Getting your Italian Passport

This article is intended to assist Italian Americans to:

• Learn if they quality for an Italian Passport (Dual US/ Italian citizenship)
• Understand the steps and documents required to demonstrate this qualification
• Provide insight to some of the obstacles and how they can be overcome

Do I Qualify?

The first step in the process is to determine if you qualify to be a dual US/Italian citizen. According to Italian law, dual citizenship is explicitly permitted under certain conditions if acquired on or after August 15, 1992. 

There are a number of websites that can help you determine if you qualify for dual US/Italian citizenship. I found the following sites to be helpful:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_nationality_law
• http://www.italiamerica.org/id72.htm
• http://www.niaf.org/citizenship/index.asp

I Qualify, Now What?

Once you determine that you qualify for Italian citizenship, the work begins. I would budget $2,500 to complete the entire process. This is a rough budget and includes:

• Locating all the necessary Italian and US documents required to demonstrate your qualification
• Obtaining and having all of the documents reviewed for complete accuracy (my process was held up because of a typo)

• Getting all of the documents certified with an international seal (Apostille)
• Having the entire application translated into Italian (the consulate says this is not required, but it is)
• Traveling to the consulate for your interview
• Paying for the passport fees

The first step is to obtain all of the birth, marriage, and death certificates that demonstrate you qualify for dual citizenship. In my case, this meant locating my great grandfather Carsanaro’s birth, marriage, and death certificate from a handwritten church archive in a small Sicilian village.

I recommend using a local professional to assist you with obtaining the documents if you do not already have them. I wasted months trying to do this myself. Then, following this bloodline, obtain all of the birth, marriage, and death certificates that led to your birth.

In my case I also had to obtain my great-grandfather Carsanaro’s naturalization papers that confirmed my grandfather Carsanaro was born in the US prior to my great-grandfather being naturalized.

Once you have obtained all of the necessary documents, you must send them to get an international seal (Apostille), I would copy each document and keep a file for your records to follow-up. Even better, if cost is not a major consideration, I recommend getting 2 official copies of each document because one or more will likely get lost in the process.

Once you have all of your documents, they have been reviewed for complete accuracy, and each has an apostille, you will need to complete the passport application. Here is the link for the application.

You should check to see which Italian consulate you will be dealing with to process your application. The application form for citizenship and other useful information can be found on the English version of the Italian Consulate site.

Lastly, I highly recommend getting your entire application translated into Italian. The Consulate does not require this. However, the process is difficult (and slow) enough and asking the consulate to translate the package for you will, I suspect, put it on the bottom of the pile!

Once I submitted everything, the process took about 6 months. I received a very cryptic one sentence note in Italian through the mail that said for me to call for an appointment.

At the Consulate, the people were great, and the process was finished that day.

You must bring your passport pictures as described on the application. Additionally, you will need to bring cash for your passport. Some hours later, you will finally be done!

The entire process took approximately two and a half years from start to finish. I could not have gotten it done without the assistance of Italia America (a consultant based in Italy which specializes in the process, locating difficult to find documents and translations.)

Best of Luck!

Joseph Carsanaro

Carsanaro's Guide to Making Your Own Wine

If you enjoy drinking wine, you might be interested in the process of making your own wine. While it may seem like a mystery to some, others cannot wait to get started in making their own wine. Keep in mind that anyone has the ability to make wine. The only requirement is that you will be willing to buy all of the right supplies and to take your time to learn what you are doing. You will soon be able to start making wine that will make others jealous.

Get Your Supplies

The first thing that you will need to do is that you will need to buy all of your supplies. While buying the grapes to make the juice might seem obvious, other things like a hydrometer might not be as obvious. You will also need to get about five carboys which hold five gallons. Some of the carboys will need to have air locks on them for the fermentation process. Making the juice will require a de-stemmer and a press. You will also need a way to filter the wine and something to hold the wine whenever you are finished.

