Aspects of Italian and American History is an enrichment course especially designed for students in Italian language and culture classes, and in history courses on Italy, Europe and America. It can be easily integrated into classroom activities and used for independent assignments. Because of its interactivity and friendly design, the course can also be used in libraries as well as in the home by adults wishing to gain information about the Italian American heritage.

This interactive course offers an analysis of several Neapolitan songs popular with immigrants, and shows how these songs gave them an Italian identity.

This interactive course offers a retrospective on the poetry of Adolfo Caso and a presentation of some of his more poignant photographs. Adolfo is bilingual and writes in English and in Italian. When it comes to photography, however, his eye becomes the sole and universal language.

This interactive course presents the history of Jewish living in Italy since the time of the Roman Empire to the present day. In Rome, Jewish have maintained a continuous active presence from before Christ to the present day.

Mainly due to military secrecy, the story of the Italian frogmen has not been told to its fullest. Thanks to Bill Schofield and P. J. Carisella, this history is now rescued. The Italian frogmen invented the art of underwater warfare to a level of efficiency unequaled in naval history. In World War II, those frogmen caused the shift of power away from the Allies to the Germans. As single units or in units of two or four, the frogmen sank military transport ships and battleships alike. The Italian Navy created its secret Decima MAS—the Tenth Light Flotilla, with Prince Valerio Borghese its commander. These frogmen were a bane to the Allied navy, especially the English. “They struck at midnight. They struck at dawn. They blasted trails of destruction from Cadiz to Crete, from Alexandria to Gibraltar, leaving in their wake sunken hulls and twisted wreckage of dozens of ships, from battlewagons to submarines, from tankers to cruisers and battleships.” In World War I, by decimating Austria’s warships, the frogmen brought about the end to that war. Today, America’s SEALs are carrying on in the tradition of the Italian frogmen.

In this interactive course, Professor Buscemi traces the Island’s literary tradition, from the time of Greeks and Romans to those of the Muslims, Swabians, Spanish, French and finally the Italians. Although it is replete with examples from these conquering people, the literature reveals that, in the end, the conquerors were conquered by the Island itself. Few people know that in the Royal Court of Palermo, the Italian language–standardized on the Island–was first used by poets, philosophers and historians at large. Indeed, Sicily is the birthplace of Italian literature. The Sicilians invented the sonnet, and they influenced Dante. What’s more they produced a literature that even in modern times continues to flower, producing the masterworks of naturalism written in the late 19th century by Capuana, de Roberto, and Verga, and culminating in writings of two Nobel prize winners, Pirandello and Quasimodo, as well as in those of Lampedusa, Sciascia, Vittorini, Brancati, and others.

With its rich history and cultural influence, Sicily stands as one of the most compelling stories of the Mediterranean. Join Santi Buscemi as he unfolds The History of Sicily.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.

This interactive course is designed to present modern Italian language and grammar for any one wishing to learn how to speak it and how to write it.