Thoughts and opinions on all things Italian

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John Mancini – Founder and Executive Director

America or Venetia?

We’ve all heard the story of how America was named by a German mapmaker in 1507 after navigator Amerigo Vespucci announced that the islands Columbus had discovered were really two new continents.  But why were both given the same name? ...

Bill Dal Cerro, Senior Analyst

GO SOUTH, YOUNG MAN!

The spectacular scenery of Sardinia plays a central role in the 1979 film, The Black Stallion This just in: According to a June 21, 2026 article in Travel and Tour World Magazine, Italy has finally surpassed Spain and Greece in ...

Rosario A. Iaconis, Senior Analyst

What Ken Burns Left Out

Contrary to Ken Burns’ recent documentary on the American Revolution, it was a band of Italians, the ancient Romans—not the Iroquois—who served as the model for our fledgling republic. Those are Roman fasces mounted in the U.S. House of Representatives ...

Bob Masullo, Guest Author

ITALIAN-AMERICAN FIRSTS

Alfred E. Smith Who were the pioneer U.S. government officials with Italian roots? The answers are more than names that belong in history books. In a tangible way they provide a measure of how far Italian-Americans have come in the ...