"Our Paesani" is a column written by Francesca Di Meglio. Its purpose is to help bridge the gap between Italians in Italy and Italians throughout the world.

Columbus: Quite a Character!
A crisp fall breeze is upon us and the kids are back in school, which means I, an Italian American reporter, have Columbus Day on the brain. It's like Christmas or the Super Bowl for Italian America. There are star-studded parades, events, and an entire month devoted to Italian American heritage all because of the mythic explorer Christopher Columbus, better known to Italians as Cristofero Colombo.

Discover the Real Italians
In his new book, Corriere della Sera columnist Beppe Severgnini takes readers on an amusing journey through Italy to undo the romantic notions some Americans have about the country and its people.

Dream Wedding Dresses From Italy -- Almost!
Spring is in the air, which means wedding season is just around the corner. No one does up a wedding - and especially bridal fashion - quite like the Italians. Getting your wedding dress straight from Italy might be a little hard if you're a foreigner - because of the budget-breaking travel costs and the inconvenience of transporting it and finding a tailor back home to make the dream dress hug your body in all the right places.

5 Style Dos and Don'ts from Italy
The crisp air flowing through my bedroom right now is a sign that fall is arriving. That means it's time to pull out the warmer gear - from sweaters to scarves. I've always had a hard time being stylish while piling on the layers for the colder season. But turning to my fashion-forward friends and relatives (especially my boyfriend) in Italy helps keep my cool even in the cold. I thought I'd let you in on some of my style secrets.

4 Ways to Make a Good Impression with Italians
Anyone who has ever read this column knows that Italians are a bit obsessed with appearances. The concept of the bella figura is an important one in the culture. People are expected to look fabulous, follow social conventions, and put on a good show. The very concept of the piazza life - where everybody watches everyone else - depends on it. If you've been invited into an Italian's home, which is his or her personal piazza, then you could use a bit of advice on how to fit in. Here, four ways to make good with the paesani at the next dinner party.

Fresh Ideas for Wedding Flowers
June is wedding season - even in Italy. As you might imagine, most Italian weddings are full of romance. The extraordinary use of flowers only enhances this ambiance. Whether you are getting wed in Italy or not, you can get inspired by the bridal bouquets, centerpieces and church flowers that have a starring role in most Italian ceremonies and receptions. Here are some ideas.

Giving Thanks for the Hit TV Show La Squadra
Every Monday night on RAI International, viewers can tune into La Squadra, a popular police drama that takes place in Napoli but tackles global issues -- from international prostitution rings to corruption in professional sports. As foreigners hooked on an Italian TV series, we are doubly blessed with entertainment and a window on Italian popular culture. What does the success of La Squadra tell us about contemporary Italy?

How To Be As Beautiful As an Italian
From the moment one steps onto Italian turf, she is surrounded by beautiful people -- or average people who were told by their mammas that they were beautiful all their lives and now believe it. That's why, despite living in a country the size of Texas, Italians send 100 girls to compete in the final round of Miss Italia every September.

Italian Inspiration for Your Home
I can't help but dream of a house all my own, where I can try to make the impossible possible. I want a canvas that I can turn into a home, where I'm the boss. I'll entertain my way - with the menu I choose -- and keep the espresso cups and silverware where I think they belong. Art - from children's drawings to family photos - will cover my walls in a chic and sensible way. When something is deemed ready for the trash, it will go there for I will not pick up my parents' pack-rat ways.

Italian Women You'll Love
More than 29,500,500 women live in Italy, and they account for more than 51 percent of the country's population. Women account for 36 percent of the adult economic activity rate in Italy. Italian fertility rate is among the world's lowest. Now that you know about the average Italian woman, you should also know that most Italian women are anything but average. In honor of International Women's Day (celebrated on March 8), here are great examples of the bodacious babes Italy keeps producing

Italians Get a Second Life
You don't have to go to Italy to go to Italy anymore. Thanks to the virtual world known as Second Life, anyone with an Internet connection can visit the motherland, practice the language, or meet other Italians and Italophiles. Nearly 500,000 Second Life residents logged in during a given week in November 2007. Although most are American, those in other countries are starting to catch on, too. Italy is beginning to pay attention to this three-dimensional virtual world that has its own economy, stock market, and leaders.

