Monthly Cultural Corner - July

July 7, 2022

Cultural Spotlight: Nuccio Patti

Nuccio

Ciao! My name is Nuccio Patti, and I work at Penny Lane as an administrator for Abbey Road. I will soon be working out of our North Hollywood office.  I have been at Penny Lane for ten years.

I am Italian. My parents are from a town called Milazzo, in the beautiful island of Sicily. Having lived in the US for most of my life, however, I am also a proud American.

I grew up both in California and in Sicily. I was born here in Los Angeles, however I lived in Italy for about a year when I was about preschool age and then lived there from when I was 11 until I was 17. I moved back to the U.S. to finish high school and go to college. Whenever I can, I return to Sicily (usually in the Summer). My father lives in Sicily, along with most of my extended family. My sister lives in Torino in Northern Italy. My mother is retiring now and likely moving back to Italy as well.

I listen to all kinds of music and am a huge fan of live shows, concerts, and festivals. If referring to Italian music, I listen to a lot of older Italian music from the ‘60s through the ‘90s. I also love opera and classical music, some of which is Italian. And of course, there is classic Italian American music that is such a part of American culture.

I would say I have several pasta dishes I love to cook (and even more so to eat). Most of them are ones that either my grandmothers used to make for me or were ones that we used to serve at my family’s restaurant in my town in Sicily. I love to cook and have cooked since I was a kid, so making pasta, pizza, and other dishes has always been a great way for me to keep connected to my culture and my past.

My childhood favorite dish is “rigatoni alla siciliana”

Cooking would have to be one of my favorite cultural traditions. But it is hard to pinpoint one true favorite.  I honestly just love going back home each year and visiting my family. Spending some time in Torino with my sister and nephew, then driving through most of the country on the way to Sicily to see my father, grandmother, the rest of my family, and my old friends. In terms of actual cultural traditions, I did dance in a traditional Sicilian folkloric group when in middle school.

Italian culture is complex. It has the natural and cultural beauty and heritage that most people know, but there is so much more to the special peninsula. What I wish people knew more about is just how beautiful the south of Italy is. I urge everyone to visit southern Italy and its islands if they have the chance.

I quite vividly remember my summer in Sicily in 1994. I was eleven at the time and spent the entire summer there with my sister at my grandparents. I spent the days going to the beach and worked the evenings bussing tables at my family’s restaurant. I remember going out in the town square to celebrate the Italian national soccer team winning their quarterfinal and semifinal matches in the World Cup. I remember watching the final (which ironically was at the Rose Bowl) with my family and being heartbroken when Italy lost. That summer was so special for me, so much so that I ended up staying there for six years (my father decided to move back there). I ended up starting middle school a few weeks later, not really remembering most of the language, and basically starting a new life. I got to know my entire family in Sicily much better and spent my best years there growing up. I am so grateful I had the chance to live in Milazzo for those years and to really connect with my family and culture.

-Nuccio Patti, Abbey Road