Columbus statue in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C., on Columbus Day. The NCCA has five officers and 13 directors who represent different member organizations. November/December 2024
A Message from the President - Dear members and friends: I would like to start my message by thanking all of the members of the executive committee and other positions of leadership who have terms coming to an end. Our society is entirely run by volunteers, and we are only able to continue to exist and put on these incredible programs because of the generosity and skills of our members who are willing to help. I would like to in particular highlight the contributions of Nancy DeSanti and Maria D’Andrea-Yothers. Nancy has been doing our programs for over a decade. Maria has not only been president of the society but has helped out in most every role that we have. We are greatly indebted to each of them. At the same moment as we lose some members of the board, we will be welcoming two new members. You should have received notifications about how to vote for the candidates through email or postal mail. In addition there will be paper ballots at the November wine tasting. I believe the nominating committee comprised of Mark Lino, Rico Allegrino, and Maria D’Andrea-Yothers have done a tremendous job of finding new candidates for the board that will be tremendous assets to the society going forward. At our previous general membership meeting, the culmination of over a year of work of the executive committee was realized in the amendments to the bylaws that govern our organization. This has allowed us to streamline the society and will leave us well positioned for the future. One of the benefits of this change is there will be more opportunities for members to help in committee positions that don’t require the same level of commitment as it does to be on the board. If you would be interested in helping out with any of the committees that cover things such as scholarship, socials and events, communications, etc., please let me know. Also if there are any programs or events that you would like to see us do in the future please contact me at president@abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.org. We are also excited to announce that we will be updating our website and communications technology soon. This will lower the technology costs for the society and increase our functionality. In addition we have updated our advertising materials such as flyers and will be launching our first national advertising campaign in Primo magazine. Lastly, although the year is coming to an end, we still have a few events coming up. Our annual wine tasting will be November 17th, and we will have an aperitivo happy hour at Officina at the wharf on December 16th. You can read more about these events on our website or in your email communications. In the coming year, we will incorporate more content that highlights the specific regions of our society and will incorporate some of the stories of our members. In addition, we are excited to permanently bring back our film series. We have a couple documentary films that we will be featuring with the next one being “Breaking Balls,” a documentary about bocce. At the midpoint of next year, we will be launching a film discussion series that features films from or about our regions. As we approach the holidays, we have many things to be grateful for as a society and many things to be excited about in the future. I hope to see you at some of our events over the next few weeks. I would like to wish you a joyous Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, Best regards,Chris Renneker November/December 2024
WITH THANKS TO ROMEO SABATINI AND RYAN TURNER


The Society dedicates its website to Romeo Sabatini, who worked tirelessly for over 10 years developing and maintaining our original site; and to Ryan A. Turner who, in honor of his grandmother Rosemarie Antonelli Turner (whose father Frank emigrated from Abruzzo), gifted the Society with funds to develop this new site. The Society is grateful for Romeo’s time and for Ryan’s generosity, which bridge the past with the future for the benefit of all AMHS members and friends.
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