Mezza Italiana - Our half Italian Children

MOVING TO ITALY

Mezza Italiana – Our half Italian Children

Mezza Italiana is described as “An Enchanting Story About Love, Family, La Dolce Vita and Finding Your Place in the World”

I’m reading Mezza Italiana , which means half Italian and it has me thinking about Carina & Luca.

It’s the story of a woman growing up in Brisbane Australia who didn’t want to ‘fit in’ with her Italian family, refusing to learn Italian and dying her hair blonde. Always with a feeling of being ‘half and half’, she later travels to Italy with her husband (who adores all things Italian) and finds a place to belong. Then the earthquake hits…

It’s even more compelling to me because our children could be described this way, Mezza Italiana.

I wonder how they’ll fare growing up half Italian and half Australian.

One of the many reasons I long to return to Italy is for our children. For them to be at home with their mixed heritage.

They have never had to suffer due to their Italian heritage. Unlike my Mother in Law when she arrived in Australia some sixty years ago as a young child of seven. My mother in law tells stories of being teased at school for her speech, her clothes and mostly for her very Italian lunch box filled with all kinds of Italian goodies.

Now the teachers say good morning to my son in first grade using numerous languages and have Italian days at school. People in Australia say ‘ciao ciao’ as if they invented the term.

Of course it is the dream for many Australians to live “La Dolce Vita” or renovate a house in Tuscany ala “Under the Tuscan Sun”…. now it’s trendy to be Italian.

Related Links:

Zoe’s Website is Zoe Boccabella. Let her know you found her over at Renovating Italy
Her book ‘Mezza Italiana’ can be found here

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and the gang x

11 replies

Allegra de' Rossi says:
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Hi Lisa!
I’m so inspired by your family’s story! I grew up in a tiny Italian colonized town in Southern Brazil, and although we kept our nonni’s traditions (food, religion, traditional celebrations, etc…) I think you know it isn’t fatherland at all. When I was a little girl, I used to hear Nonna’s stories about her happy, lost in time childhood in the vineyards of Tuscany after WWII and wandered how it would be like to live this way myself, in one of those stone houses, growing vegetables in my backyard… Now I’m strongly motivated to make my suitcases and fly with my husband and children (we have two) to our childhood dream! I think growing in the Borgata is a precious opportunity to your Carina and Luca, a lifetime experience most modern day kids won’t have, and for you and Sam, of course (nothing is more romantic than Italy, right?:). Thank you very much for inspiration,
Allegra.
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Mary Furness says:
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Hi Lisa:

One of the reasons I am drawn to travel is that I am also of two cultures–my father was Bulgarian and my mother was American. Dad came to America just before WWII, intending to stay only a year, but due to the war and other circumstances, stayed the rest of his life. He and my mother met in Washington, DC, and my younger brother and I were raised in that area. I’m the wandering soul who moved–I live in the Midwest now, while my brother has stayed in that area. I grew up around people from everywhere, with all sorts of accents; now, living in a university town, it’s the same–our friends are from all over the country and the world. Our son glories in his “one-quarter Bulgarian” blood, as much as he does in his distant Scottish ancestry on my husband’s and my mother’s side.
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Hi Mary,
  So wonderful to meet you this way through the 30 day project. How lucky that your Dad had left for Australia before the war started, and then to meet your Mum. It really is such a small world and your brother sounds very similar to mine. Brad lived at home and I traveled the world…our children are learning as much as they can about their Italian heritage, I am a big one for tradition and story telling…ciao lisa x
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Lisa Wood says:
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Hi Lisa,

I love how you write – the book sounds amazing 🙂 Will have to look out for it! I reckon in one of my past lives I was born in Italy…only because I love the culture and the feel of the country! I also reckon that Italy grandma rock 🙂

Not so sure about the snakes…they sure look weird, and scary!! Would love to see the display with candles and display of Mary.

So looking forward to following your journey.

Cheers
Lisa
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Hi Lisa, I finally feel that I’m finding my voice and I love it! I’m sure we were both Italian in another life, I just find it so fascinating especially the traditions and history of the rural people. Carina tells me she would hold the snakes, I think I would be happy to watch from a slight distance. The author is based in Brisbane and writes about growing up wishing to fit in rather than stand out being Italian. I’m glad our children haven’t had to go through that, everyone at school loves to hear about their Italian heritage. Here’s to our journey’s where ever they may lead us!
  ciao bella
  lisa
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Trisha Thomas says:
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I must read that book. I think I come at the whole question from the opposite perspective. My children are half-Italian, half-American but living in Italy seem much more Italian. They have absorbed all the most wonderful aspects of being Italian but I fret that my children might not be opened-minded enough when it comes to racial diversity, and I fret that they will not learn that you achieve your goals through hard work not good connections.

