{"id":213749,"date":"2020-05-17T18:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T22:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/?page_id=213749"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T17:28:11","slug":"video-interviews-food-hunger-migration-sicily-wwii-allied-landing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/endowed-chair-research\/video-interviews-food-hunger-migration-sicily-wwii-allied-landing\/","title":{"rendered":"Video Interviews: Food, Hunger, Migration and the American Myth in Sicily at the Time of the WWII Allied Landing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The project “Food, Hunger, Migration and the American Myth in Sicily at the Time of the WWII Allied Landing”<\/a> encompasses a series of interviews with Sicilian women and men who have direct memories of the arrival of the Allied Forces in Sicily in 1943, as well as the late phase of Fascism and the post-war period. A few interviews were conducted with local historians, journalists, and even a chef, who were too young or still unborn at that time to have direct memories, but have collected valuable materials themselves as part of separate initiatives.<\/p>\n

This webpage includes excerpts of the project’s interviews focusing on a few related topics: eating practices under the Mussolini regime, the food that the American forces brought to Sicily, and the ways in which these goods affected the local diet over time, even today. The interviewees’ recollections are inevitably mixed with stories of migrations, since the “arrival of the Americans” was indirectly experienced as the return of that portion of Sicily who had relocated across the ocean.<\/p>\n

See project’s official webpage<\/a> for a full description of the premise, content and goals, supported for two consecutive years by Angelo and Marie Cali Fund for Italian Studies with matching funds provided by the Inserra Chair Endowment at ÌÇÐÄvlog (this project is IRB-approved).<\/p>\n

MEMORIES OF FOOD DURING THE FASCIST AND WAR PERIOD<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

ANTONIO INGIAIMO (Licata, province of Agrigento, 1932-2020, shoemaker and plumber)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ingiamo’s recollections of the late Fascism are among the bleakest: while he remembers that the locals, no matter how poor, still had salt-preserved sardines and olives to accompany their meager bread, he also remarked that food would also be a figment of the imagination in some cases, as he shows in this telling anecdote. His testimony is in stark contrast with that of Maria Di Prima below.<\/p>\n

\nhttp:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2021\/02\/Ingiaimo-Bread-and-cheese-20-secs.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n


\nMARIA DI PRIMA\u00a0(Sutera, province of Caltanissetta, 1928, daughter of an agrarian inspector employed by the Fascist regime)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Di Prima’s memories of the later part of the Fascist period are the direct reflection of the social status of her father, an established functionary of the Fascist government, with a particularly key role in the control of food provisions, as an agrarian inspector. Her vision of the wartime was one of secure access to food, in which the food distributed by Americans was a playful addition, but not a necessity. Her testimony depicts a scenario radically opposite from that of Antonio Ingiamo’s above.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2021\/02\/Di-Prima-Father-provided-all-18-secs.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n


\nANNAMARIA IACONA (Licata, province of Agrigento,1929, daughter of a brick company owner)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iacona’s father’s job in the construction sector, and its related respectful social position, allowed the family to maintain access to food, as well as more non-essential items such as cigarettes. Still, the American food was welcomed as a wonderful addition for its color (white bread, yellow butter) and lightness: despite the widespread legend that it could be poisoned and locals had to stay away from it as the enemy’s food, it soon became quite popular.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/inserra-chair\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2021\/02\/Iacona-Money-Connections-Solid-diet-26-secs-.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n


\nVINCENZO MARRALI (Licata, 1918-2024, fisherman)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marrali recalls the difficulties in the fishing sector before the Landing (contraband, dealers’ scams). He was not in Sicily at the time of the Landing.<\/p>\n