Tony Vivolo brings alive the world of his boyhood. Cured meats and ripened cheeses in the shops assault your senses and let you know exactly where you've landed. Boisterous nonstop chatter of family and friends fills the cramped apartment and reminds you where you'll always find welcome. Vivolo touches a chord with us all as he opens his heart and reveals the deep connection among those who formed his neighborhood, Surrounded by relatives and friends whose bonds would remain for life, he experienced what we all yearn for, both for ourselves and our children- unconditional love, support through good times and bad, opportunities to stretch in a simple life with limited means, Vivolo shows what we too often forget in our rush to do it all - that what matters most, what we remember always, what truly enriches our lives happens in the moments shared with those we love. Step into Vivolo's Italian South Village and recapture the joy in simple pleasures.

Memories of Growing Up in Little Italy, NYThis is a memoir of childhood friends growing up together in the 40's and 50'sin Little Italy NY. It tells the story of the culture of living in a poor neighborhoodwith Italian Immigrants.The old neighborhood, as it is still referred to by its past residents, was full oflife with Italians that immigrated from different areas of Italy bringing withthem all their different foods, cultures, superstitions and most of all theirdreams to raise their children to become good, honest and successful AmericanCitizens. Growing up in Little Italy was difficult, yet rewarding. We wereconsidered poor in terms of material wealth, but many of us grew up richer inmind, body and soul.Most of all we had our imaginations to dream up games that gave us somethingto do all day long. In our own way we were entrepreneurs, as we did anythingto make money like selling newspapers, shining shoes, running errands andmore. Looking back, the Good Times Were Rolling Along.

Dom Perruccio was a popular, outgoing, athletic, generous, and handsome guy raised in the winding, narrow streets of Manhattan's Greenwich Village. He had many choices growing up in the neighborhood: stay on the street, stay in school, do nothing with your life, or do something. The choices involved strict rules and learned codes to keep from getting killed or arrested in a world of gang culture and hoodlum mentality. In this blisteringly honest coming-of-age narrative of how he and co-writer Charles Messina survived and ripened, Perruccio introduces the reader to the darker side of Greenwich Village generally depicted as a bohemia for artists, non-conformists, and vagabonds. But Perruccio exposes the darker side of this free-spirited Shangri-Lai-recalling the 1969 anti-gay Stonewall Uprising, The 1961 Washington Square Riot, and recurring, clandestine Mafia hits. Finally, Perruccio describes his adult restoration after it all. At the end when his mother died in 1993, Dom says, "That was the toughest time of my life. Losing my mother tore me apart. The one thing that gave me the strength to survive losing her was the birth of my daughter, Vanessa. I had to keep it together. I had to be a father."

Often separated from other immigrants because of their language, Italian immigrants to New York City in the 1880s formed communities apart from their new neighbors. They tended to think of themselves collectively as a small Italian colony, La Colonia, that made up part of the demographics of the city. In each of the five boroughs, Italians set up many colonie. Several of them dotted Manhattan in East Harlem, the West Village, what is now SoHo, and the downtown area of the Lower East Side, straddling Canal Street, which still identifies Manhattan's Little Italy, the best-known Italian neighborhood in America. Little Italy is made up of stunning photographs culled from numerous private and public collections. It begins with the first phase of immigrants to Lower Manhattan in the early 1800s, including political and religious refugees such as Lorenzo Da Ponte and Giuseppe Garibaldi. In the 1870s, more and more Italian immigrants settled in Little Italy. As the neighborhood grew up around the former Anthony and Orange Streets, New York's first "Little Italy" emerged. The tumultuous history of the Five Points area, the "Bloody Ole Sixth Ward," and many faces and memories from the Italian newspapers L'Eco d'Italia and Il Progresso Italo-Americano are also included in this long-awaited pictorial history.

Montenero Val Cocchiara is usually referred to simply as Montenero, or Mundunur in the local dialect. It is a typical mountain village on the border of Italy's Abruzzo and Molise regions, but Montenero is more than that. Certainly the village and its people retain unique traditions and character traits because of its relative seclusion. At the same time-as fully revealed in this book-its history was tinted by contacts with numerous powerful groups over many centuries. Since Naples was the political and cultural heartbeat of south Italy, it sewed threads that tie Montenero to a heritage common to all living in the sunny south. Anyone with roots in south Italy will certainly benefit from reading this book. However, the author's greater aspiration is that others will equally enjoy the story of Montenero as a metaphor for their own ancestral village or town, regardless of country-or even see the village as a microcosm of the world, where the forces of history and culture forge the character of people.

From Joey Campanaro, the lovable chef and owner of popular Little Owl restaurant in New York City! Big Love Cooking features 75 accessible recipes infused with Mediterranean flavors inspired by Joey's Italian-American family. This is simple, authentic food, with generous servings and nourishing, shareable meals. • Includes stories from the restaurant, historical NYC photographs, and conversational advice • Dishes include Little Owl Crispy Chicken, Ricotta Cavatelli with Tomato Broth, Bacon, and Fava Beans, and Brioche French Toast with Stewed Strawberries. • Features warm, inviting photography that emulates the family-style meals With accessible recipes and familiar ingredients, this cookbook is perfect for big family meals that will please a crowd. Recipes include mouth-watering dishes like Littleneck Clams with Juicy Bread, Mom-Mom Pizza, and Pork Chop with Parmesan Butter Beans. • Big Love Cooking is a return to hearty platters and heartwarming comfort food with a strong sense of place. • Perfect for cooks interested in Mediterranean cuisine and Italian-American favorites • A great book for the home cook that is interested in hearty, delicious Italian meals over trends • You'll love this book if you love cookbooks like Carmine's Family-Style Cookbook by Michael Ronis, The Meatball Shop Cookbook by Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, and The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Peter Falcinelli, Frank Castronovo, and Frank Meehan.

"This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys."--Publisher's description.