One small example on the race front. The other day my parents were visiting from the US. It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday and we took them to the Fregene beach near Rome to walk along the beach and eat at a restaurant outside. When we got to the restaurant it was noon so I asked the owner if we could leave our jackets at the table we had reserved outside while we went for a walk. The owner said “Yes, but be sure you take your wallets out of the pockets, you know there are a lot of negretti coming by.” My parents looked at me confused. I translated “he said do not to leave your wallets in your coat because some little black men could be walking by.” My parents were even more confused. My kids didn’t even seem to notice the comment. The owner was referring to the African men who walk up an down the beach selling DVDs, fake watches and gadgets. His comment was very racist.

Another example is recently our toilet broke and I called a plumber who came while I was at work. My live-in baby-sitter told me she opened the door when he arrived and he looked at her and asked, “is anybody home?”. She said, “yes, I am.” For the plumber, she didn’t count, she was nobody. She was very offended and asked me never to use that plumber again (I won’t).

Another well-known example was the Prime Minister Berlusconi referring to US President Obama as “tanned.” As far as questions of meritocracy and raccomandazioni go, that is another long comment by itself. But I should not be negative. On the whole, I adore Italy and Italians are wonderful people but there are certain aspects of my American culture and heritage I hope my children will absorb. I imagine there are parts of the Australian heritage and culture that you are eager for your children to absorb.

Sorry, didn’t mean to get carried away with my comment. Thanks for such a lovely, fascinating blog.
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Trisha please don’t apologize for such passion, it’s wonderful! I don’t think you need worry too much about your children, they will mostly reflect the values of those closest to them (you) even if surrounded by such negative examples. I think such ignorance can be found the world over. As for Berlusconi he continues to astound me with such behavior. There are so many parts of our Australian culture that I wouldn’t want our children to loose, especially the laid back acceptance of people (in general) and the freedom from such traditional expectations. Luckily although my husband has Italian roots he was born and raised in Australia so the kids will get a balance between the two of us. It does concern me that the kids will forget the way of life they had in Australia, guess it’s up to me to see that they don’t.
  It’s so wonderful to see you here, I love your blog…it always connects and makes me laugh.
  Feel free to come and get carried away anytime,
  ciao Lisa
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carla says:
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Hi Lisa, I loved this book.. i devoured it in a day and fell in love with her village, family and life and even started googling the town.. I know what she means by Mezza Italiana, i feel like i am mezza lots of things.. Great post, beautiful children. Carla
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  I have been savoring it which is a change for me as I usually get through a book in an afternoon (pre kids). I have three on the go at the moment, including “A Year in the World” and “Villa Fortuna” all of which I am loving for different reasons. It is such a beautiful testimony to her family in Italy and that part of her heritage. So much of what she writes resonates with me, and I see that pushing away of “being Italian” in many of my husbands friends and family. Salvatore always wanted to visit China, he never planned to go to Italy but when he got there that was it, as if he found himself.
  
  Funny how we can become so caught up in a story and now with the internet can actually take our reading experiance so much further, I have even chatted with her on facebook – small word!
  I started my blog because I loved your book “Italian Joy” so much …..
  
  ciao Lisa
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Diane Kosmalski says:
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Your children are simply gorgeous and will thrive in Italia. Their adventurous spirit comes through loud and clear! You know how much children are treasured there.
I am first generation American. My family came to the US from Tuscany after the war. I fell in love with Italy as a child and the love affair has never stopped. I return as often as I can and have retained the family home (not without great difficulty).
My now grown children are half Italian and half a mixture of Irish, German and Polish. We still remember with amusement when our then three year old daughter told someone she was “half Italian and half regular.”
When I was a child, it was not chic to be Italian. I grew up in an Italian enclave in the US where Italian was spoken when necessary but most people avoided it like the plague. Everyone wanted to be “regular.” My grandparents’ generation found themselves not wanted anywhere so they formed their own neighborhoods and worked extremely hard to integrate into American society, building great churches and buidings, starting businesses and getting good educations. Thanks to their many contributions to our American society, we can be very proud of our Italian heritage. I feel that my family gave me the greatest gift possible….Love and appreciation for two wonderful countries. Now my trips to Italy are even appreciated by the now adult people who use to refer to my family as “off the boat.”
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- Lisa Chiodo says:
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  Diane I’m so sorry I missed your comment and hope you’ll forgive me for not responding. It still surprises me that our children are so beautiful, my Aunt once asked me “how did you two get such good looking kids”. There will be plenty of cheek pinching in store for them! My husband is first generation Australian but never realized how Aussie he was till we lived in Italy. How wonderful that you were able to keep your family home, I can’t begin to imagine the paperwork involved in that. I love your daughters way of putting it…”half Italian and half regular” kids just say the most wonderful things.
  Sam was lucky to grow up in Melbourne but still was targeted at school for being Italian. My mother in law suffered at school and into her adulthood and she came here when she was only seven. I can’t imagine being a Mother and seeing my children picked on for such a beautiful heritage. Luckily now at school they are thought to be special and lucky to have Italian in the blood. The generations who came before them didn’t suffer in vain, I hope one day the world can live this way. What a wonderful gift your family gave you, I hope one day our children will tell us the same thing.
  ciao Lisa x
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