There’s no denying the power and influence of Instagram. And it’s one of the best places to find accounts dedicated to the Italian and Italian American experience, with posts that center around food, humor, and culture. Take a look below at a short list of the five hottest Italian American pages on Instagram.
The Pasta Queen
@the_pastaqueen
Nadia Caterina Munno, better known to her 2.1 million followers as “The Pasta Queen” posts mouthwatering videos of easy-to-follow pasta recipes. A native of Rome, Italy currently residing in Florida, the influencer descends from a long line of southern Italian pasta makers. Her eccentric flair and signature catchphrase – “I am pasta, I am drama, I am Italiana” – has made her a favorite among her fans.
Carlo and Sarah
@carloandsarah
Carlo Luongo and Sarah Mollica are one of the hottest couples creating cross-cultural content on Instagram. Many of the videos involve Italian American Mollica filming Luongo, who is from southern Italy, reacting to the best and worst, big and small quirks, the United States has to offer. Videos like Mollica snapping spaghetti in half (much to Luongo’s horror,) or Luongo ordering at a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-through has made them an instant success with their 2 million followers.
Growing up Italian
@growingupitalian
Created by three cousins hailing from a large, Italian family based in Brooklyn, NY, @growingupitalian is a page unique to the international Italian-American and Italian community. With 1.1 million followers, the page often posts humorous and relatable videos poking fun at the Italian culture’s quirks, such as Italian dads dragging their feet at having to turn on the air conditioning during the summer, or the Italian refusal to consume cappuccinos past 11 a.m.
Cugine
@meals_by_cug
Cugine is a mega star in the New York food scene, and it’s hard not to see why. With his heavy New York accent, exaggerated hand gestures, and signature catchphrases, the most popular being “take care, brush ya hair,” his food review videos are a hit with his 1 million fans. Cug rates the Big Apple’s big and small Italian-American food joints, focusing on pizza, pasta, pastries, and sandwiches.
Pina’s Kitchen
@pinaskitchen_
Since September 2021, Rosemarie and Pina Sparacio have been taking the internet by storm with their hundreds of videos of mouthwatering recipes that honor their Sicilian heritage. Many of the videos also feature heartwarming moments in which mother and daughter reminisce on family through the foods they cook, a sentiment that resonates with their 221,000 followers.
Rossella Rago
@rosellarago
A first-generation Italian American from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Rossella Rago is an accomplished cookbook author with 113,000 followers on Instagram. With family ties to Mola di Bari, a fishing village in the southern region of Puglia, Rago has published three cookbooks, and is the host of a cooking show called “Cooking with Noonna.” In each episode of her show, Rago invites an Italian nonna to cook traditional Italian recipes while reminiscing on their childhoods in Italy.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, The Christian Science Monitor, and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.