IAP 288: Welcome to Roseto, PA, the Happiest Place in Italian America!

For years we've been searching for an idyllic Italian American village where we might find the perfect spot to recreate the Italian American neighborhood life we all long for, and this week, we've literally hit the Big Time! In this week's episode, we discuss our recent trip to Pennsylvania's Slate Belt borough of Roseto, a historically Italian American town where the annual "Big Time" Festival has drawn generations of Rosetans back home for the past 130 years. When we set out to film the Feast for an upcoming episode of our popular YouTube show "Greetings From Italian America," we knew this little hamlet was the famed site of the "Roseto Effect" in which medical studies concluded that the town's incredible ties of kinship and famiglia made it one of the longest-lived communities in 20th Century America… but we couldn't have foreseen the amazing welcome we'd receive in what might just be the Italian American Promised Land here in eastern Pennsylvania! We're exploring how the town's early immigrants from Roseto Valfortore, Puglia, brought their traditional celebrations for Our Lady of Mount Carmel with them, and how the festival has become the town's "can't miss" annual event, bringing Rosetans near and far back home for this heartwarming celebration. We'll share stories of some of the people we met during our weekend in Roseto and how everyone embraces Italian pride during the Big Time, even if their roots aren't in the boot! Be sure to join us as we discover this hidden Italian American village that just might just be the next hotspot in Italian America! This episode was sponsored by Mediaset Italia.