The Speakers

Dr. Dominic Candeloro

Casa Italia Library Curator

Director of the Italian Cultural Center

Dominic Candeloro is the resident historian and curator of the Florence Bartolomei Roselli Casa Italia Library in Stone Park, Illinois.  He is the co-editor of Italian Women in Chicago and Reconstructing Italians in Chicago which is currently in its second publication.

PETER L. BELMONTE is a retired U.S. Air Force officer, author, and historian. A veteran of Operation Desert Storm, he holds a master’s degree in history from California State University, Stanislaus. He has published articles, book chapters, reviews, and papers about immigration and military history. Pete’s books include: Italian Americans in World War II (Arcadia, 2001), Forgotten Soldiers of World War I: America’s Immigrant Doughboys (Schiffer, 2018), Play Ball! Doughboys and Baseball during the Great War (Schiffer, 2019), and Chicago-Area Italians in World War I: A Case Study of Calabrians (Fonthill Media)

JEFFREY J. GENTILE D.D.S. is a graduate of Loyola University School of Dentistry whree he was an and instructor and recipient of the Loyola Distinguished Faculty Award in the department of Endodontics.  

Dr. Gentile has held memberships in many professional organizations including the American Dental Association, Chicago Dental Society, Academy of General Dentistry, West Suburban Dental Society, National Society of Dental Practitioners and a fellowship with the American Cancer Society.

In addition, he is a past president of the Italian club at Loyola University Lake Shore Campus, past president of the Arcolian Dental Arts Society, past Arcolian of The Year and is presently the historian for the Arcolian Dental Society.  

Dr. Jeff is a distance runner and golfer who currently owns a private practice of 35 years in Glen Ellyn Illinois with his wife Eileen M. Gentile B.S.,R.D.H.

SUSAN CAPERNA LLOYD is an Oregon-based author, photographer, and filmmaker. Many of her projects focus on Italian or Italian American subjects including No Pictures in My Grave: A Spiritual Journey in Sicily (Mercury House, SF), and films “Processione: A Sicilian Easter” and “The Baggage,” about her Italian immigrant family. The American Folk Life Center (Library of Congress, Wash., DC.) purchased her entire 30-year archive in 2001; the collection includes many of her other subjects (photography, films and books) ranging from Mexico’s Zapatistas to Argentinian wine-growers, Japanese pilgrimage, or Cajun dance in Louisiana. Her recent articles and photographs of Roma culture, flamenco dance, and Hindu celebrations led to her current, just-finished manuscript, Dance It Up! Travels to Spain and India to Find the End of Grief.  www.susancapernalloyd.com

My name is MARIA ANNA MANZELLA. I am sixty-nine years old. I was born in Cinisi, Sicily. I spent my childhood in my town and during the summer at the Mulinazzo land. In 1968, the Contrada Mulinazzo was expropriated for the extension of Punta Raisi Airport of Palermo, now known as, “Falcone and Borsellino”.

During that expropriation, my father lost two parcels of land. As a result, in 1969 my family was forced to emigrate to the United States. I was only fifteen years old. Currently, I reside in Michigan. I am married and have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. At the age of 48, I started writing children’s stories. Since 2011, I have published about 20 children’s books, in English and Italian, under my married name, Mary Ann Vitale. Many of my books won several

awards: The Water Lily Fairy; Fingerprints on the Mirror; The Street Where the Dollar Tree Grew; Ants In My Pants. I plan to publish them also in Sicilian.

A few years ago, I was suggested to write a book on the Mulinazzo story. At first, I didn’t plan to write it, but later I changed my mind. Since I lived at the Mulinazzo land, I had enough knowledge on the subject. 

After more than 4 years of working on this project, last year I published my historical book, Lu jornu ca lu Mulinazzu chiancìu, in Sicilian language. This book in poems treats the expropriation of the Mulinazzo land in 1968 for the expansion of the Punta Raisi Airport. It includes my family story, the beauty of the territory, old tales, the life of the peasants, the diet, the remedies of  the sick, the emigration, and many pictures. 

This is my first published book in Sicilian. You may wonder why I wrote it in this language. As children, in the 50’s and 60’s, we were only allowed to speak Sicilian at home; in school, it was  forbidden. I felt we were denied learning how to write and read in Sicilian. Now that I have reached a certain age of maturity, I understand the importance of preserving our language and to hand it down to the next generations. With the help of a few people sharing the same

interests, I was given the basic tools and confidence how to write in Sicilian.

At the moment, I am working on a book about Cinisi, during the 1950/60 and on a book of poems, written in Sicilian, Italian and English.

My children’s books in English, by Mary Ann Vitale: The Water Lily Fairy; The Water Lily Fairy at the Ice Cream Palace; Ants In My Pants; Mommy,

Where Does Tiger Live?; Mouse Goes to the Doctor; Julie and Her Seven Calves; Fingerprints on the Mirror; The Street Where the Dollar Tree Grew; Footprints On Mommy’s Heart; Hidden Treasures in a Book - A Collection of Seven Children’s Tales Vol.1.

My children’s books in Italian, by Mary Ann Vitale:

La Fata delle Ninfee; La Fata delle Nifee al Castello del Gelato; Formiche Sui Miei Jeans; Topolino

Va Dal Dottore; La Strada Dell’Albero Dei Dollari; Impronte Sullo Specchio; Tesori Nascosti Nel

Libro - Collezione di Sette Fiabe per Bambini Vol.1.

Anthologies with 2 of my children’s stories:

Short & Fun Stories - Vol 1, by Dorothy Mercer & Friends - Catch the Rainbows, by Mary Ann Vitale

Short & Fun Stories - Vol, 2, by Dorothy Mercer & Friends - Dreams on My Fingertips, by Mary Ann Vitale

My coloring books:

The Water Lily Fairy

Fingerprints on the Mirror

My books in Sicilian, published under my maiden name, Maria Anna Manzella:

Lu jornu ca lu Mulinazzu chiancìu.

If anybody desires to purchase my books, they are available as eBook and paperback format on

Amazon and Barnes & Noble online worldwide.

If you would like to contact me, you can find me on Facebook, under the name Mary Ann

Manzella Vitale. 

CJ MARTELLO is a correspondent authoring the column: Petals from Roseland for, FRA NOI - Chicagoland’s Italian-American news magazine.  An author and a resident of Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood, he is an actor, presenting the one man show:  George Pullman The man and his model town for community organizations, senior groups, and schools.

CJ is also a historian covering the Pullman/Roseland/Kensington areas; a docent of the Pullman neighborhood and Pullman factory site; and a former docent of the Prairie Avenue Historic District’s Glessner House and Clarke House Museums.

TERRY QUILICO's first exposure to journalism was through a Summer work program at the Joliet Herald while in college. After discharge from the Navy he gained experience as a photojournalist covering the antiwar movement. Along with Paul Basile he is co-author and co-editor of “Evviva La Festa - A Spiritual Journey from Italy to Chicago,” and has written two short plays, “iHamlet” which was performed at IA Literati 2017 and “Seatonville,” which debuted at IA Literati 2021. "The Vibes of March", a satirical piece of Julius Caesar's last day, will debut at IA Literati 2023.   He is a correspondent with Fra Noi.  He is also proud to serve as one of the volunteers at Casa Italia Library where he and colleague, Barbara Stasell, were tasked with the two-year renovation project of the Italians in Chicago Exhibit which will be unveiled at the Italian Cultural Center Open House in May 2023.