Italian Coffee: Cappuccino
Is cappuccino a drink or an epicurian fantasy? Surely the frothy concoction evokes images of whipped cream, lazy Roman afternoons, lusty Fellini films and balmy bistro nights even among the least imaginative among us. But where did this wonderful drink come from? Read and learn as you sip away. The two years I spent in Italy in the 1970s marked in...
You’ll find glamour, cheek, and inventive Italian-American at Orfano
Boston has plenty of celebratory Italian-American restaurants designed for something more special than a pleasant, casual dinner of meatballs, spaghetti, and a nice Chianti. They feature cosseting service, big wine lists, and amenities like reservations, cocktails, and dessert: no line on the sidewalk or check dropped with the entrees. But the atmo...
Martino Coppo talks Red Wine at World of Bluegrass
Part of the magic of attending World of Bluegrass is meeting new people and often quite randomly. I was meeting some friends in the very noisy Marriott hotel lobby and happened to meet Martino Coppo, mandolinist and vocalist with the Italian bluegrass band, Red Wine. I talked with Martino about having seen Red Wine at the Strawberry Music Festival...
After a return to Italy, finding the beauty of Bergamo
“There’s really no reason to visit Bergamo,” my Italian classmates back in high school told me. I spent my senior year in the northern Italian city of Brescia, and my friends and host family there seemed offended at my suggestion of taking a day trip to the neighboring city. I explained that I wanted to visit the hill town of the “Città Alta,” the...
Lady Gaga to Play Patrizia Reggiani in Movie Based on the Gucci Murder
As she's quick to remind, Lady Gaga is just an Italian-American girl from New York, but for her next movie part she'll play one of the most infamous Italian criminal heiresses. According to *Deadline*, she'll take on the role of Patrizia Gucci (né Patrizia Reggiani) in a Ridley Scott-directed film based on the rise and fall of the Gucci family. It...
Lingua italiana, cultura e turismo: Italia sempre più protagonista negli Usa
Il ministro per gli Affari Regionali e le Autonomie Francesco Boccia è intervenuto venerdì ai lavori della riunione dei rappresentanti del Sistema Paese negli USA, aperti dall’Ambasciatore Armando Varricchio. L’appuntamento, tenutosi a ridosso dell’annuale Gala della National Italian-American Foundation (NIAF), ha visto la partecipazione dei Capi d...
My Voyage to Italy Is Scorsese's Ode To Italian Cinema
Let’s take a look at Martin Scorsese’s documentary My Voyage To Italy – the legendary director’s love letter to Italian cinema. Although Scorsese is best known for his gangster movies like Goodfellas and Gangs Of New York, his documentaries are some of his best work. Scorsese has directed many documentaries over his career, with a few of them focu...
How Italian Heritage Linen Brand Frette Expanded Into A Global Lifestyle Success Story
The relationship between elegant loungewear and home furnishing has a special interaction. Home furnishing designers are often looking at consumer lifestyles to create something desirable and convenience for the home, while loungewear looks to product for innovations in materials and color. Trend forecasters often use product references in their mo...
Patti LuPone on getting bullied by Broadway. And why she keeps coming back.
There are many pleasures to be had in watching Patti LuPone perform, particularly on a Broadway stage. There’s her powerful, flexible singing voice, undiminished at age 70. There’s her operatically expressive face, her sharply detailed characterizations. There’s also the plain fact that to see LuPone at maximum, commanding intensity — her default m...
Cycling perfect way to see Tuscan countryside
An Italian man puffed his way up the narrow road — literally. His hands clutched his handlebars, leveraging them for power as he cycled uphill. That left only one place for his cigarette: between his lips. He smiled in greeting as we passed. Headed in the opposite direction, I had just crested the hill and my speed was picking up. On this sunny Sat...
Taste of Italy 2020 dates announced (Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles)!
We are pleased to share dates for next year’s Taste of Italy festivals, including a new stop on the tour — New Orleans! Taste of Italy and its sister festival in Los Angeles, Savor Italy, are the largest trade and consumer festivals in the U.S. devoted exclusively to Italian food and wine. Last year, more than 500 trade members and consumers attend...
Food and Place in Italian Food Culture
When: Wednesday, November 20th at 6pm - Where: Italian Cultural Institute - 500 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1450 Presented on the occasion of the 4th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. The theme of this year's Italian Cuisine Week, which will take place from November 18-24, 2019, is Food Education: The Culture of Taste. This yearly init...