Preserving Italian Traditions with Rosetta Vescio

Written by Antonio Spadafora

A semi-structural interview with my grandmother Rosetta. This research allowed for me to develop a greater understanding of Italian Canadian immigration and the journey traveled by an amazing woman.

Introduction

I know my grandmother is very pleased with the fact that her immigration story will be shared with the public as one of the first stories of Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies. With that being said, the images and projects displayed below is the culmination of the work I have carried out in order to grasp a full understanding of Rosetta’s immigration story. Being raised by her mother (who was a single parent) and raising my mother as a single parent truly speaks to the adversity my Grandmother has shown in her life.

I have inserted the file to my interview video in the section below, Interviewing Rosetta, in which Rosetta goes into great detail about her immigration story and the challenges she had faced upon moving to Ontario at such a young age. I would also like to note that the video goes on to truly display my grandmother’s love for Italy and the cultural traditions that she has made a special effort to keep in our lives for all these years.

Finally, I have inserted my poster project below with the hopes of providing a visual as well as written explanation of true main takeaways gathered from the interview process.

I hope you enjoy the project below as much as I did creating it.

Interviewing Rosetta

For the interview portion of this major project, I had the privilege to sit down and discuss my grandmother’s immigration to Canada with her and some family members. I felt as though the interview process was quite easy and comfortable, considering the closeness of the family and the shared cultural interests within the house.

Click here to access the interview.

Academic Poster

The image shown above is my completed academic poster project that focuses on my grandmother Rosetta Vescio’s immigration story and the preservation of her cultural traditions in Canada. The poster is part of the Quiet Immigrant Project: Femmine Forti, curated by Laura Libralato, Columbus Centre, Toronto (April 24, 2022-June 26, 2022).

Gallery

The photos above are from the personal collection of my Grandmother, Rosetta Vescio. Other photographs were taken recently while my grandmother was cooking some of her famous desserts from the tin of recipes that have been passed on from her mother and grandmother.

Bibliography

All photos included are from the private collection of Rosetta Vescio.

Spadafora, Antonio. “Personal Interview with Rosetta Vescio.” Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, 10 Oct 2021, www.italianheritage.ca.

Spadafora, Antonio. “Preserving Italian Traditions: An Interview with Rosetta Vescio” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph: December 2, 2021, Guelph (academic poster, www.italianheritage.ca).

Spadafora, Antonio. “Preserving Italian Traditions with Rosetta Vescio” In Italian Communities in Canada: Heritage, Cultural and Ethnographic Studies, suprv. Teresa Russo. University of Guelph: December 2, 2021, Guelph (add URL). Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS), Sandra Parmegiani and Kyra Bates.