Eugene Basilici

Legacy of a Hero Eugene Basilici

Legacy of a Hero is the remarkable story of Genio Basilici, legendary patriarch of an Italian community near Boston. In 1946, he sends his son, Enrico, to Italy to find and assist family members in the aftermath of war. Alternating with his son's search and harrowing escape from a Neapolitan street gang and his brief but passionate affair with Graciella, Genio relives his arrival in America at the turn of the century in flashbacks of memory. It was a time when virulent prejudice and constant, anti-Italian hate campaigns forced him to step forward in defense of his countrymen; the time of the Great Depression, of Sacco and Vanzetti and the anarchist movement. It was a time when a huge influx of non-English speaking immigrants flooded our cities and sparked a firestorm of resentment. It was an incendiary era when ordinary individuals rose to extraordinary heights. It was a time to remember.