Palermo’s Cathedral, a Prime Example of Sicily's Unique Arab-Norman Architecture
Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, Swabian: throughout the centuries, Palermo was ruled by different civilizations and this is reflected in the city’s architecture, a mixture of Arabesque and Norman magnificence, of Baroque and Liberty styles. The multi-ethnic past of Palermo is visible in the Cathedral, one of the most important historic buildings and a...
History of grappa
Grappa is a uniquely Italian drink. Traditionally, made from pomace, that is, discarded grape seeds, stalks and stems that are a by-product of the winemaking process, grappa has been around since the Middle Ages. For generations, Italians have sipped this "firewater" after meals and even added a little to their morning espresso, to "correct" it (tr...
Battistoni: Born with a Lucky Shirt
“When we get to Rome, I'll buy you a jacket in a fantastic place, at Battistoni's,” said Jude Law to Matt Damon in “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” a film that revels in the dolce vita of Americans in Rome in the 1960s. It's a dolce vita that unspooled not only at the cafè tables of Via Veneto but in the boutiques of Via Condotti. It was on that street,...
Live la dolce vita at the edge of Lake Como, Italy
Living the high life — Italian-style — is just 6,600 kilometres and $53,000 away. That’s the low-end cost of a week’s stay at Villa Besana on the shores of Lake Como, an upscale resort area in northern Italy. Few luxuries are left unoffered at the picturesque retreat in the foothills of the Alps, where a Michelin-starred chef, a cellar of fine wine...
Italian Heritage Month 2018: A Salute to Italian Women in America
Please save the dates for two panel presentations organized by NOIAW for Italian Heritage Month in New York City: “Italian Women in America: Breaking Barriers” on October 5th, 6PM, at the Italian Consulate (690 Park Avenue), and “Empowered Italian Women in America” on October 30th, 6PM, at CUNY Graduate Center (Martin E. Segal Theatre, 365 Fifth Av...
Artistica Italian Gallery Acquires Deruta of Italy
Artistica Italian Gallery, a family-owned importer of Italian home decor for over 28 years, announced that it has acquired the assets of New York-based Deruta of Italy, the oldest B2B distributor of hand-painted ceramics and majolica from the medieval hill town of Deruta, Italy, into the United States. Coinciding with Deruta of Italy’s 35th anniver...
Giuseppe’s Restaurant serves classic Italian dishes and a few named for restaurant regulars
When Charlie Salvaggio bought Giuseppe’s Restaurant in 1993, there were only a handful of restaurants on Louetta Road in Spring. “There might have been six restaurants out here,” he said. “Now there’s 80 or 90.” There is also no shortage of Italian food in the area, with restaurants serving up traditional and modern cuisine at locally owned and cha...
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy: the unconventional top 5
Did you know that Italy has more sites with UNESCO World Heritage status than any other country in the world? Italy is in the top ranking of World Heritage out of 1,001 worldwide. 777 of them are cultural heritage; 194 of them are natural; and 30, mixed. Italy has 51 sites out of them, and is followed by Spain, which has 44 UNESCO sites, and by Chi...
St. Bart's 2018 Labor Day Italian Festival Schedule Announced
The St. Bart's Italian Festival is an annual tradition in Scotch Plains that bids farewell to summer and kicks off the fall calendar. Founded in 1974, the festival features live music, amusement park rides, games, and, of course, great food, including pizza, pasta, clams, mussels, calzones, and the festival's famous zeppoles. Additionally, there ar...
What is Pecorino, and other answers to questions about 4 Italian whites
The mission of the Italian Trade Agency's campaign, "Italian Wine - Taste the Passion," is to educate consumers of the breadth, diversity and quality of Italian wines. Its aim is to increase awareness of the many excellent Italian wine varietals and wine-producing regions. The agency sent me four wines to sample: Masut de Rive Pinot Grigio, La Capr...
Scraps: Fashion, Textiles, and Creative Reuse
The textile and fashion industries produce millions of tons of solid waste every year through the many processes used, from yarn production, weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing, to apparel construction and quality inspection, generating waste at each step. Typically, this waste is sent to landfill, incinerated, or, at best, recycled into low-qu...
Feminist Revolutionary Tina Modotti (EXCLUSIVE)
Monica Bellucci has been cast as feminist revolutionary Tina Modotti in a miniseries to be set in Mexico, Los Angeles and Italy and to be directed by prize-winning Italian director Edoardo de Angelis (“Indivisible”). The role is one that Bellucci has wanted to play for years. Modotti was an Italian who emigrated to the U.S. in 1913, acted briefly i...