Within Catholicism, ex-votos are votive objects presented in thanks for heavenly intercession with a misfortune such as an accident or illness. This book features two types of Italian ex-votos from the collection of Leonard Norman Primiano, dating from 1832 to 1959: metal objects in the shapes of people, afflicted body parts, or hearts, and painted narrative tablets depicting the dramatic moment of crisis for which intercession was requested. Collectively, the three essays address a history of ex-votos and their place within Catholic thought, their creation and use by Italian Americans, and...

"Reframing Italian America" brings to light forty-one historical photographs from the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute s Bernard Titowsky Collection, and it features essays by Dominique Padurano, Joseph Sciorra, and John Turturro. The majority of the 222 items in the Titowsky Collection depict scenes of Italian immigrant life throughout the United States from the first three decades of the twentieth century. A significant number are mounted on now-faded gray paperboard and captioned with ornate calligraphy, presumably part of a previous exhibition. The reframing of these images is...