Episode Details

A.)Italics attends the reception celebrating Distinguished Professor Peter Carravetta on his recent appointment as the first holder of the Alphonse M. D'Amato Endowed Chair of Italian and Italian American Studies at Stony Brook University. Professor Anthony Tamburri asks Professor Carravetta about the legacy of his appointment, his plans for the programs at Stony Brook, and the future of Italian and Italian American studies in the United States.
 
B.) Italics Correspondent Lucia Grillo joins the National Organization of Italian American Women as they celebrate Italian American Families and Mother's Day at their Annual Gala Luncheon. NOIAW Honored both Rachel Ray, Chef and Host of TV program The Rachel Ray Show and her Mother, Elsa Scuderi, a succesful Restaurateur and Entrepreneur in her own right, at Chelsea piers in Manhattan.

C.) June 2nd, is Italian National Day or Festa Della Repubblica, the date of the annual celebration of the creation of the modern Italian Republic. On June 4nd, 1946, some sixty-two years ago, literally from the ashes of the massive destruction from World War Two, the modern Italian democratic Republic was formed. Consul General Francesco Maria Talo was the host of an offical celebration, Festa della Repubblica, at Cipriani's Wall Street. The Consul General arrived in true italian fashion by Vespa Motor scooter,perfect for New York City. His Excellency Giovanni Castellaneta, Italian Ambassador to the US, was the special guest of the evening. Italics Correspondent Lucia Grillo Reports from Wall Sreet in Lower Manhattan.
   D.) A Tribute to Rudolph J. Vecoli (1927-2008), The Late Professor and Historian of the Italian and Italian American Experience. Professor Vecoli passed away on June 17, 2008. Professor Tamburri offers this Tribute.
 
6.) AJT (A.Tamburri/Host), LG (L.Grillo/Correspondent), Hon. Francesco Maria Talo (Consul Gen. of Italy to NY), Comm. Aileen Riotto Sirey (Founder & Chair/ NOAIW), Carol Salvagni Macleod (President/NOIAW),Matilda Raffa Cuomo (Frmr First Lady NYS/Mentoring USA), Donna DeMatteo (Founder & Scholarship Comm./NOIAW), Hon. Geraldine A. Ferraro (Fmr. US Congresswoman), Rene Taylor (Actress), Joe Bologna (Actor), Rachel Ray (Chef & TV Personality), Elsa Scuderi (Mother of Rachel Ray/Restaurateur), Roseanne Colletti (Correspondent, WNBC), Distinguished Professor Peter Carravetta (Alphonse M. D'Amato Endowed Chair of Italian and Italian American Studies/SUNY/Stony Brook),
Dr. Mario B. Mignone ( Director/Italian Studies Program/SUNY Stony Brook), Hon. Francesco Maria Talo(Consul General of Italy to NY), Melba Ruffo(italian TV Host), Renato Miracco (Director/Italian Culural Inst/NY), H.E. Giovanni Castellaneta (Italian Ambassador to the US), Hon. Dominic A. Massaro (NYS Supreme Court Justice), Stella Levi (Centro Primo Levi), Silvania Mangione (Vice President CGIA), 
Riccardo Strano (Dir./Italian Gov't. Tourist Board ENIT), Paolo Cocchi (Regional Commissioner of Cultural Affairs/Tuscany), Peter Gelb-Puccini Award Recipient(Dir./Metropolitan Opera Co.NYC) ,Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi (heir to Guiseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa & Frmr. Dir./Italian Cultural Inst/NYC). Carlo Barricelli-Tenor, The Late Professor Rudolph J. Vecoli, The Late Distinguished Professor Philip V. Cannistraro.

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