In this episode of the Italian American Podcast, Dr. Maria Giura, acclaimed poet and memoirist, joins Marianne and Patrick for an intimate conversation centered on her new poetry collection, If We Still Lived Where I Was Born. Reading selected poems aloud, she evokes childhood memories above her family's Brooklyn pastry shop and the rituals of Sunday gatherings that shaped her imagination.

The discussion moves beyond nostalgia to the delicate art of writing about family while respecting privacy. Dr. Giura reflects on the weight of Italian American cultural expectations, the instinct to "keep things in the family," and the resolve required to tell one's story with honesty. She also speaks about the guidance of her mentor, poet Maria Masiotti Gillin, and the particular challenges and rewards of working as both memoirist and poet within a close-knit community.

At its heart, the conversation considers the universal tension between loyalty and self-expression. Through memory, tradition, and careful craft, Dr. Giura demonstrates how personal history can be transformed into art that resonates across generations and cultures.

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Maria Giura PhD, Poet, Author, Workshop Leader

HER SOCIALS:

Instagram: @mariagiurawrites

Facebook: maria.giura.3975/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mgiura/

HER WEBSITE: Website: https://www.mariagiura.com/

HER EVENTS COMING UP:

Monday, February 23, 6:30 pm: Co-featuring with poet Linda Kleinbub. Phoenix Poetry Series, Shades of Green Pub, 125 E. 15th Street, New York, NY. See socials below.

Wednesday, March 25, 6:30 pm. Reading, Big Red Books, Nyack, NY https://www.bigredbooks.net/events/3930820260325

Thursday, May 14, 6 pm. Co-featuring. Italian American Writers Association @ Calandra Italian American Institute, 25 W 43rd St Suite 1700, New York, NY https://iawa.net/events/

SOCIALS FOR THE EVENTS SEE BELOW:

Feb 23 Event: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076398760395 AND https://www.instagram.com/the_phoenix_reading_series/ https://www.instagram.com/the_phoenix_reading_series/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/lindakleinbub AND https://www.instagram.com/lindakleinbub/

March 25 Event: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100092635875093 AND https://www.instagram.com/bigredbooks/ May 14 Event: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071063499667 AND https://www.instagram.com/italianamericanwritersassoc/

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

Marianna Gatto

SPECIAL GUEST:

Maria Giura

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

On this episode of the Italian American Podcast, host Patrick O'Boyle convenes a distinguished panel at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York to explore the often-overlooked world of Neapolitan Renaissance art. Claudio, the Institute's director, outlines its mission to promote Italian culture across New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, strengthening ties between Italy and the Italian American community. Patrick shares the story of restoring forgotten masterpieces in Buccino, Salerno—an initiative sparked by an unexpected American connection and dedicated to reviving sacred works of art.

The discussion turns to innovation in preservation. Ivan describes how virtual reality and artificial intelligence are expanding access to cultural heritage, including the creation of digital twins of the Annunciation statues damaged in the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. These tools allow audiences to follow the restoration process step by step, illustrating how collaboration between Italian and American institutions can protect historic treasures.

Art historian Danielle Oteri offers a perspective on the Neapolitan Renaissance's neglected legacy, recalling how aristocratic patrons once commissioned major works for rural churches, bringing artistic excellence to everyday communities. Reflecting on emigration, loss, and renewal, the episode underscores how the Italian diaspora can help restore ancestral towns, making the past not only remembered but rebuilt.

LOCATION: Italian Cultural Institute, 686 Park Avenue, New York, NY.

THEIR SOCIALS:

Antonio Vincente Amendola

Instagram: @antoniovicenteamendola

Danielle Oteri

Her Website: https://www.feasttravel.com/

Instagram: @danielleoteri_italy

Youtube: @danielle-oteri

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

Danielle Oteri

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Antonio Vincente Amdenola

Claudio Pagliara

Ivan Allevi

PRODUCED BY: Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

In part 2 of episode 404, the conversation widens beyond personal history into the ethical, health, and cultural implications of plant-based Italian American cooking. Tara Punzone and the crew discuss industrial farming, ingredient integrity, and how modern food systems have altered both taste and tradition.

The episode touches on heritage-grain pasta, the role of quality olive oil and vegetables, and the generational shift toward more conscious eating—especially among younger Italian Americans reexamining what authenticity really means. Rather than nostalgia alone, the focus is on continuity: how tradition survives by adapting.

Thoughtful, funny, and candid, part 2 explores how Italian American cuisine can evolve responsibly—honoring its roots while responding to contemporary concerns—without losing its soul.

HER CREDENTIALS:

Tara Punzone

Author Vegana Italiana

Chef & Owner of Pura Vita

www.puravitalosangeles.com

HER SOCIALS:

Instagrams:

@cheftarapunzone

@puravita_la

ORDER HER BOOK VEGANA ITALIANA :

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

John Viola

Marcella Martin

SPECIAL GUEST:

Tara Punzone

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

In this episode of the Italian American Podcast, the crew explores the intersection of Italian American heritage and vegan cuisine with Tara Punzone, chef, author, and the force behind Pura Vita, Los Angeles' first 100% vegan Italian restaurant and wine bar.

The conversation blends family history, cultural memory, and the challenge of preserving tradition while removing animal products from classic dishes. Punzone reflects on her path to veganism, shaped by an early empathy for animals and a childhood spent in a family of devoted home cooks.

Rather than rejecting Italian foodways, she reframes them, pointing out how much traditional Italian cuisine is naturally plant-based—born of frugality, seasonality, and vegetable-forward regional cooking long before modern food labels existed.

