Italian University Students Lucia Rovigo and Marcello Mascellaro Bring Touch of Home to Norwood Host Families-August 10, 1981

Keeping ties with the old country has taken on a living reality for local families hosting Lucia Rovigo and Marcello Mascellaro, two 22-year-old university students visiting Norwood among a group of 21 Italian youths spending a month in town through the Interstudy program. Frank and Rosa Bilotta are hosting Rovigo at their Edgehill Road home, while Mrs. Bilotta’s parents, Joseph and Concetta Aiello, are hosting Mascellaro at their Neponset St. home. Interviewed just six days after arriving via Logan Airport, the students expressed admiration for the abundance of green spaces in Boston and Norwood, contrasting it with the multi-apartment buildings of their home countries. Rovigo hails from the small alpine valley town of Grigno near Trento in northern Italy, while Mascellaro comes from the southern coastal city of Taranto.

For Frank and Rosa Bilotta, both 29, the visit offers a welcome chance to reminisce. Mr. Bilotta emigrated from Filadelfia, Italy, four years prior, while Mrs. Bilotta graduated from Norwood High School and has roots in Torre DiRuggiero. The students arrived through Interstudy, a Swiss-based placement organization that has drawn some criticism over fee structures, though local group leader Theresa Bartucca emphasized that host families receive no financial compensation and volunteered out of enthusiasm. Bartucca, who is hosting two Italian boys at her Third Street home, noted, “They can’t believe how polite they are. They take care of their rooms… We enjoy them thoroughly.”

As part of their itinerary, the students attend English and cultural classes four mornings a week at the United Church of Norwood and participate in local and regional excursions arranged by host families. Following a welcome party at the Italian-American Club in Walpole, the students’ itinerary includes walking tours of Norwood, visits to Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy Library, the Museum of Science, Adams House in Quincy, local tours of Norwood Hospital and the Star Market distribution center, trips to the seashore, Nantasket, Paragon Park, and a picnic at Hawes Pool in South Norwood, alongside hopes of catching a Red Sox game at Fenway Park before departing on August 27.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger