Rating: 
Summary: Exploring the imported ideologies of Italian-Americans
Review: After Paul Paolicelli's heard the story of his grandfather's death, he needed to return to Southern Italy to dig out the ideological roots of the personal attributes of his grandfather and of other Italian-Americans . His immigrant grandfather had died from the effects of a mutilating accident in a steel plant. His grandfather's last words were, "Povri figli miei" (My poor kids). "If an illiterate peasant can die with responsibility to his children as his last thought, he had far more character and depth than I'd ever thought about. I wanted to learn how much of that character was formed in [Southern Italy]."
After a long stay in Southern Italy and extensive research, Paolicelli wrote a broadly appealing book that, so far as I know, has no antecedent.
Southern Italians, Paolicelli concluded, have been surrounded by a culture that prompts people to try to live out personal identities as industrious and humane persons who are intensely committed to families, He describes the origins of family solidity in the social conditions that prompted people to draw tight the circle of trusted friends and family members.
Paolicelli's account of how the local people of Calabria treated the internees of fascist Italy's only concentration camp highlights the ways in which Southern Italians valued humane conduct. He tells that the goal of the director of the camp was to assure that the incarcerated "enemies of the state" would survive World War II. After the camp closed, until his death in 1987, the director regularly received letters, pictures of families, and presents from camp internees.
Paolicelli explores the ways in which Southern Italy suffered from the integration, in 1860, of the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily into the new state of Italy. Paolicelli explores the thesis that the new government found it convenient to characterize Southern Italians as ungovernable, over passionate, and lacking in initiative. By reporting an interview with Professor Carmine Colacino, Paolicelli describes the ways in which many Southern Italians reacted, by rebellion and emigration, to the oppression of the new state's leaders.
In describing the post-immigration life of Rudolph Valentino (born Guglielmi, in the Apulia Region), Paolicelli illustrates the ways in which many immigrants and their offspring attempted to dissociate themselves from connections to South Italy and the stereotypical images of Southern Italians. To contrast Valentino's reaction to stereotyping, Paolicelli tells the history of Frank Capra; and explores Fred Gadarphe's view that Capra's movie, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, expresses the values of Southern Italy by showing that "a community creates an identity. Without that community, and each individual's role in that community, there is no identity."
A built-in knowledge of the ways in which community functioned, claims another professor, allowed the Italian immigrants to fit into life in The USA with relative ease. "They went to America without formal education, without any wealth or influence, but they carried with them over two thousand years of knowledge of culture and of people. They thrived. They knew the stories of mankind." "It was easy to deal with the Americans and with America - [Americans] offered honest pay for honest work."
Paolicelli could not avoid discussion of the ways in which many of the descendants of l'avventura have moved toward exploring their connections to the history of their families. He tells, for example of his interview with a large group of young people who were attending a program at the University of Potenza, who were reconnecting to the birthplace of their forebears. His observations about the extent of such reconnection had been spurred by the reception given to his first book, DANCES WITH LUIGI - a book that chronicled the ways in which he had become a "born again Italian."
And, of course, Paolicelli constantly adduces evidence of the ways in which Southern Italy has changed in the years between the great wave of emigration and the time in which he has been working through his reconnection. Most notably, he describes the ways in which the lives of the people of South Italy have changed as a result of the availability of opportunity. Young people are delaying marriage, adding to a decline in the birth rate. The educational policies, coupled with the conditions that induce young people to continue their education rather than try to seek employment, have made the South a major source of well educated professionals, many of whom must leave the region in order to find employment fitting to their educational level. At the same time, many of those well-educated young people are assuming positions of responsibility that once would have been occupied only by the offspring of well-connected families.
Anyone who seeks to develop a broader perspective on the results of the great Italy-to-The-USA immigration - l'avventura (the adventure) (especially Italian-Americans) will find Paolicelli's book to be a source of stimulation and of one after another useful insight into the course of Italian-American adaptation to life in The USA.