HER CREDENTIALS:

Tara Punzone Author Vegana Italiana Chef & Owner of Pura Vita www.puravitalosangeles.com

HER SOCIALS:

Instagrams:

@cheftarapunzone

@puravita_la

ORDER HER BOOK VEGANA ITALIANA :

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/769027/vegana-italiana-by-tara-punzone-with-gene-stone/

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

John Viola

Marcella Martin

SPECIAL GUEST:

Tara Punzone

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

In this episode of the Italian American Podcast, Patrick, Mariana, and Marcella are joined by guest Umberto Mucci for a live conversation recorded at IAFL4 (Italian American Future Leaders 4), a national gathering of young Italian Americans. The discussion explores cultural identity, community building, leadership, nostalgia, and what it means to belong across generations and borders.

The conversation deepens as the group addresses longstanding tensions between Italians in Italy and their American descendants. Drawing on his experience on both sides of the Atlantic, Mucci offers a candid perspective on why Italian American pride can sometimes meet resistance in Italy, and how history, perception, and unresolved misunderstandings continue to shape those dynamics. The episode also previews a forthcoming podcast spinoff aimed at bridging that divide, featuring Italian journalists reporting from the United States for audiences in Italy.

Balancing humor with intellectual seriousness, the hosts dismantle stereotypes, share family stories, and respond directly to online critics. The result is an honest, engaging dialogue—and a call for greater empathy between communities bound by shared history, memory, and culture on both sides of the ocean.

THEIR SOCIALS:

UMBERTO-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/umberto.mucci/

Instagram: umbertomucci

MARIANNA-

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LAmarianna.gatto/

Instagram: @gattolosangeles

Website: https://www.iamla.org/staff/staff-marianna-gatto/

MARCELLA-

Instagram: Marcella_martinphd

Website: https://www.marcellamartin.com/

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

Marianna Gatto

Marcella Martin

SPECIAL GUEST:

Umberto Mucci

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

In this episode of the Italian American Podcast, hosts John, Patrick, and Mariana welcome pipe enthusiast and business owner Michael Curcio for a lively conversation on Italian heritage, craftsmanship, and the quiet rituals that bind generations. What begins with pipe smoking opens into a broader exploration of restoration, bespoke artistry, and the unexpected revival of Italian pipe culture—where utility, beauty, and memory converge.

The discussion moves easily between humor and reflection, touching on immigrant family histories, old-world habits carried into modern life, and the meaning embedded in everyday objects. From Curcio's ancestors arriving in Harlem to stories of homemade wine, copper pots, ashtrays, and pipe clubs, the episode reveals how ordinary items become vessels of identity and continuity. Mariana adds personal texture with candid reflections on motherhood and domestic life, grounding tradition in the present.

Warm, thoughtful, and often funny, this episode explores how heritage is kept alive not by nostalgia alone, but by everyday use, care, and shared experience. Italian pipes emerge not as mere accessories, but as enduring symbols of community, craftsmanship, and legacy.

HOSTS:

Patrick O'Boyle

Dolores Alfieri Taranto

SPECIAL GUEST:

Michael Curcio

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, John and Pat welcome Erma Camporese —the self-styled "Queen of Graham Avenue" and "Love Doctor"—for a wide-ranging conversation steeped in neighborhood humor, inherited customs, and the unmistakable rhythm of Italian American life. What begins with tenants, cash rent, and "favorite tenant status" quickly becomes a vivid portrait of how close-knit communities transmit culture through stories, sayings, and shared memory.

Erma explores the world of malocchio as she learned it from her mother—its gestures, warnings, and protective rituals—arguing that the "evil eye" is more than superstition, with roots in Southern Italy and Eastern Christian tradition. Told with warmth and wit, these stories balance laughter with a serious respect for practices often misunderstood or dismissed.

The conversation then turns to Italian American mourning culture: "doom patrol" phone trees, funeral flower hierarchies, chapel politics, and ritual phrases like "she looks like she's sleeping." Along the way, Irma reflects on how her corner-of-the-neighborhood presence evolved into matchmaking and advice-giving, and why being the "Love Doctor" is ultimately about tending to souls, not just romance.

HER SOCIALS

Instagram: @ermacamporese

TikTok: @ermacamporese

HOSTS:

John Viola

Patrick O'Boyle

SPECIAL GUEST:

Erma Camporese

PRODUCED BY: Nicholas Calvello-Macchia

This holiday episode finds hosts John Viola, Patrick O' Boyle, Dr. Marcella Martin welcoming "La Befana" for a funny, warm conversation about the Epiphany gift-giver and Italian holiday traditions. The banter centers on coal, "naughty lists," and the idea that Befana—not Santa—was historically the one who brought gifts in many Italian homes.

Befana explains her roots in older seasonal and pagan imagery—sweeping out the old year and welcoming renewal—later blended with the Christian Epiphany story of the Magi on January 6. John and the gang touch on the liturgical calendar, modest stocking traditions of tangerines, sweets, and "sugar coal," and the Italian notion of bella figura as respect and preparedness rather than mere fashion.

The episode turns hands-on as Befana makes pasta, shares regional lore from Puglia and Sardinia, and swaps gifts with the hosts. It closes with a call for Italian Americans to keep their language and traditions alive through family rituals, children's activities, and community—using Befana as a joyful way to carry culture forward.

HOSTS:

John Viola

Patrick O'Boyle

Dr. Marcella Martin

SPECIAL GUEST:

La Befana (Viviana Altieri)

PRODUCED BY:

Nicholas Calvello-Macchia