Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Pittsburgh. Good Neighbor Podcast hosted by Leila Carter helps residents discover and connect with your local business owners in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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Good Neighbor Podcast: Pittsburgh
E72: Meet the Woman Creating the Italian Cultural Appreciation Hub that is Istituto Mondo Italiano
What makes Viviana Altieri with Istituto Mondo Italiano a good neighbor?
What happens when a Roman takes a $100 bet and ends up in Pittsburgh? Viviana Altieri's journey from Italy to the Steel City led to the creation of Istituto Mondo Italiano, a cultural hub celebrating all things Italian for the past 15 years.
Viviana's story begins with an unlikely wager made with two Duquesne University students who bet she would never leave Italy. Months later, she arrived on their doorstep, suitcase in hand. Though she never collected the $100, Viviana found something far more valuable - a welcoming community that would eventually inspire her mission. After years in the tech industry, she felt a growing disconnect from the city that had embraced her. This realization sparked the creation of Istituto Mondo Italiano, her way of giving back through cultural connection.
Today, the institute serves as Pittsburgh's gateway to Italian culture, offering language classes for all ages, popular cooking workshops, La Dolce Vita Boutique, and the Italian Radio Hour podcast. What makes Viviana's approach special is its inclusivity - no membership fees, no Italian heritage required. "We're open to anyone," she emphasizes, creating a space where everyone from toddlers to nonagenarians can experience authentic Italian culture. Beyond the institute's walls, Viviana brings Italy to the community through pasta-making demonstrations at local events, cooking videos streamed live every Friday, and a podcast reaching listeners in over 100 countries.
Ready to experience la dolce vita right in Pittsburgh? Visit istitutomondoitaliano.org, follow Viviana's social media, or search "Italian in Pittsburgh" to find the Italian Radio Hour. Whether you're planning a trip to Italy, exploring your heritage, or simply want to be "Italian for a day," Viviana's passionate cultural mission proves that sometimes, the best journeys begin with a small bet and a big dream.
To learn more about Istituto Mondo Italiano go to:
http://www.istitutomondoitaliano.org/
Istituto Mondo Italiano
(412) 478-2681
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Lila Carter.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a little dolce vita in your life? Some might be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, viviana Altieri, with Istituto Mondo Italiano.
Speaker 3:Thank you for the invitation. It's such a pleasure to talk to you today.
Speaker 2:Such a pleasure to have you here, so we're excited to learn all about you and your organization. Please tell us more.
Speaker 3:Sure, istituto Mondo Italiano is pretty much your getaway to anything Italian here in Pittsburgh. We started about 15 years ago, and so we provide language classes, cooking classes, pretty amazing cooking classes. We have La Dolce Vita Boutique. We even have our own podcast, the Italian Radio Hour, and we just wanted to be a point of reference for anyone that was either of Italian origin might be going to Italy or just wants to be Italian for a day?
Speaker 2:Excellent. How did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:Well, I'm originally from Rome. I came to Pittsburgh on a hundred dollar bet that I made with two Duquesne students during my college years who bet $100 that I would never come. I would never leave my mama and, needless to say, a couple of months later I knock at their door with my suitcase. I say I'm here, where is the $100? Not kidding, I've never seen the money, but really met a lot of people worth the weight in gold. When I first came here it took me a couple of years to get used to the language, the climate. I came here of the blizzard and and Got into high tech. I had a wonderful, wonderful career, but over the years I felt that I was losing touch of the community that had welcomed me so warmly. So I wanted to put to use my background, my skills, to create again a welcoming cultural organization that is open to anyone again that loves and enjoys the Italian culture.
Speaker 2:Amazing. So what are some myths, or maybe misconceptions, in your business?
Speaker 3:Well, I have to say that I'm pretty fortunate because kind of being Italian is cool nowadays. Maybe it wasn't back in the day when the first waves of immigrants came over and they had to endure a lot of hardships, but the Italian culture is one of the most appreciated cultures in in the world nowadays, whether it's the food, the contributions to art and science, or so it just as I said more than misconceptions, I would say probably is more varied than what people might think. So I highly encourage everyone to get involved or take a trip to Italy to really experience that variety firsthand.
Speaker 2:So who are your target customers and how are you attracting them to the Institute?
Speaker 3:So we do work with pretty much everyone from the three years old all the way to the ones in the 90s, because, again, our services. We have the language classes, both for adults and children, and summer camps amazing summer camps the cooking classes. So the cooking class is always a sellout who doesn't like to make delicious Italian food? Then we have the shop that attracts both inline shoppers and also people that come and see our space and we do a lot of things in the community. We recently had the Little Italy Days in Bloomfield. So I set up a little table like a little nonna and I was making pasta day after day after day. So any passerby whether again were little kids or grownups stopped and gave a try to make whatever pasta shape I was working on. So I like to be as visible as possible and I also like to donate, give certificates to a lot of worthy causes, really supporting also other organizations that are non-profits. So it's kind of a give and take right. This is my time to give back.
Speaker 2:Have you ever thought about doing a podcast, possibly to increase your visibility?
Speaker 3:We do have a podcast. It's called the Italian Radio Hour. So I've been doing it for four years and I think it's going pretty well. We are covering stories both from Italy and here in the US, so we kind of tracked I think. According to the stats, there are about over 100 countries tuning in to download or listen to our content, so hopefully, you know, we'll get also bigger traction here locally as well.
Speaker 2:Very cool. So outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Speaker 3:Believe it or not, I love the two wheels. So, from a Vespa to a 1200 Suzuki, 1200cc Suzuki to a 1200 Suzuki, 1200cc Suzuki, I do love to take road trips Again, whether it's on two wheels or maybe in a car, so traveling is indeed one of my biggest passions. I'm also pretty crafty, so my furniture, my look of one color one day, and it might be a total makeover the following week.
Speaker 2:I'm the same way about my interior design. I love to switch it up Very cool. So, viviana, please tell our listeners one thing that they should remember about Istituto Mondo Italiano.
Speaker 3:That we're open to anyone. First of all, we don't have any membership fee. Again, you don't need to be Italian to come to our events. You will surely have fun and make new friends, and, again, whether you are a long time Pittsburgher or a newcomer, as I was back in the day. So, and then we have also a great online shop, so you can bring a little bit of Italy to your home.
Speaker 2:Very nice. And how can our listeners learn more about the Institute?
Speaker 3:I'm very active on social media, but we do have an official website, which is wwwistitutomondoitalianoorg and there is no N in istituto, but I'm sure we'll spell it out and again on Facebook under my name, viviana Artieri, mondo Italiano, usually on Fridays. I also do live cooking videos that we started during COVID, cooking videos that we started during COVID and it's been our weekly appointment. They can find Italian Radio Hour on podcast platforms or on YouTube. As soon as they put Italian in Pittsburgh, I'm sure we'll come up.
Speaker 2:Very nice. Yeah, it's been one of my life goals to make my own pasta. Come on over.
Speaker 3:You're officially invited now. We'll have a follow-up episode after your pasta class.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can't go back to the store-bought stuff, I'm sure, once you make your own. Well, Viviana, I really appreciate your time today and having you as a guest on our show. We wish you and the Institute the best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much. Ciao, ciao a tutti quanti. See you at the Istituto Mondo Italiano. And, leila, thank you again for this opportunity.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnppittsburghcom. That's gnppittsburghcom, or call 412-561-9956.