Italian Folklore

“In this evocatively written and beautifully illustrated cultural narrative, Gina Miele peels back the complex layers of Italian and Italian American culture to reveal what’s at the core of our ancestral heritage and what makes us who we are. Uncovered here are saints who guide and protect us, the witches who both cast spells and break them, and the healers and mourners who offer us comfort. Miele’s personal look into Italian tradition is as entertaining as it is enchanting.”

“Dr. Gina Miele is a brilliant and gifted storyteller. Italian Folklore is a sumptuous treasury of the history of living tradition in bella Italia. You will find ancient rituals and the stories behind feast days and festivals. You will meet the saints and the strega. Miele shares the mouthwatering cuisine of la tavola. She forages herbs for healing and medicinal cures that are used until this day. She shares the Italian writers throughout history who recorded the rites, rituals and mysticism of Italy. This glorious book will have a permanent place in my home. Whether you are of Italian descent or an Italophile, this book is a keeper. The author did a deep dive into the past which illuminates all we can be in the present. Italia per sempre! Brava!”

“Decades ago, Toni Morrison urged us to listen to our ancestors and absorb the wisdom rooted in oral traditions and lived experience. In this luminous study, Gina Miele takes up that call, exploring how domestic practices serve as a powerful conduit for healing, justice, and beauty. Part meditation and part historical reclamation, this book recovers and amplifies the voices of midwives, witches, and saints—the many women who silently and surreptitiously overturned the patriarchal dictates of legal and religious institutions.”

“A storyteller for storytellers, Gina Miele transforms extensive scholarly research into accessible, compelling accounts of the distinctive effect of Italian folk traditions. Enhanced by captivating illustrations, these stories pay homage to the keepers of wisdom and custom who embody the many enduring identities of this ancient people. Miele celebrates the healers, helpers, and guardians of ritual, most often brave and wise women who worked in the shadows, shunned yet sought for their extraordinary gifts. This work leads them out of the darkness and honors their art with dignity and respect.”

Dr. Gina M. Miele is an Italian-American scholar, professor, and cultural storyteller whose work brings the richness of old-world folklore to new generations.

As a professor of Italian language and culture, she teaches students annually, helping them connect with Italy’s deep literary and spiritual traditions. Dr. Miele is the founding director of the Coccia Institute for the Italian Experience in America at Montclair State University. She received her PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University.

Her specialization lies in nineteenth and twentieth-century Italian folktales, with a particular focus on the works of Luigi Capuana and Italo Calvino. She has published articles in Italica, Marvels and Tales, Fabula, and Italian Quarterly. Dr. Miele has also contributed to the Greenwood Encyclopedia of Folktales and Fairy Tales and Marvelous Transformations: An Anthology of Tales and Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Additionally, she is the co-author of the workbook accompanying the textbook Parliamo Italiano.

Her essays and book reviews on Italian American studies have appeared in publications such as the Harvard College Journal of Italian American History and Culture, the Italian American Review, Altreitalie, the Paterson Literary Review, and Primo.

With a strong international following, Dr. Miele stands at the intersection of scholarship and community. Her book, Italian Folklore, carries that mission forward as a deeply researched and accessible guide to Italian folklore and ritual.

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