Introduction: Danielle Oteri, like many Italians, grew up with the majority of her family living on the same street. However, she didn't discover just how Italian that was until she first visited Italy to spend a month painting in Florence.
Several years after college, she returned to spend a year studying art history and Italian language. Danielle travelled extensively in Southern Italy where she hitchhiked, haggled, warded off a malocchio, and ate too many sfogliatelle.
Several years after college, she returned to spend a year studying art history and Italian language. Danielle travelled extensively in Southern Italy where she hitchhiked, haggled, warded off a malocchio, and ate too many sfogliatelle.
Education: Danielle holds an MA in Art History and wrote her thesis on the Renaissance in Southern Italy. Danielle regularly lectures on medieval art and history at The Cloisters, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. She is currently writing a book about the history and tradition of the feasts of Italian saints. She is a second generation Italian-American and lives in New York City.
Italian America: In pursuit of her roots, Danielle learns how much of life in America is transplanted from Southern Italy.
The Manicotti Incident
When I was in the second grade, we were given a penmanship evaluation in which we were asked to write about our favorite food. Mine was manicotti, but I had no idea how to spell it. So, I asked my teacher.
The F-Word
When she first arrived in Florence as a college student, fidanzato was the first Italian word that Danielle understood and to which she could excitedly respond.
When I was in the second grade, we were given a penmanship evaluation in which we were asked to write about our favorite food. Mine was manicotti, but I had no idea how to spell it. So, I asked my teacher.
The F-Word
When she first arrived in Florence as a college student, fidanzato was the first Italian word that Danielle understood and to which she could excitedly respond.
Troppo Snob
Danielle thought that her Italian background would set her apart from all the other American students walking around Italy in flip-flops and complaining about a lack of peanut butter. But in Florence, her Southern Italian heritage was as foreign as her fear of trippa.
Draft Dodging
On a train south to Naples, two passengers alert Danielle to the dangers of the spiffero and protect her from drafts that might cause all sorts of health troubles.
Danielle thought that her Italian background would set her apart from all the other American students walking around Italy in flip-flops and complaining about a lack of peanut butter. But in Florence, her Southern Italian heritage was as foreign as her fear of trippa.
Draft Dodging
On a train south to Naples, two passengers alert Danielle to the dangers of the spiffero and protect her from drafts that might cause all sorts of health troubles.
Ashhpet
Danielle escapes language purgatorio in Naples. She feels free to speak, make mistakes, and use the words she knows instead of suppressing all that she had been trying to hide in Florence.
Pilgrimage to Capaccio Part 1: Pullman vs. Autobus
In a pilgrimage to her grandmother's hometown in southern Italy, Danielle is stumped, not by an inability to communicate in Italian, but by an apparently English word.
Danielle escapes language purgatorio in Naples. She feels free to speak, make mistakes, and use the words she knows instead of suppressing all that she had been trying to hide in Florence.
Pilgrimage to Capaccio Part 1: Pullman vs. Autobus
In a pilgrimage to her grandmother's hometown in southern Italy, Danielle is stumped, not by an inability to communicate in Italian, but by an apparently English word.
Pilgrimage to Capaccio Part 2: Next Stop Capaccio
Danielle discovers what a pullman is, and finally succeeds in reaching her grandmother's hometown in southern Italy.
Calabria Stinks: Arrest on the Autostrada
Stopped by the police and cited for not having a patente internazionale, Danielle and her friends are arrested and taken to the station. But they manage to avoid time in a Calabrian jail because they stink up the joint.
Danielle discovers what a pullman is, and finally succeeds in reaching her grandmother's hometown in southern Italy.
Calabria Stinks: Arrest on the Autostrada
Stopped by the police and cited for not having a patente internazionale, Danielle and her friends are arrested and taken to the station. But they manage to avoid time in a Calabrian jail because they stink up the joint.
Calabrian Curses: Averting The Malocchio
After their misadventure in Calabria, Danielle and her friends continue further south and decide to cross the straits to visit Messina. But first, they encounter a gypsy and must avert the malocchio.
Mammone: Pronounced The Same in Sicilian
Danielle travels to Sicily hoping to dispel some of the negative stereotypes she grew up with. One evening she finds herself with a handsome man whispering sweet indecipherable nothings into her ear. But she soon discovers that a mammone is still a mamma's boy, even when speaking Sicilian.
After their misadventure in Calabria, Danielle and her friends continue further south and decide to cross the straits to visit Messina. But first, they encounter a gypsy and must avert the malocchio.
Mammone: Pronounced The Same in Sicilian
Danielle travels to Sicily hoping to dispel some of the negative stereotypes she grew up with. One evening she finds herself with a handsome man whispering sweet indecipherable nothings into her ear. But she soon discovers that a mammone is still a mamma's boy, even when speaking Sicilian.
Not Just Spaghetti
When she visits an Italian elementary school on English Day, Danielle is anticipating a discussion about Italian culture. Instead, she gets a lesson in Southern Italian stereotypes.
L’Ultimo Viaggio: Welcome to America
Back in the U.S. after traveling for a year in Italy, Danielle is awoken by the sound of church bells and has a revelation.
When she visits an Italian elementary school on English Day, Danielle is anticipating a discussion about Italian culture. Instead, she gets a lesson in Southern Italian stereotypes.
L’Ultimo Viaggio: Welcome to America
Back in the U.S. after traveling for a year in Italy, Danielle is awoken by the sound of church bells and has a revelation.
