Italian-American Herald - July 2023

ITALIAN FESTIVALS
Photo galleries capture the vibe of the season
PAGE 13-15
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Frank Biondi, who changed Delaware’s business landscape, dies at age 90
By Larry Nagengast
O. Francis Biondi, whose behind-the- scenes service to Democratic and Republican governors brought him unofficial designation as Delaware’s prime minister, lived his 90 years to the fullest.
Biondi, who died of a heart attack May
30 at his second home in Jupiter, Fla., rose to prominence in the 1960s as Wilmington’s city solicitor, where he wrote landmark legislation modernizing city government and helped guide the city back to normalcy during a nine-month occupation by the Delaware National Guard following rioting prompted by the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April 1968.
But Biondi’s most significant achievement in a career filled with accomplishments was writing and smoothing the path to passage of the 1981 Financial Center Development
See BIONDI - page 3
The flow of the past
Italy’s many water fountains are gorgeous and often functional
The world famous Trevi Fountain still uses a 19th-century aqueduct to provide its water supply.
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was built by Baroque architect Nicolo Salvi and construction began in 1732. Salvi died midway through the construction, and it was eventually finished in 1752 by Giuseppe Pannini.
The design was planned around the theme “taming of the waters,” and the fountain features three main figures in the Trevi Fountain: Oceanus, Abundance,
See FOUNTAINS - page 4
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
Italy’s fountains are as varied as stunning works of art or as simple as a central focus of a small piazza. There are thousands of them across the country in addition to simple drinking fountains which are unique as well for their design and function. The larger and more ornate ones all have historical and cultural meaning in their design.
Of course, one of the most recognizable
around the world is the Fontana di Trevi (Trevi Fountain) in Rome, which is situated in the heart of the city, at the meeting point of three ancient streets: Via de Crocicchis, Via Poli and Via delle Muratte. If you approach from a side street, you will not see the fountain until you come out into Piazza Trevi but you will hear it as you get close. The fountain is built against the facade of the front of Palazzo Poli, a 17th-century building named after the Duke of Poli. It
Busy concertmaster/violinist balances life in Philadelphia and Italy
By Ken Mammarella
Lorenzo Mazzamuto just started the hardest job at an orchestra, one that will also require balancing life in Philadelphia and in Italy. And he’s thrilled for the challenge.
He debuted in April as the concertmaster Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily,
beating out numerous other applicants. “The concertmaster is the most difficult job in the orchestra,” he explained. “You’re
the link between the conductor and the entire orchestra. You have to have the right personality and people skills.” And commitment. And energy. “The job doesn’t end. It’s always something.”
And when a concert ends, he feels a sense of accomplishment, happiness and elation. “To be on stage is like a drug,” he said.
Mazzamuto comes from a family of classical musicians. His mother is a cellist
See MAZZAMUTO - page 11
Vol. 10 / No. 7