ITALIAN CULTURE
NORA Alves, 65, was born in Italy in a village called Aquilonia. Her parents Francesco and Antonietta Coppola moved with her to South Africa when she was a year old.
Despite being raised in South Africa, she speaks the language fluently, and understands and values her Italian culture instilled by her parents.
Alves is married to a Portuguese husband, and said her family embraced both cultures.
She added that she was a good cook like her mother and had passed on her skills to her daughter Antoniette Alves.
“Italians are big on cooking, we all know about pasta, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne and we also grow our own herbs. We are passionate about food and used to own a restaurant.”
They invited the Tribune team to share a meal, which included pasta e fegioli with white beans, garlic and chilli.
It was a delicious treat.