L’Americana
From Signorina to Signora
A few years ago, when I visited Rome for the first time since living there in my twenties, it was disheartening to be called signora. I had always been signorina. [...]
Love letters to heal the pain
A decade ago, columnist Kristine Crane met a man on an Italian train and felt a pull. From this came an email bond forged of grief.
The Mamma Mission
One of my missions when I visited Rome a few years ago was to find out about mamma, the mother of my Italian boyfriend. Mamma was born in 1917, the [...]
The big toss of a small coin
My good friend Jyl put it to me well some years ago. “It’s like you don’t quite get America, and America doesn’t quite get you.” We were in our early [...]
Piano keys and ponies
I learned to play piano from the woman we knew as Mrs. E. Her real name was Charlotte, and her married name was a long German word that started with [...]
Once upon a catwalk
Some years ago, I was a model for Halloween. In real life, I am pretty and petite, but not model material, apart from perhaps my piano hands and my soulful [...]
Bella Ciao, and memories of a man
Recently, I played “Bella Ciao” for my students. I first heard the song as a college student in Bologna. I would ride my bike through Bologna’s streets, alongside the porticoed [...]
I Gemelli, an Italian story
Columnist Kristine Crane had no idea where she sat on the zodiac until she came to Italy, after which planets aligned.
Italian 101 (or, In the beginning)
I’m teaching Italian at the University of Florida this fall. The course is called Beginning Italian II, which was my own first formal training of Italian. I placed out of [...]
Sleeping with the enemy
Columnist Kristine Crane found an unwelcome bedfellow one night, reviving a fear of cockroaches in an American state they love.
From words to anatomy, and back
About five years ago, I briefly considered embarking on a second career as a doctor. Though I’d been a health reporter for several years, this was different. I suddenly wanted [...]
Un paio di scarpe
Among the remaining artifacts at my father’s house in Iowa was my Italian running trophy. It sat on the fireplace mantel. I hadn't seen it for years. Its base is [...]
Author, Deputy Editor
Kristine Crane
Kristine Crane, who writes the “L’Americana” column, lives and writes in North Central Florida. She was formerly a Fulbright scholar and journalist in Rome, where she helped found “The American.” She is originally from Iowa City.