Specials

Mio Paese – My Town is a documentary that tells the story of immigrants and their fellow countrymen in Calabria, Italy that specifically features La Festa della Madonna della Luce (Feast of the Madonna of Light)—where various Palermitesi follow a statue of their patron saint throughout the streets of Palermiti and also depicts the next day of celebration after the procession.

Three generations of Italians and Italian Americans recount the miracles associated with their saint with shots of the locations where the legends supposedly occurred. While these immigrants may have left their small Italian village of Palermiti for a better life in America, they have still instilled a strong sense of various Italian traditions in their new home.

Ultimately, this documentary shows the palpable link between the two groups of the Palermitesi people here in America and abroad in Italy, with the Madonna della Luce as the key to their shared identity.

The title written in both Italian and English showcases the Italian American diaspora and the transformation of an Italian identity here in the United States.



Additional Facts:

- Shot in Palermiti and Boston, Massachusetts

- Funded by the Olivetti Foundation, the Massachusetts Order of the Sons of Italy, and the Massachusetts Foundation for Humanities and Public Policy

- Was featured as a PBS National Broadcast