Italian-American Heritage Resource List

Italian-American Heritage Resources

 

With the Bronx’s Little Italy just a little ways away, Pelham has a rich Italian-American history, and a vibrant Italian and Italian-American community! Whether you’re exploring your Italian heritage, or just starting to learn the language; whether you’re planning a trip to Assisi, or just hopping over to Arthur Ave; take some time to read-up on Italian history and culture, and the i

At the Library

Children

• Eat, Leo! Eat! by Caroline Adderson 

• Forgotten Voyager: the Story of Amerigo Vespucci by Ann Fitzpatrick Alper

• Nonna’s Birthday Surprise by Lidia Bastianich

• I, Galileo by Bonnie Christiensen

• Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech

• Blockhead: the Life of Fibonacci by Joseph D’Agnese

• Strega Nona: an Old Tale by Tomie DePaola

• Strega Nona: Her Story by Tomie DePaola

• Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie DePaola

• Strega Nona’s Gift by Tomie DePaola

• Strega Nona’s Magic Lessons by Tomie DePaola

• Strega Nona Takes a Vacation by Tomie DePaola

• Big Anthony: His Story by Tomie DePaola

• The Brave Cyclist: the True Story of a Holocaust Hero by Amalia Hoffman

• Kimchi and Calamari by Rose Kent

• First Words Italian by Andy Mansfield

• Becoming Joe DiMaggio by Maria Testa and Scott Hunt

Teens

• Flesh and Blood So Cheap: the Triangle Fire and Its Legacy by Albert Marrin

Adults

• The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

• The Hills of Chianti: the Story of a Tuscan Winemaking Family, in Seven Bottles by Piero Antinori

• Dante: Poet of the Secular World by Erich Auerbach

• Pelosi by Molly Ball

• Don’t Tell Mama! The Penguin Book of Italian American Writing by Regina Barreca

• Dante: His Life, His Times, His Works by Thomas Goddard Bergin

• Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

• Italian Folktales by Italo Calvino

• Joe DiMaggio: the Hero’s Life by Richard Ben Cramer

• The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don DeLillo

• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

• Andrea Bocelli: a Celebration by Antonia Felix

• • My Brilliant Friend (Book one of the Neapolitan Novels) by Elena Ferrante
  • Galileo and the Scientific Revolution by Laura Fermi and Gilberto Bernardini

• The Deadly Sisterhood: a Story of Women, Power, and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance, 1427-1527 by Leonie Frieda

• Pomodoro! A History of the Tomato in Italy by David Gentilcore

• The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna: a Novel by Juliet Grames

• La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair With Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language by Dianne R. Hales

• An Italian Wife by Ann Hood

• Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

• • Sinatra: the Chairman by James Kaplan

• Michaelangelo & the Pope’s Ceiling by Ross King

• The Italian Americans: A History by Maria Laurino

• Were You Always Italian? Ancestors and Other Icons of Italian America by Maria Laurino

• How Italian Food Conquered the World by John F. Mariani

• A House in the Mountains: the Women Who Liberated Italy From Fascism by Caroline Moorehead

• An Unlikely Union: the Love-Hate Story of New York’s Irish and Italians by Paul Moses

• The Guarded Gate: Bigotry, Eugenics, and the Law That Kept Two Generations of Jews, Italians, and Other European Immigrants Out of America by Daniel Okrent

• The Italian Renaissance by Karen Osman

• The Lady of Sing Sing: an American Countess, an Italian Immigrant, and Their Epic Battle for Justice in New York’s Guilded Age by Idanna Pucci

• The Godfather by Mario Puzo

• The Sicilian: a Novel by Mario Puzo

• Leonardo da Vinci: Artist, Inventor, and Scientist of the Renaissance by Francesca Romei

• Garibaldi by Denis Mack Smith

• The End by Salvatore Scibona

• • Conversations with Scorsese by Martin Scorsese and Richard Schickel

• Eternal by Lisa Scottoline

• • Galileo’s Daughter: a Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love by Dava Sobel

• The Medici: Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance by Paul Strathern

• Death in Florence: the Medici, Savonarola, and the Battle for the Soul of a Renaissance City by Paul Strathern

• Beneath a Scarlet Sky: a Novel by Mark T. Sullivan

• Garibaldi, the Man Who Made a Nation by Ronald Syme

• • Marco Polo: Dangers and Visions by Marco Tabilio

• Don’t Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani

• The Supreme Macaroni Company: a Novel by Adriana Trigiani

• Machiavelli: a Biography by Miles Unger

• Return to Naples: My Italian Bar Mitzvah and Other Discoveries by Robert Zweig

Cookbooks

• Italy From the Source: Authentic Recipes From the People That Know Them Best by Sarah Barrell

• Pasta Verde by Judith Barrett

• Lidia’s Family Table by Lidia Bastianich

• Lidia’s Italy in America by Lidia Bastianich

• Lidia Cooks From the Heart of Italy by Lidia Bastianich

• Molto Batali: Simple Family Meals From My Home to Yours by Mario Batali

• Mario Batali Big American Cookbook: 250 Recipes From Across the USA by Mario Batali

• Giuliano Bugialli’s Foods of Italy by Giuliano Bugialli 

• Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories From a Life in Food by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman

• A Thousand Days in Tuscany: a Bittersweet Adventure by Marlena De Blasi

• Giada’s Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis

• Giada at Home: Family Recipes From Italy and California by Giada De Laurentiis

• Giada’s Family Dinners by Giada De Laurentiis

• Pasta by Julia Della Croce

• Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes From America’s Favorite Panini Bar by Jennifer Denton, Jason Denton, and Kathryn Kellinger

• Good & Garlicy, Thick & Hearty, Soul-Satisfying, More-Than-Minestrone Italian Soup Cookbook by Joseph J. Famularo

• The Classic Italian Cook Cook: the Art of Italian Cooking and the Italian Art of Eating by Marcella Hazan

• Venezia: Food & Dreams by Tessa Kiros

• My Italian Kitchen: Favorite Family Recipes by Luca Manfe and Leda Scheintaub

• Eating Rome: Living the Good Life in the Eternal City by Elizabeth Minchilli

• Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavors & Forgotten Recipes From an Ancient City by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill

• Pasta Modern: New & Inspired Recipes From Italy by Francine Segan and Lucy Schaeffer

• Old World Italian: Recipes & Secrets From Our Travels in Italy by Mimi Thorisson

Movies

• A Bronx Tale

• The Best of Lidia

• My Voyage to Italy

• The Organizer/I compagni

• Uberto E

Borrow Online

Overdrive

• My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (available as ebook)

• The Volunteer by Salvatore Scibona (available as ebook)

Hoopla

• The Italian/American Experience by Louis J. Gesualdi (available as ebook)

• New York City’s Italian Neighborhoods by Raymond Guarini (available as ebook)

• Maria Montessori: a Biography by Rita Kramer (available as ebook)

• Long Island Italian Americans by Salvatore J. LaGumina (available as ebook)

• Fire at the Triangle Factory by Holly Littlefield (available as ebook)

• Italian Immigrants by Tyler Omoth (available as ebook)

• • The Italian Americans (available as movie)

• The New Italian American Songbook (available as ebook)

Kanopy

• In My Mother’s House

• Men At Lunch

• Bicycle Thieves

• Martin Eden 

• Umberto D

• Mid-August Lunch

Explore Kanopy’s Italian Cinema category!