Amelia Conte finds two black spiders in her pasta.
But the 2-year-old from St. James doesn’t mind at all.
"Due ragni!" Italian teacher Catrina Percontino says to Amelia, who is digging with a serving spoon into a container of dry pasta during an Italian language class for children ages 1 to 3 of all backgrounds at Per Tutti Italian Language and Cultural Center in St. James on a weekday morning.
Percontino, who owns Per Tutti — Italian for "For Everyone" — has embedded spiders into each child’s container of macaroni, or farfalle, to teach them "ragni," the Italian word for them. Today’s parent-and-me style lesson also introduces the children, aged 1 to 3, to "il gatto nero" — the black cat — in honor of Halloween. The song of the day is “Volevo un Gatto Nero" — “I Wanted a Black Cat." After the formal lesson, children play in the pint-size gelateria, pizzeria and mercato (market).
Italian American heritage month is celebrated during October by Italians across Long Island. For some parents of Italian descent, it’s never too young to start to expose their children to the Italian culture and language. Pasquale Iannucci, 38, a physical therapist from Commack, for instance, says every Thursday is Italian day for him and his daughter, Vittoria, 3. They’ll attend the Per Tutti class, and if she watches TV, he changes her “Bluey" cartoon program setting to Italian.
“I’ve spoken Italian my whole life," Iannucci says. His parents were born in Italy and he still has extended family there. “I take it seriously. If the culture is going to stay intact, you have to keep the language alive. My aunts in Italy are over the moon that she’s been doing this."
ITALIAN AND AMERICAN FLAGS
This is the first year that Per Tutti has marked Italian- American month because it just opened in December, says Percontino, a former Jericho High School Italian teacher who dreamed of starting an Italian language school on Long Island. In addition to classes for babies and toddlers, the center offers after-school lessons and tutoring for middle and high school students and will partner this fall with Stony Brook University on a program for elementary school students. It also offers language class for adults. Percontino plans to offer a tiramisu workshop, a pasta making class for children and adults, and Limoncello-making and bottle painting for adults. An Italian and an American flag fly outside the building.
Two-year-old Amelia Conte, of St. James, slices a toy pizza at Per Tutti. Credit: Barry Sloan
Jeanene Ferrara, 65, an accounting manager from Central Islip, brings her 14-month-old grandson each week to expose him to his Italian heritage — her family is from Sicily. She sent her daughter on an exchange program to the Italian island of Sardinia during high school, and now she wants her grandson to learn about Italy as well, she says. “I try to encourage him with the words when we go home" she adds. "I want him to get familiar with the music. I want him to be open to everything."
CONTINUING THE FAMILY TRADITION
Percontino says she understands the desire to keep ties with the home country. Her grandparents were from Sicily, Genoa and Abruzzo. Her husband, Michael, a social studies teacher in the Longwood School district, grew up spending two months of every year in a small town in Salerno, where the couple now owns a house that they visit in summers. The couple has three children, Michael Jr., 5, Alessandro, 3, and Elena, 7 months.
Melania Alber, of St. James, 2, plays with bubbles at Per Tutti. Credit: Barry Sloan
Angela Ferrara, 34, a hospice worker from Smithtown, brings her daughter, Aria, 18 months, to language class. Ferrara’s parents emigrated from outside Naples as children, and she says their school district encouraged the family at that time to stop speaking Italian at home and to immerse the children in English. Ferrara says her parents did the same with her, and she didn’t learn Italian until she was older. “You can tell who learned when they were younger and who learned when they were older. I know when I speak Italian, I speak with a very thick accent," she says. “I feel like the more she’s exposed to it, the easier it will be to articulate."
Luci Minutillo, 70, of St. James, a former Italian and Spanish teacher who now works as a court interpreter, is “Nonna" — grandma — to Lukas, 2. It was her idea to enroll Lukas in language class; his great grandmother was born in the mountains near Tuscany.
“My mother really was right off the boat," says Minutillo, who grew up speaking Italian. “It’s so essential to us as a family to continue the Italian tradition."
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.