San Antonio College Library

For centuries, social life in rural Tuscany has centered around the veglia, an evening gathering of family and friends at the hearth. Folklore by the Fireside is a thorough and insightful study of this custom from the tales, riddles, lullabies, and folk prayers performed as the small children are put to bed to the courtship songs and dances later in the evening to the anti- veglia male gossip, card games, and protest songs originating in the tavern....

Fourteen-year-old Veronica lives on a farm south of Naples, Italy, where her family raises sheep. Watch them make sheep's milk cheese and deliver it to customers. Luigi, age 10, lives in Olevano sul Tusciano in a building that also houses his family's olive oil business. Learn how the oil is pressed, and watch the family make pizzas for a big family dinner.

"Jerre Mangione (Mar. 20, 1909 - Aug. 16, 1998) was an American writer and scholar of the Italian-American experience. He was a graduate of Syracuse University and of the Federal Writers' Project. He was a professor of literature at the University of Pennsylvania from 1961 until his retirement in 1978...Jerre's brother, Frank "Papa" Mangione (July, 1910 - August, 2001) is the father of musicians Chuck Mangione and Gap Mangione."--Wikipedia.

It was to Lucania, a desolate land in southern Italy, that Carlo Levi, a doctor, painter, philosopher, and man of letters, was confined as a political prisoner because of his opposition to Italy's Fascist government at the start of the Ethiopian war in 1935. While there, Levi reflected on the harsh landscape and its inhabitants, peasants who lived the same lives their ancestors had, constantly fearing black magic and the near presence of death. In...

An Italian travelogue describes the trains that traverse the country, from the architecture of old train stations to the new high-speed railways, and portrays the author's memorable encounters along the way, exploring how trains helped build Italy and how their development Italians' sense of themselves.

Danyal and Buki, both 10 years old, live in Rome. In this program, they visit some of their favorite places in the city, introducing viewers to many of their friends and activities. The children speak Italian to each other and to the camera, helping to illustrate the meanings and usages of many Italian words, phrases, and expressions. Made up of eight instructive and entertaining stories, the video is a great learning tool that mixes fun, facts, and...

A tale about the fate of those exiled from their houses, relatives, and roots; about the violence of nature and war; and about the strength of women compelled by injustice to defend their children's futures.