Rating: 
Summary: Two in a Row
Review: Bravo Mr. Paolicelli. You've penned another great, informative, unique book on Italy that too few will discover and savor.If you want to learn about the other Italy, as well as its gift to the United States through generations of creative imigrants who brought not only their talents, but their values as well, this is the book for you. Paolicelli's writing continues to be wonderful (as it was in Dances), his research thorough, and his point of view unprecedented. Those who have journeyed to Southern Italy will want to go back with a fresh set of eyes; those who haven't been will be changing their itinerary to include a southern swing.
Rating:
Summary: Under the Southern Sun
Review: Having read Paul Paolicelli's very personal account of his search for family roots in Southern Italy in "Dances With Luigi," it was pleasantly surprising to find less of Paolicelli and more of the region in "Under the Southern Sun." A delightful, quick read, I was taken through the region and introduced to some amazing individuals coping in a less than hospitable place. The word pictures painted by Paolicelli of his surroundings, the meals he ate, and the people he met put me under that southern sun. His misadventures in getting lost trying to find a campus offered relief from the seriousness of the work. And, most of all, I learned of the deep-seated values inherent in the Italian upbringing in this forgotten portion of the "boot." The transition to deal with the Italian-American immigrants and the juxtaposition of Rudolph Valentino and Frank Capra as two of the more prominent immigrants of their time were entertaining and informative. And the description of Capra's films in the context of the importance of community to all Italians and, by transition, to all Americans was revealing. A thoroughly refreshing read and a permanent part of my library today.
Rating:
Summary: Under the Southern Sun
Review: Having read Paul Paolicelli's very personal account of his search for family roots in Southern Italy in "Dances With Luigi," it was pleasantly surprising to find less of Paolicelli and more of the region in "Under the Southern Sun." A delightful, quick read, I was taken through the region and introduced to some amazing individuals coping in a less than hospitable place. The word pictures painted by Paolicelli of his surroundings, the meals he ate, and the people he met put me under that southern sun. His misadventures in getting lost trying to find a campus offered relief from the seriousness of the work. And, most of all, I learned of the deep-seated values inherent in the Italian upbringing in this forgotten portion of the "boot." The transition to deal with the Italian-American immigrants and the juxtaposition of Rudolph Valentino and Frank Capra as two of the more prominent immigrants of their time were entertaining and informative. And the description of Capra's films in the context of the importance of community to all Italians and, by transition, to all Americans was revealing. A thoroughly refreshing read and a permanent part of my library today.
Rating:
Summary: Proud to be Southern Italian
Review: I haven't read "Dances With Luigi" yet but I will be sure to check it out now after reading Paul's sophomore effort, "Under The Southern Sun." It's been a long time since a book had me so captivated and made me wanting more. This is not your conventional "I went to find my Italian roots" book. Paul was on an even bigger quest: To find what value system the Southern Italian immigrants brought over with them. He set out to tell the story from the Italian side of immigration, and I believe he did his job and then some. I was pleased that Paul was so forthright about the prejudice against Southern Italians by Northern Italians and the history of Southern Italy (some areas pre-dating the Roman and Greek empires). He tackled the subject tactfully and his and his subjects' honesty was a welcome breath of fresh air. Regarding various Italian settlements around this country: I was surprised to find out that there is an Italian settlement in Denver, Colorado. I was a bit irritated that more mention was made of that and the settlements in North Jersey and New York and no mention whatsoever made of Italians in Philadelphia (besides South Philadelphia). In all, Paul did an excellent job of conveying the belief and value system of Southern Italians. This book not only made me even more proud to be from the southern part of Italy, it has made me want to make that trip to my ancestral home (Calabria - provincia di Cosenza and Campania - provincia di Salerno), and experience my roots firsthand.
