Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

I grew up in Somerville with second generation Italian parents. My friends were of many different ethnicities and most of our grandparents were, as they said, “Off the boat,” a term I never liked.

We were pretty close to our grandparents both location wise and emotionally. My mother could speak Italian but my dad was fluent. Dad was the first one in the family to be born in America shortly after the family arrived. I heard a lot of strange stories about customs, traditions and superstitions.

Whenever I got a new car my Aunt Olga would put quarters under the floor mats. This is one of the traditions or old wives tales that have been passed down.

Some more Italian beliefs are never put shoes on a table, never throw away bread or olive oil, never give an odd amount of roses, never put hats on the bed, and always put money in a purse if it’s a gift. Whoever finds a baby’s first tooth has to buy the first pair of walking shoes. And the Grand No-no of them all, hanging red peppers on your door to protect the home, from Malocchio, or the curse and of the evil eye.

I asked my Somerville friends with Italian families to share some old wives tales that they grew up with. Below is a blend of those memories.

Never put coats on a bed. Don’t ever have birds as pets, and if a bird comes through your window it means death.

It’s bad luck to change the calendar to the new month before the first day.

If a fork falls on the kitchen floor, a lady will come to visit. If a spoon falls it means a man will visit. Biting your hand shows disapproval, along with the usual universal hand signs, and if you spill salt, you have to toss some over your left shoulder.

Never put the bread on the table good side down. A friend’s aunt would put an extra pair of comfortable shoes in the casket for them to change into in Heaven. Don’t pass a baby over the table. Sprinkle salt on the doorway before entering a new home. Never pick up a new car on a Friday. Yes, can’t have pictures of birds on playing cards or pictures, we call it red sauce, never gravy, and garlic everywhere!

To wrap it up, this is from a lady I graduated High school with: “My nonno hung a horseshoe over the door and hung a string of garlic to keep away the evil eye. Thanks to my pisans for chiming in.

Auntie Olga put the quarters under the mats of our 2003 SUV when we bought it new. My kids, their friends, my aunts, and three different bands were all chauffeured around in that SUV for 16 years. We put almost 200,000 miles on it and thank God we were kept safe.

Since Auntie isn’t around anymore, her daughter, my cousin Carol, will do the honors and place the quarters under the mats of my son’s first car.

Do I believe in old wives tales? Some of them. One piece of folklore I don’t mess with is the aforementioned Malocchio (mal-bad, occhio-eye), or the evil eye. It’s the most serious of all Italian customs and curses that can cause physical pain and misfortune. I have a disturbing story about a real Italian curse that actually happened. If I get the guts, I’ll share it another time. Meanwhile, I’m going to hang some fresh garlic on the front door because I used what was there for sauce last Sunday. Go Bucs!