Italy Gets Dance Fever
Dance fever is sweeping the world - and Italy was among the first to catch the bug. Last year, RAI television introduced "Ballando con le Stelle", the Italian version of "Dancing with the Stars" that is the highlight of every Saturday night, which is now in its second season. Just what makes watching our favorite celebrities doing the cha-cha so exciting?

Italy 101 with Professor Tony Soprano
I have a confession to make, and it's a big one. You might want to sit down. My name is Francesca Di Meglio. I'm an Italian American reporter from northern New Jersey, and I'm a big, huge, super fan of HBO's The Sopranos. That's not all. I also happen to think that, in his own way, Sopranos creator David Chase has a similar mission to my own: to bring Americans - especially those with an Italian heritage - in touch with Italy, not just my beautifully gritty and wonderfully zany New Jersey.

Italy Tries to Redefine Beauty
Government officials and fashion industry insiders address obesity and anorexia by changing their ways and rules.

Love Lessons from a Popular Italian Soap Opera
Un Posto al Sole has been a hit since it bowed in 1996. Like many of its American counterparts, the show is a microcosm of an exaggerated world where everyone you live near is your friend, enemy, lover or more than one of those things. But keen observers of the show can - and do - learn about love, sex and relationships. Here's what I have noticed since becoming addicted to Un Posto al Sole.

Never Been Home
People fall in love with Italy without ever even visiting. Just ask Janine Therese Mancuso, an Italian American who is yet to visit the Motherland but who writes about its people and its history with deep admiration and even longing in the self-published novel Con Amore (2006). Living in North Carolina and raised in Long Island, she has never traveled to Italy herself, but her father came to the United States when he was 8 from Trapani in Sicily and her mother's father came from the Naples area. Mancuso's novel, though set in Long Island, features characters that are Italian chefs (from Italy) and their recipes. Readers, as a result, get the chance to see the perception a hyphenated Italian has of Italy's culture, history, food, and most of all people.

Nonno Libero Paves the Way for Italian Role Models
For me, it was love at first sight. During the new year holiday '98-'99, I went to Italy with my family - and first began watching the Italian dramedy Un Medico in Famiglia. The TV show about Nonno Libero (played by the beloved Lino Banfi) and his doctor son's family was a genuine hit driven by the love story between the doctor and his live-in nanny. When Italians in other parts of the world gripe about the media's portrayal of Italians in film and television, they never seem to have an answer about what kind of show should be aired instead. Now, they do.

Opera Finds New Digs as Italian Interest Wavers
Just before Christmas this year, the famed opera singer Renata Tebaldi, once said to have the "voice of an angel" by maestro Arturo Toscanini, passed away after a period of illness at age 82. "Farewell, Renata, your memory and your voice will be etched on my heart forever," tenor Luciano Pavarotti reportedly said when he heard the news. But that's not all Pavarotti and Italy are bidding adieu to. The loss of Tebaldi is another sign that opera is withering in its homeland despite its popularity soaring to new heights in countries like the United States.

RAI International Makes a Big Boo-Boo
RAI International provides a great service for Italians living abroad by keeping them connected to their language and culture through television broadcasting that is accessible in many parts of the world. But the channel, which already had its share of problems, has recently riled up fans by changing the time slot of the beloved soap opera Un Posto al Sole - without warning or explanation.

