In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we talk with Cassandra Santoro from Travel Italian Style. We talk about the mental and emotional aspects of reuniting with family in Italy or just visiting one of your ancestral villages, especially those in southern Italy.
In our Stories Segment, we play a recording from one of our listeners, Antoinette Merenda, who tells us how her family immigrated here, where they came from, and some of the extraordinary research she has done.
Episode Quote
“Homeland is something one becomes aware of only through its loss.” – Gunter Grass
Tweetables
- “Read, write, look around, go for a walk and take everything in when you are in Italy, in a different way.” – Dolores Alfieri
- “Take advantage of Italy when it is quiet and walk down the street, for that is when you get a real sense of your family and things start to click.” – Cassandra Santoro
- “Eat out as much as possible in Southern Italy as you can eat good food, very inexpensively.” – Anthony Fasano
- “When you travel, sit back and reflect on yourself, why you are there, and how you got there.” – Cassandra Santoro
- “When you visit southern Italy, you have to get into the groove and take a nap in the middle of the day.” – Dolores Alfieri
- “Going to any of your ancestral villages is amazing, whether or not you have living relatives there.” – Anthony Fasano
- “You have to invest in yourself, to your well-being, and to something that you are passionate about.” – Cassandra Santoro
About our Guests:
Cassandra Santoro is the CEO and Founder of Travel Italian Style. As a personal trip planner and luxury small group tour operator, Cassandra is an expert in slow travel and authentic and inspiring experiences throughout Italy. She also leads motivational talks and can most recently be found at TEDx DHBW Manhein. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @travelitalianstyle.
Antoinette Carbone is a listener of The Italian American Podcast and has done extensive research on her Italian roots dating back to the 1600’s. Brava!
Episode Sponsors
The National Italian American Foundation
Resources Mentioned
IAP 32: Tragedy inspires the trip of a lifetime for Cassandra Santoro
The New Neighborhood – A Place for Italian Americans
Christ Stopped at Eboli
Talk to Cassandra
I’ve visited my ancestral hometown in the province of Matera many times; I’ve even lived there from 1972 through 1975. I see the eating pattern a bit different from how you all described it in your podcast 41: Dinner is at 1 or 2 pm; Cena (a light supper) is later at night.. especially in summertime it could be around 8 or 9 pm. I tend to think that in winter the Cena time could be a bit earlier….
Anthony, your ancestral hometown of Controne is just beautiful…. It’s also not that far away from the Campania/Basilicata border. This is an area that some Southern Italians think should have been incorporated into Basilicata, given its terrain and proximity to that region. On another note, there is a book that explains why the so-called “unification” of Italy triggered a mass migration of Southerners to North and South America, etc. It’s by Pino Aprile and you can buy it in English. It’s called “Terroni” and although I’m sure not all Southerners in the mid 1800’s were very well off, the South at that time was quite a different place than was previously thought. The “North” at that time, went in and killed indiscriminately and dismantled industries and businesses and even robbed banks and brought all that to the North…. Oh well….
Have any of you ever seen the website “Bleeding Espresso”?? It’s the story of Michelle Fabio and how she went back to her ancestral hometown of Badolato (Calabria) and settled there…. quite fascinating….