...Italian Culture in America John Smith Psych 105 Dr. Diop Spring, 2012 Italian Culture in America America is known to be the country where most people from outside immigrate to, not only bringing their families but also their traditions with them. “According to the 2000 U.S. Census, almost 16 million Italian Americans live in the United States” (Quagliata, 2011, p. 1). Most immigrants that come to America lose their heritage; however, that is not the case for the Italian culture. Not only did Italians incorporate a style of living in America, they also brought their traditions into the country as well. Some of the customs they brought with them include their food, their game of bocce ball, their religion, and their way of greeting one another. Italian Food When thinking of the Italian culture, the first thing that comes to mind is their food. Cinotto (2000) states, “Since food is a cultural artifact, imbued with meanings and values, the cross-cultural consumption of Italian cuisine is a significant marker of the way in which others see and imagine Italy and the Italians” (p. 1). Pasta, parmesan, and cannoli’s are probably the most popular and most known Italian foods. With the way many Americans fell in love with the Italian food, it soon became part of the American culture as well. The Italian immigrants brought over their historical foods and formed new eating habits for the Americans, and most of the Italian food was shaped in Little Italy where the...
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...Italian culture is part of me because my dad was born in Italy, and almost every single one of my relatives is born in Italy too. My dad was born in a small town outside of Foggia called, Volturino. Italians have many cultural practices like eating pizza and pasta, and playing soccer. My family relates to the Italian culture because we were born there, have Italian pictures on our walls, and speak Italian. It is exhilarating to learn about my family’s Italian culture, and what it is like in Italy. To begin, Italy is located in Europe, most people recognize it because it is shaped like a boot, it also has two islands called Sardinia and Sicily, and my family and I have been to both of those islands as well. Italy is also very mountainous and my dad’s town…Volturino is 2,500 feet above sea level. Italians are very strong in agriculture because when my family and I went to visit my uncle in Nola (the town right outside of Naples), they grow a lot of stuff like fruits, vegetables, and slotter chickens for chicken meat, as a matter a fact my family and I were walking down the street and there was fresh basil growing on the sides of the sidewalks. Italian people are very loud, outgoing, and energetic like me and my family, the article in the book called “Italy” it states, ”In his famous book, ‘the Italians’, Luigi Barzini describes the...
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...Probably the world's biggest melting pot when it comes to diversity among cultures. Within those cultures exists a endless list of different foods that have unique meanings and representations. Personally, I strongly identify as being an Italian-American. And being an Italian-American, I feel that I have some right to speak on behalf of the food that the Italians have shared with the rest of the world. Much like in American culture today, holidays like Christmas, Easter, or Thanksgiving, or any family get-together, is normally a family reunion, or at least a small scaled version of one. And at these mini-family reunions, normally the host/hosts take care of all the food that will be consumed throughout the day. For as long as I can...
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...Introduction Italian immigrants migrated into the US together with many of their Europeans neighbors. When they first came to US most of the migrants had a very hard life. Arriving in a new country, the Italian migrants mostly had very little money and had no idea of their new place apart from US being the land of opportunity. The lack of resources and contacts in the new country prompted many of these immigrants to settle down in the place the first set down. These immigrants came from various parts of Italy they were scattered all around the US. This paper will look at the common menu of those Italian migrants and look at how it has involved in the community that is now known as the Italian-American. This essay will mainly try to address the significant issues of the process of ethnic identity. This paper will argue that the role of family is very important in advocating ethnic identity. The influence of a very rigid and traditional family institution helped the Italian immigrants whom in the end were known as Italian American to maintain their identity. This is fascinating because despite undergoing changes from generations to generations their tradition is still very much alive and important to them. The paper will further argue this point by looking, the transmission of ethnic consciousness amongst the Italian American. Last but not least we will look at the maintenance of ethnic group boundaries and most importantly, the role of food in such process...
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...Introduction Italian immigrants migrated into the US together with many of their Europeans neighbors. When they first came to US most of the migrants had a very hard life. Arriving in a new country, the Italian migrants mostly had very little money and had no idea of their new place apart from US being the land of opportunity. The lack of resources and contacts in the new country prompted many of these immigrants to settle down in the place the first set down. These immigrants came from various parts of Italy they were scattered all around the US. This paper will look at the common menu of those Italian migrants and look at how it has involved in the community that is now known as the Italian-American. This essay will mainly try to address the significant issues of the process of ethnic identity. This paper will argue that the role of family is very important in advocating ethnic identity. The influence of a very rigid and traditional family institution helped the Italian immigrants whom in the end were known as Italian American to maintain their identity. This is fascinating because despite undergoing changes from generations to generations their tradition is still very much alive and important to them. The paper will further argue this point by looking, the transmission of ethnic consciousness amongst the Italian American. Last but not least we will look at the maintenance of ethnic group boundaries and most importantly, the role of food in such process. Overall...
