Anna DiPietro - Author

06/15/2026

Time to learn …

Time to learn
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The slur "w*p" has nothing to do with legal status - in fact, the vast majority of Italians entered the U.S. legally through Ellis Island and other ports.

The term actually comes from the Neapolitan dialect word "guappo," meaning a swaggering or flashy man. In the late 1800s-early 1900s, English speakers distorted this into "w*p" and used it as a slur against Southern Italian immigrants - not because they were undocumented, but because they were culturally and ethnically different.
The fake "Without Papers" acronym didn't appear until decades later, sometime mid-20th century. By then, people were looking for easy explanations and invented a backronym. Linguists, immigration records, and early newspapers all prove:
"W*P" was never an Ellis Island label.
No Italian was stamped "without papers"
It was always an ethnic slur - not a legal term.
Between 1880 and 1924, over 4 million Italians arrived legally in the U.S., were inspected, registered, and helped build this country from the ground up.
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Know your history. Correct the myth.
Honor your ancestors.
Via Italo-Americani

04/11/2026

As someone with Italian ancestry, it is in my soul to be passionate about food. The traditions that have been passed down generations live on as seen in my last post. Fiadoni (cowjunes) are an Easter-time staple. Growing up, my father's sister Lucy (Aunt Lou) was the one who made the fiadoni. My siblings and I were lucky to get a bite of one. Why is that you ask? It wasn't that Aunt Lou did not share, but that the ones she gave to my father would happen to "disappear" on the 5 minute car ride back home. There may have been three left to split between the 5 of us by the time he walked into the door. Never-the-less, they were a special treat and if you could get a taste - you were in heaven for a few moments.

After Aunt Lou passed. There was a time when our special golden treats were not made. Not until my siblings started making them did we once again get to enjoy the savory cheese biscuit from our youth. Alas - once a year during Easter.

In 2003 I had the opportunity to visit my ancestral home. This trip - worthy of a post of its own, was a very special time in which I met famiglia I never knew. Not growing up with grandparents was an unfortunate thing. But meeting my Italian family filled a void in my heart. I bonded with my father's cousin Leonia, with whom I felt a grandmother/grandaughter connection. After our visit with her it was time to head to our next destination on the itinerary. Leonia gave me a bag of "goodies" to enjoy on the rest of my trip.

I decided to wait until the plane ride home to sample what she had made. Sometime along the 7 hour flight, I reached into the bag and pulled out a familiar looking calzone-type treat. I bit into it and immediately grabbed my sister's arm and cried, "It's a cowjuuuuune!" As I savored the flavor in my mouth, I began to cry. I may even be tearing up a bit as I type. You see, the love that goes into anything homemade plus the tradition and memories it brings can move one to tears. This on top of the emotional visit and connecting to my roots culminated into a beautiful moment that I will treasure forever.

Cara Leonia, thank you for filling my heart with pieces it was missing and reminding me that I can always have my ancestors with me as I enjoy our family recipes.

04/06/2026

Buona Pasqua a tutti!

Our family is proud to carry on the tradition of making Fiadoni every Easter. We grew up calling them cowjunes which is most likely a word formed from a dialect version of calzone. I have also heard them called cavazun. Regardless, you are probably wondering what are fiadoni?

Simply put, they are half-moon pockets of pasta-like dough filled with Italian cheese like tuma and romano seasoned with pepper; Basted with egg yolk and baked until golden.

My siblings and our spouses along with nieces and nephews gather on Good Friday to make these cheese biscuits from scratch. Thus, I have given them yet another name: “Petro Family Gold.”

Stay tuned for a special memory of mine that involves a “cowjune.”

For now, enjoy a few Fiadoni Fridays from this year and years past..

03/19/2026

Happy Festa di San Guiseppe!

Did you know that this feast day not only celebrates St. Joseph but is considered father's day in Italy...

While all Italians celebrate Fathers’ Day on the 19th in his honor, southern Italians are more apt to include St. Joseph in their celebrations. Sicilians, in particular, honor him as their patron saint.

According to legends, during the Middle Ages, Sicily was suffering such a horrific drought that the people were eating fava beans to survive. The beans, which were food cattle feed, kept many from starvation. They prayed to St. Joseph for rain, and their prayers worked. The spring rains saved the crops from destruction and the Sicilians from famine.

Happy Italian Father's Day Dad

03/01/2026

Studio Chi is now Anna DiPietro - Author. Thank you for following my journey these past 15 years. I am now concentrating on my writing and am currently working on an adult fiction-family drama - more info to come in another post. To be a best selling published author is a life-long dream. I've decided it is time to dedicate my time to reaching that goal.

I currently have a self published middle-grade novel on Amazon under the name K.P. Zwick - "Anja and the Golden Arrow" and two prompted journals as Kristi Niedzwiecki: "Write to Release" and "Full Moon Release Journal." And now it is time to write the many stories that have been in my head for years.

I hope you continue to follow me as I continue to follow my dreams. I thank you for all of your support with Studio Chi.

If you like stories of family secrets, Italian culture, women's empowerment and Chicago mafia history, please stay and learn more about "Sweet Francesca."

Grazie!