Italian-American Herald - October 2023

ACHIEVER
Meet Al Zone,
the man in charge
at Elmwood Park Zoo
PAGE 10
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‘Smooth Sounds’ entertainer Steven Silicato dies at 64
By Al Kemp
Steven R. Silicato passed away Aug. 27
at his home in Aston, Pennsylvania, at age 64.
He was known
throughout the region for his act, “the Smooth Sounds of Steve Silicato,” which he performed in restaurants and nightclubs and at special functions. He often told his fans that by singing the songs of Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and others, he was singing “the soundtrack of their lives.”
He serenaded a dancing crowd at the St. Anthony of Padua Italian Festival on June 15.
His son Sonny took to FaceBook to share the news about his father, whom he called “one of a kind” and a “larger than life” personality.
“It warms our spirits to see how many people loved and admired our dad,” he wrote. “He loved to make people laugh and feel appreciated. One of his biggest joys in life was singing and entertaining. He had the
See STEVE SILICATO - page 14
Inside the ancient abbey L’abbazia di Casamari
Working monastery near Veroli is more than a photo op
The Abbey of Casamari, an important religious center, also hosts numerous cultural and artistic events. | ADOBESTOCK
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
Religious communities have existed
for centuries in Italy, home to monks and nuns living in abbeys (a type of monastery) of various orders. These abbeys were
used for religious activities and to provide work opportunities for both the religious order and oblates. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, who, while not specifically members of a religious order,
had individually affiliated themselves with a monastic community of their choice. The term oblate – from the Latin oblatus – refers to someone who has been offered.
Abbeys are often self-sufficient, using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, refuge to the persecuted, or education to the young. Some abbeys offer lodging to people who are seeking a period of spiritual reflection. Many of these abbeys now lie in ruins but
there are a number of them which can be visited across the peninsula.
The first abbey I ever visited in Italy was L’abbazia di Casamari, a Cistercian abbey near Veroli which is part of the Ciociaria,
a geographical area of the province of Frosinone. Founded in the ninth century and built on the ruins of the ancient Roman municipality of Cereatae, it was dedicated
See ABBEY - page 4
Tommy Coniglio and his idol-inspiration- mentor Bobby Rydell.
Bobby Rydell’s legacy lives in Tommy Coniglio
By Pat Ciarrocchi Reprinted with permission
“The kid is good!”
For Tommy Coniglio, at the time a 21-year-old “bar singer” at a Wildwood restaurant, the words were like a lightning strike.
“The kid is good” had spilled from the lips of Tommy’s musical idol, Philadelphia music royalty, Bobby Rydell.
Five years ago, Bobby and his wife, Linda Hoffman, were having dinner at Joey M’s La Piazza Cucina in Wildwood.
See TOMMY C - page 8
Vol. 10 / No. 10