Calabrian connection
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009When President-elect Obama nominated Leon Panetta as the new CIA director, Washington insiders were stunned. Later, it was my turned to be surprised when a friend in Spokane, Wash., shared this link with me. It explains that Panetta, whose parents were immigrants for Siderno, just north of Reggio Calabria, speaks the village dialect, as well as Italian, “perfectly,” according to a Calabrian relative.



