I’ve recently learned about a very talented woman. Stefania Munzi is an Italian-American artist, art teacher and children’s book illustrator and author from Connecticut with family roots to Abruzzo, Italy.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Albertus Magnus College with a BA in Fine Arts and is a high school art teacher.
After her son Joseph was born with microtia following a difficult pregnancy, Stefania decided to use her talents to normalize children with disabilities by doing portraits of Jojo with his tiny ear and hearing aid. Stefania soon expanded to doing portraits of other special needs kids. She wrote her first book, “Jojo’s Tiny Ear“, to educate and inspire others to be more accepting.
In November of 2024, she published her second children’s book, C’era una Volta in Wooster Square which was inspired by this tight-knit community – a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut, known for its rich Italian-American culture.
C’era una Volta in Wooster Square is a collection of watercolors depicting all of the iconic sites in Wooster Square, including Pepe’s, Sally’s, Zeneli’s, Lucibello’s, Libby’s, St. Michael’s, the Cherry Blossoms, and more. It’s an homage to the beauty of this historic neighborhood, the experience of Italian-American immigrants, the pizza, pastries, and other delicious food that make New Haven the unique city it is and everyone loves.
Stefania plans to write and paint more in the future, while continuing to celebrate her home state of Connecticut.
I encourage you to check out her pages below. I’m confident you will enjoy seeing more of her captivating drawings.
Visit her web site and Facebook page for more information.