Italian-American Herald - June 2023

Museum creators bring a vision to life on Passyunk Avenue
By Ken Mammarella
The History of Italian Immigration Museum HIIM is in South Philadelphia, but its perspective is global.
“It isn’t about South Philadelphia,” Michael Bonasera, its chairman and curator, said in an interview along with his wife, Wanda, who helped create the museum in 2014. “It isn’t about Philadelphia. It isn’t about America. It’s about immigration.”
And it’s Italian immigration. “The only other culture that I know that has that sense of pride is the Irish,” he said. “ ‘Italian roots and American dreams’ is the museum tagline.”
One of the more worldly items among its hundreds of artifacts is a photo of a South American department store with signage
in Italian, donated by a California library. The museum welcomes gifts of artifacts (“Michael always says ‘yes,’ ” Wanda said) and monetary gifts as well.
The museum rents two floors of a
See MUSEUM - page 7
More than museums and monuments
Colorful festivals, parades and concerts celebrate Italy’s history and culture each June
ENTERTAINMENT
Walk of Fame honor for radio personality John DeBella
PAGE 11
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JUNE 2023
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Battle of the Bridge in Pisa from an 18th century French rendition.
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
June is a great month to visit Italy. It
is the high season and the country will
be crowded with Italian and international visitors, but it is not normally as hot as
July and August. For those who want to experience the history and culture beyond visiting monuments and museums, Italy has a long list of events for all to enjoy. June is an important month for Italians and is
sometimes referred to as the “Mese della Libertà” (Liberation Month).
On June 2 Italians will celebrate la Festa della Repubblica. On that date
in 1946, Italian citizens voted with a national referendum to choose a republic government over a monarchy. The referendum also included the right for women to vote. Almost 54 percent of Italians chose a republic government.
Concerts, festivals, and parades take
place across the country, but the largest celebration is in Rome, the seat of the Italian government.
The city celebrates the day with a huge parade in the morning which takes place along the Via Dei Fori Imperiali. This impressive thoroughfare runs from Piazza Venezia to the Colosseum. A military parade takes place along the Via dei Fori Imperiali
See JUNE - page 4
“Dwell Here and Prosper,” the debut novel by Delaware County native Chris Eagle
Novel about father’s ordeal brims with Philly memories
By Al Kemp
“Dwell Here and Prosper,” the debut novel by Delaware County native Chris Eagle, takes readers back to the Philadelphia suburbs of the 1990s while painting an unflinching portrait of the harrowing reality of the world of privatized eldercare.
late father Dick Eagle kept while moving between four different nursing homes (which shall remain nameless) in and around Delaware County.
Echoes of Ken Kesey’s seminal work “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” are
The book was inspired by the diaries his
See ‘DWELL HERE’ - page 8
Vol. 10 / No. 6