Buying the Grapes

Make sure that you are actually buying grapes rather than buying juice. There are two reasons for this. First, there is natural yeast which is present on the grapes which will produce a better tasting wine. Additionally, the juice which comes from other sources might have been pasteurized or otherwise compromised so that it will not produce wine. You are much better off buying the whole grapes and pressing the juice from them yourself.

The kinds of grapes that you will buy will determine what kind of wine you will be able to produce. Among the most popular for Americans to buy are the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes out of California. Make sure that no matter which of the grapes you choose that you purchase them while in season as well as buying them as local as possible so that they will have had the chance to ripen on the vine rather than in shipping. This will allow for higher sugar content.

Pressing Your Juice

Wine cannot be made while the juice is still inside of the grape. You can choose to do this by hand if you want to, but the best way to get all of the juice from your fruit is to use a press. These are affordable when using hand-cranked models. The hydraulic press models work very well and will result in more tannins being removed from the grapes as the seeds and the skins are pressed to their maximum.

As soon as your juice is pressed, it is a good idea to test the sugar content. Look for sugar content between 9% and 13% before getting started with the fermentation process. If necessary, you might have to add sugar to the juice. The best sugar to use is fructose sugar because it is closest to what is naturally in the grape juice to begin with.

First Fermentation

Now that you have your juice prepared, it is time to get started. Before adding any yeast, you will need to add a special mixture to the juice. This will include yeast nutrient to feed the yeast whenever it is added, pectic enzyme to clarify the wine as it is going through the process of fermentation and potassium bisulfite to kill off any bacteria which might be present in the juice. Allow 24 hours for the bacteria to be killed before moving on to the next step.

After the bacteria are dead, you are ready to get started with the actual fermentation. Add in one package of yeast to five gallons of juice. Stir in the yeast well and stand back as it will begin to bubble right away. By making sure that every container is only half filled, it will give room for the bubbling to take place. Cover the mixture – called "must" at this point – with cheese cloth and stir daily as the first fermentation rolls on.

Second Fermentation

After 5 – 6 days of fermenting, you will need to start the second fermentation. This is started by filtering the wine into a second sterile container. Leave behind any sediment which has fallen to the bottom of the first container as all of the yeast you will need is contained within the juice you can transfer from one bucket to the next.

The second fermentation is the longer portion of this process. Make sure that you are using the hydrometer to let you know when the fermentation process is over. Different climates, locales and environment conditions can make this time vary wildly. So, keep monitoring it to be sure you catch it at the right moment.

Clearing the Wine

After the fermentation process is the clearing process. This will include removing even more of the sediment from the must. The best way to remove the sediment will include a continual transference from one container to the next. As the wine is moved, it will become clearer. Make sure that you are being patient as this process might take as long as a few months to complete.

Bottling the Wine

At the end of the clearing process, the wine can be consumed, but not enjoyed. It should sit in a bottle for a period of time while it matures. Strain the wine thoroughly to remove any and all sediment from the wine. Carefully siphon the wine into completely sanitized bottles. Make sure that these are corked using new corks or at the very least using a sealing system which can include a screw cap enclosure. Corking the bottle is generally cheaper.

You do not need an ornate label if you do not want one, but you should at the very least include the date that the wine was bottled as well as the type of wine that it is. This will offer some clues as to how long you should allow it to mature and how you should store it.

Enjoy,

Joseph Carsanaro

Joe Carsanaro's Guide to Roasting Coffee at Home

Those who love coffee are very serious about having the freshest coffee from the best sources. Keep in mind that beans start to deteriorate in flavor and quality as soon as they are finished roasting. The oils inside of the beans will start to deteriorate and sour. Old beans will have a rancid flavor which is unpleasant for even the least discriminate coffee drinker. The good news is that you will be able to get the freshest coffee possible by simply roasting it yourself.

The process of roasting your own coffee does not have to be difficult. In fact, with the right methods it can be quite easy to accomplish. The main things that you will need to do is to decide on what manner by which you will roast your beans, what you will use to accomplish this and what kind of roast you are looking for. With these in mind, you will be able to have the delicious results you will surely want to share with others.