Rating:
Summary: Proud to be Southern Italian
Review: I haven't read "Dances With Luigi" yet but I will be sure to check it out now after reading Paul's sophomore effort, "Under The Southern Sun." It's been a long time since a book had me so captivated and made me wanting more. This is not your conventional "I went to find my Italian roots" book. Paul was on an even bigger quest: To find what value system the Southern Italian immigrants brought over with them. He set out to tell the story from the Italian side of immigration, and I believe he did his job and then some. I was pleased that Paul was so forthright about the prejudice against Southern Italians by Northern Italians and the history of Southern Italy (some areas pre-dating the Roman and Greek empires). He tackled the subject tactfully and his and his subjects' honesty was a welcome breath of fresh air. Regarding various Italian settlements around this country: I was surprised to find out that there is an Italian settlement in Denver, Colorado. I was a bit irritated that more mention was made of that and the settlements in North Jersey and New York and no mention whatsoever made of Italians in Philadelphia (besides South Philadelphia). In all, Paul did an excellent job of conveying the belief and value system of Southern Italians. This book not only made me even more proud to be from the southern part of Italy, it has made me want to make that trip to my ancestral home (Calabria - provincia di Cosenza and Campania - provincia di Salerno), and experience my roots firsthand.
Rating:
Summary: Proud to be Southern Italian
Review: I haven't read "Dances With Luigi" yet but I will be sure to check it out now after reading Paul's sophomore effort, "Under The Southern Sun." It's been a long time since a book had me so captivated and made me wanting more. This is not your conventional "I went to find my Italian roots" book. Paul was on an even bigger quest: To find what value system the Southern Italian immigrants brought over with them. He set out to tell the story from the Italian side of immigration, and I believe he did his job and then some. I was pleased that Paul was so forthright about the prejudice against Southern Italians by Northern Italians and the history of Southern Italy (some areas pre-dating the Roman and Greek empires). He tackled the subject tactfully and his and his subjects' honesty was a welcome breath of fresh air. Regarding various Italian settlements around this country: I was surprised to find out that there is an Italian settlement in Denver, Colorado. I was a bit irritated that more mention was made of that and the settlements in North Jersey and New York and no mention whatsoever made of Italians in Philadelphia (besides South Philadelphia). In all, Paul did an excellent job of conveying the belief and value system of Southern Italians. This book not only made me even more proud to be from the southern part of Italy, it has made me want to make that trip to my ancestral home (Calabria - provincia di Cosenza and Campania - provincia di Salerno), and experience my roots firsthand.
Rating:
Summary: Paul does it again!
Review: I waited a long time to read this book; and I was not disappointed. Paul's odyssey through southern Italy is well
described with anecdotes about people he met, the climate, the food, and the language. I went through the entire book laughing
and thinking "AHA!"
He made it as authentic as he could using words in a book. I thought of my grandparents often, as he echoed sentiments I have felt, and that they had showed me in many many ways.
My grandfather was not an articulate man. He was quiet and rarely had much to say. As a child I recall peppering him with questions about his childhood, about Italy, and not getting very satisfying responses. Paul has done a good job of answering the questions. If you, like me, have this incredible longing to go back (and I have) to where your family is from, this book will help show you the way.
I recommend this book to the millions of italian americans out there, who are wondering where they came from. Paul will explain.
Rating:
Summary: Paul does it again!
Review: I waited a long time to read this book; and I was not disappointed. Paul's odyssey through southern Italy is well
described with anecdotes about people he met, the climate, the food, and the language. I went through the entire book laughing
and thinking "AHA!"
He made it as authentic as he could using words in a book. I thought of my grandparents often, as he echoed sentiments I have felt, and that they had showed me in many many ways.
My grandfather was not an articulate man. He was quiet and rarely had much to say. As a child I recall peppering him with questions about his childhood, about Italy, and not getting very satisfying responses. Paul has done a good job of answering the questions. If you, like me, have this incredible longing to go back (and I have) to where your family is from, this book will help show you the way.
I recommend this book to the millions of italian americans out there, who are wondering where they came from. Paul will explain.
Rating:
Summary: Ethnic Pride
Review: In "Under the Southern Sun, author Paolicelli expands the heritage quest begun in his earlier book, "Dances with Luigi" to include an understanding of the generic Southern Italian mindset. Again he travels to the provinces of Southern Italy and explores through the stories of its people, the specific ideals that differentiate him from his American counterparts. His findings are conclusive: the Italians of the immigrant generation may not have been literate, but they passed on a wealth of values that cannot be denied.
If you are Italian American, you will happily digest Paolicelli's ruminations regarding his ethnicity; I guarantee they lend a hand in helping you formulate your own unanswered questions regarding your place in our pluralistic American society.
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