More than one hundred years ago, a group of Italian immigrants arrived in what is now known as the “Bunker Hill” section of Dunmore, Lackawanna County. These immigrants came from the small Southern Italian town of Guardia Lombardi, located east of the city of Naples in the Province of Avellino, and with them they brought…
Tag: Guardia Lombardi
In Their Own Words
For many people, just to hear the voice of a loved one again is worth more than gold itself. When historian and author Anthony V. Riccio set out to record Italian immigrant stories in Boston’s North End nearly 40 years ago, he did not know that these voices would one day prove to be that…
The Voice of My Past
Every October, the more than 15.7 million Americans of Italian descent celebrate National Italian American Heritage Month. For every single one of those Italian Americans, there is a story as to why they are proud of their heritage and what their ethnic origins mean to them. I’m no different from my Italian American brothers and…
90 Seconds: An Interview with Giuseppe Rossi
Ninety seconds on November 23, 1980 split Irpinia into a “before” and an “after.” Now, 40 years later, documentary film maker Giuseppe Rossi is commemorating that life-changing event in a newly-released documentary. Rossi, who is originally from Guardia Lombardi (AV), has been passionate about films and cartoons since his youth. While in high school, he…
The Languages of Campania
COVID-19 lockdown for those of us in the United States meant that pre-planned trips to Italy had to be postponed, collectively breaking the hearts of many Italian Americans who live for their summer trips back to their ancestral lands. While the lockdown, now slowly lifting, was difficult for many, for others it provided a time…
Saint Rocco: A Saint for These Times
During these times of COVID-19, many people are turning to Saint Rocco for protection. He is one of the most venerated saints in Irpinia— a quarter of the towns in the Province of Avellino have some sort of devotion to him. But who is Saint Rocco? Saint Rocco protects against the plague, disability, and natural…
A Song for Guardia
Sometimes music is the best way to express a feeling– such is the case with the song “Uardia mia bella” (“My Beautiful Guardia”) by Emanuela Sica, which pays homage to the town of Guardia Lombardi by recounting how it came to have two patron saints and encouraging people to remember their roots. This song was…
Irpinia Comes Together Over Coronavirus
It’s a simple, yet profound, image that has been widely shared on social media outlets throughout Irpinia. Don Rino Morra, pastor of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Morra De Sanctis (AV), is seen consecrating a host during a Mass on Friday, March 13, yet he is the only one in the church, his solitary…
Italian American Responses to the 1980 Irpinia Earthquake
My mother was pregnant with me on November 23, 1980. By this time, my Nonno Joe had been dead for seven, going on eight, years. She remembers hearing the news that an earthquake hit Italy, but did not put two and two together that the quake had hit her father’s home region. The 1980 Irpinia…
‘Crystel’ Blue Persuasion
A young director originally from Guardia Lombardi has taken the cinematic world by storm with his latest short film. Giuseppe Rossi’s 2018 work, “Blue Crystel,” tells the story of Crystel, who lives in a science-fiction world populated mostly by women. Crystel must find the legendary Blue Crystal in order to break the curse on men…
Irpinia Stories 