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...As an Italian immigrant coming from Italy to America, I was not treated with the respect as the earlier generation before me (Drutchas, 2011). Furthermore, Americans seems to reverence the immigrants from the British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia better; they feel as though they have more to offer to the United States than the Italians (Drutchas, 2011). Also, the Americans feel as though I’m not capable of producing the same amount of work; and that I’m not as intelligent as those from Germany and the British Isles (Drutchas, 2011). Additionally, being from Italy, I’m not given the same opportunities as the immigrants from Scandinavia (Drutchas, 2011). In fact, because I’m from Italy the Americans put me in a lower category. They feel as though I’m incapable of assimilating to the United States standard of living (Drutchas, 2011). Most importantly, I’m hesitant about pledging my loyalty to a political organization, when they...
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...especially replying promptly to requests for price quotations and orders, are a prerequisite for exporting success. European business executives are usually more formal than their U.S. counterparts; therefore, it is best to refrain from using first names until a solid relationship has been formed. Italian business executives tend to use titles indicating their position in the firm. During the first stages of conducting business, it is best to let the prospective buyer take the lead since the U.S. approach of "getting down to business" may be considered abrupt. Avoid commenting on political events or making negative comments about the country. Some positive and sincere observations about the Italian culture, style, art, history, cuisine, or music are always appropriate. Friendship and mutual trust are highly valued, and, once an U.S. Exporter has established this relationship, a productive business association can usually be counted upon. Italian buyers appreciate style, quality, and service, but are also interested in delivered price. Care must be taken to assure that stated delivery dates are maintained and that after-sales service is promptly honored. Italians, and Europeans in general, expect that, after placing an order with a supplier, the delivery date be honored. While numerous factors may interfere with prompt shipment, the U.S. exporter must allow for additional shipping time and keep in close contact with the buyer....
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...huge influence on what people eat and the way they eat it. As a fourth generation Italian-American, my ethnic background has greatly influenced my view of food. While daily food choices still show a small persuasion of the Italian culture, it is the holiday season when the true influence is evident. While food is important aspect of any culture, I feel that this is truer of the Italian ethnicity, as it is commonly stereotyped. My great grandparents emigrated from different regions of Italy, primarily Sicily and Naples. Their families found each other in and around East Haven, Connecticut, the fourth most Italian-American community in the United States. As did scores of immigrants, they upheld many of their cultural behaviors while adopting the norms of American society. Food was an integral part of the transition. While food was a great way to connect with people of your own culture and of other cultures as well, the cost of living for many people of the time prevented them from enjoying all of the luxuries that we are now able to afford. “As immigrants from different regions of Italy settled in different regions of the United States and became ‘Italian-Americans,’ they brought with them diverse traditions of foods and recipes that were particularly identified with their regional origins in Italy and yet infused with the characteristics of their new home locale in America.” While my Italian heritage is somewhat evident in my daily food choices, special occasions are a...
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...comes to Italians media has played a huge role in the stereotyping and how it has changed so much in the last century. In this paper I will discuss how the perspectives of Italians started, how it has changes and what it is today. From my gathering the media from the beginning never portrayed Italians properly. In the beginning, Italians were supposed to be powerless, family-less materiel for nascent empire (Marche, S. 2010). The article mentioned a movie that I have never seen or even heard of and that could be because of my age. The movie "The Skyscrapers of New York," featured the misadventures of a brawling, thieving construction worker named Dago Pete (Marche, S. 2010). So in the beginning the Italians were not to be trusted and only liked to cause trouble. It was after this when the Italians decided that to be portrayed more properly they had to take control of the image that was put out for the rest of the people to see and this is when the “mafia” movies came about. I was raised watching the mafia movies I still enjoy them. However, I can see how media can make the stereotyping of a culture hard to understand. The mafia movies portrayed the Italian families as very powerful, even above the law, family centered, and very hot-blooded. I believe that the mafia movies not only caused an improper stereotyping of the Italian American, but also cause fear for those who lived amongst the Italian Americans. Although, most of the mafia movies were produced by Italians, I feel...
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...Italy is a country seeped in culture and a history that spanned thousands of years before it became a country. Italy was used for its location to aid with trade routes which made it a perfect route for invading armies. The Roman Empire in Italy was the first and last period of stability in Italy until 1861. It is located in southern Europe with 4 countries bordering it to the North and seas bordering it on the South, East, and West. Italy has multiple climates due to the mountain regions and the seas that surround it and yet still makes it an ideal tourist location. Italy has had a major impact on the world in regards to the arts, music, and culture. Its culture has been influenced by many different countries and is home to a wide variety...
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...Italy For this essay I am going to talk about Italy’s history and what I think makes Italy a great country for the culinary arts. The few things that I will be talking about are culture, ethnic foods, spice profiles, geography and topography. (Italy) (Italy) Geography – Italy is a little bit larger than Arizona, it is a long peninsula shaped like a boot it is surrounded on the West side by the Tyrrhenian Sea and on the East side by the Adriatic. It is surrounded by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the North. The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's spine; the Alps form its northern boundary. “The largest of its many northern lakes is Garda (143 sq mi; 370 sq km); the Po, its principal river, flows from the...
