Vicky Carabini, a committed supporter of Italian education and community in Orange County, and patron to the Italian Studies program at Chapman University was recently recognized for her tireless efforts in preserving and fostering the Italian heritage in the region. In addition to serving as the Chair of the Italian Studies Council at Chapman, she is the ambassador to Capestrano, Italy, sister city of San Juan Capistrano. In addition, she is an active board member of the Italian Arts Council, the History Mission Preservation Board and serves as the Orange County Area Coordinator for the National Italian American Foundation.
In her acceptance speech, Vicky stated that “Growing up Italian is all I’ve ever known.” She grew up in America surrounded by grandparents who worked hard to build successful lives in America and who fostered the American dream, but who “still instilled the traditions from bella Italia—the food, the culture, the holidays, the importance of family and their deep love for their homeland.”
At fifteen she visited Italy for the first time and fell in love with the land her grandparents had left behind. When speaking of Italian Americans, she had this to say: “Our roots are deep with passion, and we have this innate ability to try to be more Italian than the next Italian American. In fact most Italian Americans usually just refer to themselves as simply ‘Italian’. Those born in the US of Italian descent are more boastful of their heritage than those born in Italy.”
By raising her two daughters to speak the language and embrace their Italian heritage, by acquiring dual citizenship with Italy for herself and her family, by purchasing a farmhouse in Tuscany that actively produces olive oil, and by her active involvement in so many Italian cultural organizations, Vicki is the ideal example of the third-generation Italian American who has had great success in building a bridge between America and Italy. She said, “My grandparents left their beautiful homeland – little did they know that we would return and keep our heritage alive. It truly is a heritage of the heart.”
Her speech ended on a poetic note with the words by Robert Browning: “Open my heart and you will see graved inside of it, Italy.”
Below Vicky Carabini (third from the right) and other dignitaries at the award ceremony on October 4th.