Bean Roasting Methods

There are two distinct ways in which you can roast beans. The first of the methods you can choose is an air roasting method. This means to use hot air from something like an air popcorn popper. The main benefit that you get from this is a gentle roasting method which protects the beans by ensuring an even distribution of heat. The method is slightly slower, but it is a fairly foolproof way that you will be able to get an even roast every time.

More people prefer using a more direct roasting method. Whether using direct heat from a skillet or from a drum roaster, the beans are roasted with the use of the direct transfer of heat from the roasting device to the beans. It is highly important that the beans are constantly rotated to prevent any possibility that they will become over roasted in some spots while under roasted in other spots.

Getting the Right Equipment

The equipment that you will choose will help in making sure that you will get the most out of every roasting method. Look for automated machines which will do all of the work for you. Among the most popular for those who prefer a direct roasting method is to use a drum roaster. These will allow you to be able to make sure that you are getting the benefit of the direct heat as well as the air roasting method combined. By the beans rolling in the drum, it is possible for them to get direct heat from the drum as well as hot air roasting while they tumble. These beans will get a complete roast in the process.

Those looking to use a skillet method for roasting should choose a roaster that will include a paddle agitator. This will maintain constant motion of the beans so that they will get a more even roast. Set the heat to low so that there will be less of a chance that the beans will scorch while in contact with the skillet.

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to get started with roasting your own beans, you can alter an air style popcorn popper to roast beans with. Essentially, you will need to make sure that you are blocking the chute from letting any beans go. This is best done with something like a metal plate so that there will be less chance of there being a problem with what you are using to block the chute melting or catching on fire.

Choose Your Roast

As you start to roast your beans, you will need to make sure that you are getting the kind of roast you are looking for. Remember that the darker the beans are, the more bitter the flavor. Of course, there will be other flavor notes that you will be able to extract through a longer roasting process which you might find desirable.

Try a few different roasts to decide which you like the most, and remember that a roast that works well for one kind of coffee might not be the best for another.

The first two stages that your beans will go through include the yellowing and steam stages. This will include the first change in color, a presence of a grassy smell as well as noticeable steam being emitted from the beans as they start to release water.

The first crack stage is when the beans will become dry enough that they will first start to crack or “pop”. While this is when you will begin to recognize the bean for what you might find in your morning coffee, this is close to the coffee that you might want to drink.

The lightest roast in which you will be able to enjoy drinking the coffee will be at the very start of the second crack, or just before it. This comes soon after the first crack stage. You can begin to judge the stages from this point based on the color, aroma and oil accumulation on the outside of the beans.

As your beans go through the second crack stage, you will approach what is known as City roast. This is where the bean is at its most volatile and will be on the verge of literally exploding. The second crack stage will be where you'll find the best roast levels. As the cracking slows down you'll be at or near a Full City roast, approaching French roast.

The darkest roast you'll want to use is the French Roast. This is characterized by the smell of burnt sugar and a further deterioration of the bean itself. It's important to be careful when taking the coffee to this point as any further and the coffee will have little to no body and will be unpalatable. Eventually, you'll just have lumps of coal.

Buy Your Beans

Always source your green beans form the best sources. Try to purchase from such well known coffee producing regions as Brazil, Peru, Kenya and Sumatra. You will be able to taste the difference between the different beans from all around the world. As you develop your skill at roasting you'll figure out what kind of roast suits different kinds of beans.

It's easy and fun to get started roasting your own coffee, but you can spend a lifetime mastering it.

--Joe Carsanaro

About Joseph Carsanaro's Blog

Joseph Carsanaro is General Manager and VP of Marketing for Motion IP LLC. In this role he leads all marketing, business development, technology licensing, and operations for this Intelectual Property and software technology holding company.

Here you'll find various odds and ends that Joe wants to share.