In this episode of “The Italian American Podcast,” which is the second episode of “The Italian American Power Hour,” we discuss going back to Italy as Italian Americans. We talk about traveling to Italy, the Italian culture, how Italy has changed, and whether or not people still speak Italian in Italy (hint: we talk about regional languages).
At the end of the show, we give you a few tips that you can use when visiting Italy to make your experience there even more remarkable.
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- Our greatest pastime as a child in Italy was by stealing almonds off the tree from our neighbors. – Rossella Rago
- I am always shocked to find out how many people don’t really know where they come from. – John Viola
- Something that is culturally so much of who we are here in America and which we brought from Italy, is the reference to the cemetery. – Pat O’Boyle
- Whether it’s going south or going home, there is something beautiful about it. – John Viola
- Italy has so many different regions and layers of people to it and going back to your origin will prove that to you. – Anthony Fasano
- When visiting hotels in Italy, you might have to walk up 6-foot stairs, but you are going to have a fantastic conversation with the people at the reception. – Pat O’Boyle
- I got to grow up with a sense of knowing exactly where I came from. – Rossella Rago
- When in Italy, it’s much better to get to a place and ask around than it is to rely on the internet. – John Viola
- Many products that you expect to be made in Italy are no longer being made in Italy. – Pat O’Boyle
- When Italians go back to Italy, they will understand more of the Italian language than they thought they would. – Rosella Rago
- In Italy, you will have conversations with people that you would not have otherwise had. – Dolores Alfieri Taranto
- There’s a difference between being a tourist, a participant observer, and an observing participant. – John Viola
- The best restaurants we went to in Italy were the ones that had no menus. – Anthony Fasano
Resources Mentioned
The New Neighborhood
Italy with Rossella Culinary Tours – 2018
Books Mentioned in this Episode
Grazie Mille,
Anthony Fasano and Dolores Taranto
Co-Hosts, The Italian American Podcast
