Italian-American Herald - March 2023

World says farewell to Gina Lollobrigida, ‘Queen of Rome’
Italian-American Herald
Italian screen legend Gina Lollobrigida, who illuminated the world stage in the 1950s and 1960s, and who was dubbed “the most beautiful woman in the world,” died Jan. 16 at age 95.
“Lollo,” as she was affectionately nicknamed by Italians, appeared on a 1954 cover of Time magazine, which likened her a “a goddess” in an article about Italian movies.
“More than a half-century later,” reported the Associated Press in its obituary, “Lollobrigida still turned heads with her brown, curly hair and statuesque figure, and preferred to be called an actress instead of the gender-neutral term actor.”
See LOLLO - page 6
Sheep and goats cross the Via Appia as they would have when the road was first built.
ADOBESTOCK.COM
importance. The first major Roman road, the Via Appia or Appian Way, was built in 312 B.C. between republican Rome and its allies in Capua. The Romans also referred to the road as the Regina Viarum or “Queen of Roads.” We would consider this a major highway in today’s world because it went directly to the next large city and did not pass by smaller villages or towns.
See ROMAN ROADS - page 4
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH Achievements
by Italian women, 1850 to present
3
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MARCH 2023
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A MONTHLY NEWSPAPER SERVING THE ITALIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY WWW.ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM All roads lead to Rome
The ingenuity of Roman road construction endures today
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
Can you imagine still using roads that were built centuries ago? Can you imagine the changes they brought about in society and the magnitude of their construction?
The roads of ancient Rome, named viae Romanae in Latin, were first constructed around 300 B.C. to connect and consolidate the Roman Republic and the expanding Roman empire. They provided efficient
means for the overland movement of the Roman military, officials, civilians, and to send official communications and to trade goods.
The Romans built their roads over established routes but also created many new ones. Engineers planned the routes to run in as direct a line as possible regardless of geographical obstacles and costs. A number of these roads became famous and are still recognized today for their
Manufacturing exec speaks several languages, including language of food
By Ken Mammarella
In a three-day visit back to Italy over Christmas, Fabio Vitali devoted several hours buying 130 pounds of his favorite cookies, cheeses, carbs and wines to bring home at maybe half the price he would pay in the U.S.
Vitali, a native of Milan now living in
Philadelphia’s East Mount Airy neighborhood, believes that “food connects all Italians. It’s not the beauty of the country. It’s not the way we talk. It’s the food. Sicily is very different from the North, but what is keeping us together as a community is the food.”
Luckily, Italian food has been available as he has studied and worked in six
countries. Not as good as the pasta alla Norma his mother made on his last trip. Maybe even not as good as dishes he’s known for making from scratch: lasagna with ragù and béchamel; Tuscan ravioli (filled with spinach, ricotta, nutmeg, pepper and parmesan and served with a butter-
See FABIO VITALI - page 10
Vol. 10 / No. 3