Fernanda Pistelli is a 37-year-old New York native and she has been happily married to her Italian partner Mario Massaro since 1992. She is a proud Italian American by birth and in her early years in this country, she was quite unhappy with her nationality and wanted to be a normal American citizen. When her husband came over from Italy, she was not prepared for the dual identity that she would suddenly become. She was not able to turn her back on her Italian roots and in order to protect her American citizenship, she made the decision to become a naturalized American. She has always felt a strong connection with Italy and the many different historical events that have occurred throughout the years, which began when her great-grandfather immigrated to America at the age of 16.
Throughout the years, Fernanda has maintained a strong attachment to her Italian heritage and this has allowed her to fully enjoy all that is involved with the Italian culture. In fact, she was very upset when she found out that she would be required to take an English test in order to acquire her citizenship. She had already been studying Italian for many years and felt that her proficiency in the language was sufficient for the simple task of an English test. However, her dismay was compounded when she discovered that speaking English would make it more difficult for her to achieve her true citizenship status.
After going through the process of taking an English test and achieving her citizenship, Fernanda Pistelli married Mario Massaro and in 1996 they welcomed a second son into the world. As it turned out, Mario was born in Brooklyn, New York and at the time of their marriage, Fernanda was already a naturalized American citizen. The problem was that when her marriage was finalized in Italy, they had to go through the same citizenship process as any other American citizen. This meant that every step of the way, whether they were speaking English in their home or in the office, they had to consistently refer to themselves as” Mario” and” Fernanda”. It was a language barrier which almost crippled their marriage and they did not speak much to each other.