Page 7 - Italina-American Herald - January 2025

ITALIAN-AMERICAN HERALD
JANUARY 2025 | ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM 7
ACHIEVER"
 Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; we must do."
—Leonardo da Vinci
Sassone: This man of stone
has a busy, restless mind
and a humble, giving heart
Continued from front page
labor. It will destroy your body.” He’s a tough
guy, a one-time southpaw middleweight
boxer who has survived being beaten,
stabbed and shot. His stocky build, with large
hands and big arms, masks the aches and
pains he feels.
He praised stonemasons for their ability
to build a home from top to bottom – with
stone, bricks and blocks, plus plaster and
paint – and their appreciation for the beauty
and texture of stone that define classic
architecture and upscale homes.
Sassone Masonry operates in five states:
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York
and Pennsylvania. Recent construction and
repairs on public structures include three
stone piers in the elephant habitat at the
Philadelphia Zoo, a wall on Philadelphia’s
boathouse row, dormitories at Villanova
University and Wilmington’s iconic Rockford
Tower.
Sassone grew up in North Wilmington
and dreams of buying back his grandmother’s
home, a memorable Victorian on Shipley
Road with an exterior fit for “The Addams
Family” and a basement reminiscent of a
speakeasy, according to the $1 million listing
in the summer of 2024. He remembers it as
a large landholding, with horses, ponies and
chickens, and he’s halfway through writing
a family memoir titled “Whispers Down
Shipley Road and My Broken Dreams.”
He also dreams of moving to South
Philadelphia, to be nearer to Bryan and his
daughter Lauren. He inherited a house in
Abruzzo but doesn’t use it. “I’m afraid to
leave,” he said. “My heart is here.”
Sassone was brought up Catholic but is
converting to Judaism, partly inspired by
Lauren and partly inspired by something his
father once said: “Italians are the best in the
world, son, but stick with the Jewish people,
because they help each other proceed in life.”
“My father liked to make people laugh,
and he got it from his mother, and that’s
where I get it from,” he said, breaking out
into a medley from “Fiddler on the Roof,” the
classic Jewish musical.
After joking that he’s related to every
Italian in the construction business, he name-
dropped a few unrelated people who have
helped him proceed in life. Like Leonard
Francis Iacono, of Daisy Construction.
“He inspires me, and he’s like the father
I never had.” Dario Testardi, of Testardi
and Son Stonemasons. They share a site in
Wilmington to store equipment. “He’s my
best friend, a family man and an angel.”
Kevin Cassidy of Cassidy Plastering. “He’s my
No. 1 plaster man, and he’s my adopted Irish
brother.” Robert Kreston, of Kreston Wine &
Spirits, another adopted brother.
Sassone also pays it forward, driving
multiple people to the hospital in the middle
of the night, “adopting some through my
heart” and helping others with his “giving
personality.” “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do
for anybody, from the bottom of my heart.
I’m very humble and giving.”
Sassone’s pinballing personality – one
night, in a Rittenhouse Square restaurant, he
was told to “bring it down from a 12 to a 1”
– contrasts with his sensitivity. He’s widowed
and wants a wife and a family. “I love taking
care of people,” he said.
For example, he loves to cook for others
and is known for his pizza and his spaghetti
and meatballs. The sauce takes three days,
starting with cooking and peeling the
tomatoes; the meatballs are based on ground
filet mignon, with a long list of supporting
ingredients that might include pork, veal,
chicken, ricotta and parmesan; and the
meatballs and baked, sauteed and then
simmered.
“It’s a big process,” he said. “But it’s the
love and what you put into it.” IAH
Giovanni Sassone with some of his great-grandfather’s tools. | PHOTO BY KEN MAMMARELLA
He loves to cook for others
and is known for his spaghetti
and meatballs. It’s a three-day
process that starts with
peeling the tomatoes.
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