Reality Television Conquers - and Fascinates - Italy
Practically all of Italy tuned in last spring to see Grande Fratello, the Italian version of Big Brother. The cast of virtual nobodies rocketed to stardom and now make guest appearances, do photo shoots and put out albums. Right now Italians are hooked on Isola dei Famosi 2, which is Survivor for famous people such as soccer legend Toto' Schillaci and rapper D.J. Francesco. The cat fights between some of the women celebrities, which have been re-played on La Vita in Diretta on RAI International, are reason enough to watch. I am certain of one thing only. This reality does not bite - and it's creeping into Italian society.

Sanremo Festival: Music to Your Ears
The 55th annual Sanremo Music Festival ended yesterday by breaking ratings records with a 55.8 percent share or 13,606,000 viewers. The day after the festival is always bittersweet – on the one hand, Italians are experiencing the afterglow of discovering new music and, on the other, they are preparing for the inevitable playing out of these songs on radio and TV.

A Tale of Two Languages
Journalists like me are supposed to remain objective. Sometimes, this is difficult to do because journalists are usually also humans with opinions, experiences, and perceptions that shape - and sometimes cloud - their assessment of subjects and stories they cover. Last week, I met an author, Christina Di Noia (Di Sanzo), whose book and CD I was scheduled to review for this column today. I was so impressed with her that it would be unfair for me to actually review her work. That's why I have decided to unabashedly fawn over her book, The Moon Is the Muse, and the accompanying CD that puts her reading of the book to music. But you can't say that I didn't warn you that my objectivity went out the window when I met the kind and fascinating writer, whose book is written in English and Italian.

Test Your Knowledge of Sanremo Music Festival Trivia
Despite this new wave of musicians and revolutionary approach to Sanremo, the most memorable part of the festival this year was the return of "i vecchi leoni" - from singers Bobby Solo to Toto Cotugno. These old-timers performed their hits with the inexperienced competitors as though they were passing the torch. For me, the moving renditions of classics like Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu were reminders that Sanremo might evolve but the past is always present. Just how much do you know about the rich history of Italy's famous music festival? Test your knowledge here.

3 Singers Who Help Us Find Our Roots
As an Italian American, I was born longing for something, that piece of me that is buried in Italy with all the other remnants of my family's existence there.

Three Favorite Italian Tunes for the Soundtrack of Summer 2004
The soundtrack of summer stays in our heads long after the beaches are closed and the chill returns. My friend Antonio, a true music aficionado, has been introducing me to the hot Italian music scene, which most foreigners have overlooked – until now. I thought Antonio could be your teacher, too. Here are his top three choices for best Italian summer song of 2004.

The Ugly American Arrives on Italian Television
For ages in the United States, activists have been protesting the portrayal of Italian Americans as either pretty-boy airheads like Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back Kotter or mafia bosses like Tony in The Sopranos. The argument is that these fictional characters endorse stereotypes and take for granted the contributions Italian Americans have made in society.

Three Cheers for Italian Linens
Luxurious Italian sheets, towels, and tablecloths have lured the rich and famous - and maybe you, too. Get tips on how to buy Made in Italy linens for your home.

Unrequited Love and Pure Evil: What Can a TV Drama Teach Us about Italian Culture?
You can tell a lot about a culture from the television that turns on its people. Every Wednesday during the summer, RAI International is repeating the Italian drama Vento di Ponente, a soap opera that revolves around the Ghiglione and De Caro families as they vie for power in Genoa's rich and competitive shipyard business. Seen in Italy during the spring, this third season offers just the right amount of suspense and high drama. But the show is more than a delicious guilty pleasure; it also says something about Italian beliefs.

Where to Find Italian Culture on the Web
The main reason I started writing this column almost five years ago was because I wanted to help people better understand all things Italian - from the language to the culture. Others seem to have joined the mission. Although traveling to Italy is an extraordinary experience that everyone should get to have, you can still feel connected to the country from far, far away. Thanks to the Internet - and the creativity of Italians and Italophiles - we can all learn and appreciate about Italy and its culture from a distance. Here are some sites that I use to keep in touch with the motherland.

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