My Italian Babbo (Father) and Father’s Day memories

June 21, 3:33 AMItalian Living ExaminerSerenella Leoni

Previous Next

3 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Italian Living Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Father's day in Italy takes place on March 19th (St. Joseph's feast day). However, since I grew up in California, we celebrated my father in June. My little sister and I must have shopped for pajamas or Pendleton shirts every year because that is the image I see when I think of Father's Day presents.

Most Italians call their fathers "Papá" while most Tuscans call their father "Babbo" as we did. All the other children in the neighborhood called him Babbo as well which really amused our Italian friends.

Recently, my sister and I were fortunate enough to see Roberto Benigni perform Tutto Dante in San Francisco. Benigni is probably best known here for his academy award winning film La Vita e Bella ("Life is Beautiful"), the quintessential portrait of a loving father.

As we sat there listening to Benigni explain Dante in the most beautiful and simple terms - he alternated between funny man and college lecturer - my thoughts turned to my own Babbo and how much he would have loved this performance.

My father loved Dante and was extremely proud of being a Tuscan and an Italian. His classical education offered him a great background in Latin, Greek and all the greatest Italian authors. Some of my fondest memories are of my father mixing fairy tales with stories extracted from Dante's Divine Comedy or from Roman mythology. He brought the characters vividly alive for me. With tears in his eyes, he passionately recited poetry or nostalgically described the beauty and wonder of the art, literature and history of Italy. He loved the "Romanticism," period in literature, and wrote his own poems to recite on special occasions. Being wickedly mischievous, he also created witty parodies of old Tuscan folk songs to entertain friends at special Italian-American occasions

I could run to my babbo when I was hurting and lose myself in his big bear hugs - he was a very demonstrative dad. I also remember seeing my father cry when something moved him. Later in life, I was surprised to learn that not all men openly expressed their emotions.

My Babbo was an amazing cook and came from a family of strict cooking traditions. He and his brothers were notorious for arguing over which way to slice garlic (vertically or horizontally) for specific recipes. He was also from a family of hunters and fishermen, traditions which he continued.

At the age of 42, my father bravely left his friends and family to come to America in order to build a better future for us. I now realize what a great sacrifice that must have been since he did not even speak the language. He always missed Italy but also came to love his adopted country. His English never developed well with the exception of three subject areas; hunting, fishing and food terms. His English vocabulary level in these three subject matters was genius.

After spending two years as a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II, his health was never great. But he continued to enjoy a full life and be at his happiest when surrounded by friends, family and great food.

He made his own marinated fish, prosciutto and grappa (I can divulge this now that he is no longer with us)! We still remember how delicious his cooked game was. And, I have never known anyone who could walk up to a refrigerator, take a look at the contents and create miracles with leftovers like my babbo.

I still miss my father every day but know he is with me, especially when I am involved with anything Italian!

Happy Father's Day to all you wonderful dads and granddads. May you create lasting memories with your families.

For more info: 

http://www.dustbot.org
www.toscanamia.biz