~--------------~•The Newsletter of the Italic Studies InstituteVVAY, Inc. IN THIS ISSUE: Head to head, Mr. T vs. Rocky Italian vs. Black: The Roots of Conflict ~ ~ r ~ Ferrero's Negro Army: A Civil War Story........ An African-Italian Restaurant A. Bartlett Giamatti: A personal remembrance .....The Bensonhurst Tragedy ~ Vol. 2 No.4 The Italic Way Fall, 1989 Letters .............. page 1,3 Focus (cover story) .... page 12 All'ltaliana ......... page 4 Perspectives .............. page 16,18 World Notes .....page 6 Project It alia ............... page 21 Editorial. ...........page 8 Media Madness ......... page 22, 23 Forum.............. page 9 Institute News ............page 24 Reviews ........... page 10 Profiles ...................... page 27 Letters Address all letters to: LETTERS. The Italic Way, PO Box 818, Floral Park. NY 11001 Offended zine on "Italiana" I have seen. Please and south Italy as geographic, exacer­ I take exception to Mr. Bastiano's continue in same, and don' lever become bated by historical factors. The fertile letter in the Summer edition, especially likeAttenzione, which sadly evolved into Po Valley and the gentle slopes of the his sentence "I do not think the majority a recipe book and tour guide. Tuscan Appennines gave birth to a gen­ of Americans of Italian descent need, I am American bom, and sometimes eration of peasants who were much want or give a damn about the ancient or queslion why I have this love affair with more affluent than their Southern immediate Italian culture." Italy, a land I have never seen, but upon counterparts. He has a right to express his opin­ reading your publication. my questions Of greater importance were !he rul­ ion, but I object to him speaking for the vanish and a great pride fills my heart, ers who governed the small Italian majority of Americans of Italian de­ making me, no doubt, a greater American states. While the SforL.as, the Vis· scent. I am a member of the Spanish ofltalian ancestry. countis, the Medicis, and the Venetian Lakes Italian American Club here in Floyd Vivino Republic were for the most parl benevo­ Florida with 150 members. I have (Uncle Floyd, radio show host) lent despots, the Papacy and the Spanish talked to many of them, and the over­ rulers of the south tried, for political whelming majority agree that they are Thank you for your wonderful reasons, to keep their subjects in the interested in their Italian ancestry, roots magazine. most abject poverly and, above all, and country. Many have traced their I had lost respect for my fellow Ital­ complete ignorance. Why blame the family tree back as far as possible. ians with the likes of our Mafia cohorts. northern indifference lO the south rather Perhaps Mr. Bastiano is ashamed of~ Reading your magazine gives me a lift than laying the blame on the real cul­ ancestors, but we are not. As far as and the knowledge about our famous and prits-absentee landlords and foreign social connections, I still write to rela­ talented Italians. rulers? tives in Italy. Peter S. De Pasque, Robert C. Melzi, Ph.D Frank R. Elarde, W. Orange, NJ Bala Cynwyd, PA Port St. Lucie, FL North vs. South (Ed. Dr.MelziistheauthoroftheBan­ tamNewCollegeltalian & English Dic­ In Praise I have read with a great deal of inter­ tionary. He was educated at the Uni­ Thank you for sending me The est your article "North vs. South" (Sum­ versity of Padua and the University of Italic Way. I cannot express in print mer, 1989). I would like to make a few Pennsylvania. how great I found your Spring 1989 observations and differ with you on a few In our article we were attempting to edition. It will be saved in my own points. focus in on attitudes rather than geo­ library for future readings. The history You seem to forget that most serious political causes. Certainly, those and culture offered in that edition are modem economic historians see the roots unequaled by any other current maga- fortheenonnouscleavage between north (continued on p. 3) ~~~~~F~ru~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TheltalicWay~~ 1 1 989 1 Asbestos abatement is like defusin a bomb. 990/o is 10 °/o wrong. Asbestos is danger­ site inspection ous stuff. When con­ and struction or repairs break consultation. into it, deadly asbestos dust Ogden Allied can explode into the air, begins every a little like a bomb. project with a com­ That's not a bad way to plete site inspec­ think of it. Because if you tion. 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However, we ended the • In our last issue we incorrectly identified Signora Pansa­ piece by recommending a change ofaltitude on the part ofboth reUa as the wife of vice consul Sebastiana. Che sbaglio! sides.) • In our Focus article (Italy's Enduring Myth: North vs New York: A Lesson in Italic Apathy South) we stated that the Sicilian Vespers rebellion was di­ rected against the Norman French occupiers. More correctly, With the defeat of Rudolph Giuliani in the New York City it was the Angevin French. mayoral race by a margin ofonly some 30,000 votes, the Italic community lost the opportunity of having one of its own presiding over the world's premier city. No doubt, the vast majority of Italian American voters opted for Rudy over his opponent David Dinkins, however, one must suspect voter apathy as one cause of so narrow a defeat Elsewhere in City government, a new study by the Colum­ bian Lawyers Association revealed that Italian Americans were in onlylO city management positions out of 354! It doesn't take much imagination to see what the ultimate cost of apathy is. Col. & Sra. Pansarella are seated together at the right. VIce Consul Sebastlano Is on the left. FUTURE ISSUES OF THE ITALIC WAY • SICILY- Italic from the start • IT ALlAN WIVES - Guess who's got one? • ITALIAN DEBT- What Italy owes Italian Americans • AFRICA -A part of Italic history • MUSSO LIN I -A two-parter with many surprises. '====F-all=-=================;;;;;;;;;; The Italic Way==: 1989 3 Alltltaliana because that cost a lot of money." AL DI LA (Beyond) True to their explorer's heritage, the Italians are reaching out to the infi­ nite void. They are assuming a bigger role in European Space Agency proj­ ects and working closely with NASA In addition to the recent deprivation experiment that isolated Italian scientist Stefania Follini deep within the Carlsbad Caverns, the Italian Space Agency announced the selection offour of Italy's finest astronauts by NASA: Franco Malerba, Franco Rossitto, Umberto Guidoni and Cristiano Batalli Cosmovici. Two members of this quar­ tet, Rossitto and Malerba, have been chosen for the 1991 Space Shuttle mis­ sion featuring the Tethered experiment In this project, originally designed by Italian scientist Emilio Columbo, a re­ ltallan "sea power" In the making. Once again, ttallan ships with Italian crews. search sateUite will be released on a 12- mile-long tether. By any stretch of the CHRIS COLUMBUS: meager 1% a year ro a stunning 22% a imagination, the mission will mark a FILM STAR year. Creamer International now has 80 noteworthy Italic milestone. By Jupi­ Look, up on the screen! It's a bird. people in London, 40 in France and 15 in ter! Galileo must be in his glory. It's a plane. No, it's Superman V and Italy. What's more, Ms. Farinelli was Christopher Columbus: The Movie. instrumental in attracting a number of AD-VENTURES Executive Producer Ilya Salkind of topflight accounts: Panasonic, Mon­ With spending for advertising to­ superhero celluloid fame is set to helm santo, and Dannon Yogurt Co. A self­ talling $5.2 billion in 1988, Italy leads both films on the new Disney/MGM confessed Type A personality, Jean Far­ all nations in Europe's sunbelt.