I’m proud and pleased to be Sicilian. I’m the first in my family to be “mixed” actually, as my wanton mother went off and married a man who wasn’t 100%. But my grandpa (Casimiro Cianciolo, for those keeping track) always, and I mean always, said to me, “Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not an Italian girl.” So there. Not that anyone has ever tried to tell me any such thing.
But I just saw some Highland Games on TV, and I’ve actually seen them live once. And I think it would be super cool to be Scottish. Super cool.
jaysaint 
Posted by steakums on March 5, 2006 at 1:32 am
I didn’t know you were Sicilian. That makes you even cooler than just being Italian, you know.
Posted by jaysaint on March 5, 2006 at 3:37 am
Is yours an islander family as well?
The Cianciolos hail from the town of Termini Imerese where they sold fruits and vegetables, a trade they took with them to the US.
Posted by steakums on March 5, 2006 at 2:01 pm
The Colosa side dwelled in Sicily and the DelNero side of the family hailed from the Naples area. My great-great grandfather was a mayor, or some small town political figure, in Naples back before the family came to the US. Ryan and I tried to find info on him when we traveled there a few years back, but I reckon he didn’t lead any great battles or socialized with the Pope.
My grandfather was the first generation of the Sicilians to come over to NY, while the DelNero’s had been here a few generations before. I think that’s why I always associate southern Italy with stern, Italian men and women who wear housecoats and don’t speak a stitch of English.
I would be pure Italian if my DelNero grandfather didn’t marry a Schwartz – my grandmother was a mix of Swedish and German.