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...xxxxxxxxxxxx ETH/125 February 11, 2011 xxxxxxxxxxxx Although I am Italian American I do not know much about my heritage. This had been a delightful learning experience finding out where I am from, how my ancestor got here and why they came. I have always had interest in my heritage and finding out more about Italian American culture but have not had the time. I have been forced to find information and research about who I am and I could not be more delighted. Christopher Columbus and Giovanni da Verrazzano were the first Italians to come to the New World and make discoveries. Columbus did the majority of his discoveries in what is now known as South America in the 1490’s, while Verrazzano sailed to North America in the early 1500’s. He landed in present day North Carolina and ventured up the coast to New York, Cape Cod, Maine and Nova Scotia. Both of these men are recognized for their accomplishments through National Holidays, statues, landmarks, and artifacts displayed in museums. They both were trying to find a passage to the east to make it easier to get needed spices and supplies for their country, but found that there voyages were unsuccessful. They returned to their countries and told of their discoveries. They did not stay in the Americas and colonize because they were in look for something that they did not find, the east passage, and there intent was to return to their home land. (Meehan, T. 1912). Italians stayed in their country for quite some time after Columbus and...
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...Feasibility Study Milan Project Group 09 Lauran Beers Tim Denissen Joey Gillissen Carolin Quast Justine Roche Bryan Thijssen Avans School of International Studies 10th June, 2011 ------------------------------------------------- Executive Summary Oil & Vinegar is a chain of culinary gift shops that was founded in 1999 by Dutch entrepreneurs John Blogg and Femke Stevens. The concept has been praised for its unique retail formula and exclusive positioning. The brand has, since its establishment, expanded with 84 retail stores spread over twelve different countries using a master franchise business model. “Oil & Vinegar”, which is the actual and only brand of the company, offers a wide variety of products. All of them fall under one of the following categories: appetizers, herbs and spices, salads and dressings, oil and vinegar, pasta products, sweet food, biological products and gift sets. (ASIS-IBMS, General information O&V, 2011) The reason for writing this report is to research whether Oil & Vinegar is able to expand to Milan, Italy. Oil & Vinegar operates on the business-to-consumer food retail market where they are categorized as food specialists. The research will show whether the market is attractive or not. This report contains information about the four separate parts of feasibility, which are market-, product-, organizational-, and financial feasibility. From all parts together, a conclusion will be drawn...
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...What factors discouraged an early unification of Italy and how were these overcome? Before the year of 1848, the Italian faced a lot of difficulties to urge the unification movement. Until, 1848, the situation had been changed and directly contributed to the unification movement. After 1815 Italy was once again a mere geographical expression. Austria was to control a large part of Italy directly, that is, Lombardy and Venetia, and indirectly through the restored Bourbon Kings in some minor Italian states. Italian unification was once again frustrated ever the Risorgimento was quickly in advance. The explosion of Austrian power in Italy was the main problem which discouraged an early unification of Italy. Moreover, the general political atmosphere in Europe did not allow new concessions to Italian balance when the powers were concerned with maintaining the balance of power and to prevent the setting of French hegemony in Europe again. So a united Italy in 1815 would only mean French domination of Italy, so the powers generally accepted the settlement even though the 1815 settlement ignored the moral principles which first French Revolution and the Romanticism had unleashed in Europe. Even liberal powers like Britain and the mother of Revolution, France did not dare to take the risk of a war which may be caused if Italy was united and this might invite foreign intervention in the young Italy. So foreign aid was generally unavailable in the first generation of the nineteenth...
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...Elliot Shimonov An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio Giovani Bellini is a widely known painter of Venetian descent whose work is fundamental in the understanding of the Venetian High Renaissance. His works were inspired by social and political elements which was atypical of the Renaissance culture. However, the Venetian Renaissance came later than the Florentine or Roman Renaissance and by the time of its assumption, studies of sciences such as astronomy, dynamism of the universe, and navigation made Venetians question the nature of everything around them, referring to history for answers. Accordingly, artists focused on the nature of color and other observable natural occurrences, whereas the Florentine and Romans focused on the composition and geometry of that which they depict. Bellini’s 1506 painting An Episode from the Life of Publius Cornelius Scipio is no exception to the Venetian trend; it is nature-inspired and though-provoking, depicting the Roman General Publius Cornelius Scipio and his men gathering hostages after a victory in Carthage. The artwork functioned as a work for a private patron who wanted to honor his old ancestor. The Patron was of Roman descent and it is likely he may have been related to Scipio. Furthermore, Venetians were known to adhere to the past in order to further humanist learning, which suggests that the painting might have also functioned to provoke learning. The text to Scipio’s right, translates to: “To exact love is more...
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