Istituto Mondo Italiano - Centro di cultura italiana

This week on The Italian Radio Hour: Joe Avati: Comedy, Calabria & the Family Stories That Made Him Famous 🇮🇹🎙️

This week on The Italian Radio Hour - Our guest has spent the last 30 years doing something remarkable: making Italians around the world laugh at themselves.

Whether you're in Sydney, Toronto, London, New York, or right here in Pittsburgh, somehow Joe Avati knows your father, your mother, your uncle, your nonna, and that one relative who still won't talk to the family because of something that happened in 1987.

Born in Australia to Calabrian parents, Joe has become one of the most successful ethnic comedians in the world, selling out theaters across multiple continents while proving that Italians everywhere share the same stories.
And recently, after decades of talking about Calabria on stage, he traveled there to retrace his family's roots in an emotional journey that connected him to the villages his family left behind.

Joe Avati will be performing live in Pittsburgh on Sunday, July 26 at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater. If you've ever had an Italian parent, an Italian grandparent, an Italian aunt, or even an Italian neighbor who thought they were your parent, this is a show you won't want to miss.

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW IN THE COMMENTS

This week on The Italian Radio Hour: Sagre, Santi e Cannoli - Discovering authentic Italy.

Today we're traveling through Italy in a way that most tourists never do—not through famous landmarks or crowded attractions, but through the heart and soul of local communities: Italy's sagre, festivals, historic celebrations, religious processions, and food traditions.

Our guest is Katerina Ferrara, travel writer, podcaster, and author of the acclaimed Ultimate Festival and Travel Guide series. For more than twenty-five years, Katerina has explored Italy one festival at a time, documenting everything from centuries-old religious celebrations and medieval reenactments to truffle fairs, wine festivals, and village sagre that preserve traditions passed down through generations.

Through her books, podcast, and travels, Katerina helps visitors experience an Italy that exists far beyond Rome, Venice, and Florence—an Italy where entire towns come alive to celebrate their history, their food, their saints, and their identity.

INTERVIEW LINK IN THE FIRST COMMENT

🚨 NEWSFLASH! 80 Years Ago Today, Italy Changed its History! 🇮🇹
On June 2, 1946, Italians chose the Republic over the Monarchy, opening a new chapter for the nation. It was also the first time Italian women were able to vote, giving voice to millions and helping shape the future of Italy.
🎉 Celebrate this historic anniversary today:
✅ Share your reflection on what the Republic means to you at www.ivoltidellarepubblica.quirinale.it
The website is already online and collecting stories, memories, and reflections on the republican choice and Italy's recent history. By participating, you'll help create a living archive of women and men of all ages and regions whose voices and experiences make up the faces of our beloved Republic.
✅ Talk with a parent, grandparent, or friend about the significance of June 2nd and the values of democracy, freedom, and civic participation.
🚨 ULTIM'ORA! 80 Anni Fa l'Italia Cambiò la Sua Storia! 🇮🇹
Il 2 giugno 1946 gli italiani scelsero la Repubblica al posto della Monarchia, inaugurando una nuova era per il Paese. Fu anche la prima volta che le donne italiane poterono votare, contribuendo a costruire il futuro della nazione.
🎉 Festeggia questa ricorrenza storica:
✅ Condividi la tua riflessione su cosa significa per te la Repubblica su www.ivoltidellarepubblica.quirinale.it
Il sito è già online e raccoglie testimonianze, ricordi e riflessioni sul significato della scelta repubblicana e sulla storia recente del nostro Paese. Partecipando contribuirai a creare un archivio vivente di donne e uomini, di ogni età e regione, che ogni giorno danno volto e voce alla nostra amata Repubblica.
✅ Parla con un genitore, un nonno o un amico del significato del 2 giugno e dei valori della democrazia, della libertà e della partecipazione.
🇮🇹 Viva la Repubblica! Viva la democrazia!

This week on The Italian Radio Hour: PLACES OF ORIGIN: Wines of Southern Italy with Maria Christina Liotta

What do Campania, Calabria, Basilicata, and Puglia have in common?
Volcanoes. Ancient vines. Greek history. Rugged landscapes. And some of the most extraordinary wines in Italy — wines that, for far too long, have remained overlooked outside their own territories.

While much of the wine world continues to focus on Tuscany and Piedmont, Southern Italy has quietly preserved something deeply authentic: indigenous grapes, ancient farming traditions, dramatic volcanic terroir, and a profound connection between wine, culture, and identity.

Our guest today has dedicated more than twenty years to documenting that world.
Maria Christina Liotta is the author of the newly published Places of Origin: Wines of Southern Italy — Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Puglia, an extraordinary journey through the vineyards, villages, volcanic slopes, and hidden wine territories of Italy’s South.

Through years of travel, hundreds of producer interviews, and visits to all 65 protected wine appellations of Southern Italy, Maria has created one of the most comprehensive explorations ever written on the wines and cultures of the Italian South.

Today we’ll explore not only wine, but also the deeper meaning of place, heritage, resilience, and what Southern Italy can still teach us about authenticity in a rapidly globalizing world.

LINK TO THE INTERVIEW IN THE COMMENTS