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In his play of the same name, playwright John Guare popularized the concept of six degrees of separation — that everyone on average is six, or fewer, social connections away from each other. From the moment I first met Alessandro Baccari Jr., I discovered we shared more than a few personal connections and a love for our Italian heritage. Spanning n...

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This fall, one of the most venerated traditions in all of Italian history will be observed right here in humble North Beach: the Statuto Race. The fourth oldest foot race in the United States, the Statuto was originally scheduled to mark its one hundredth year in 2020. Of course Covid had other plans for us, and the race had to be canceled last yea...

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This summer Italy will open its first overseas National Centre for Innovation and Culture in the United States, as an experimental model that can be replicated in other countries. Promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation following a proposal by the Embassy of Italy in Washington, in collaboration with the Consulate...

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Saturday, May 29. 12:30 PM – 7 PM PST. Streaming Live on Howlarts.org. Earlier this year we lost the incomparable poet, painter, and social activist, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021). Howl! Arts and Bob Holman are honored to bring together a spectacular group of poets, writers, filmmakers, activists, musicians, and artists...

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For the past two years, famed neighborhood pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani has been working on his own bakery concept with the hope of returning European baking traditions to North Beach. Now open, his Toscano Brothers bakery is serving throwback vibes and classic breads. Designed by Gemignani himself (the chef designs all his restaurants), the Vallejo St...

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Alessandro Baccari Jr. was not an ordained priest, but that was just a technicality. He was ministerial in welcoming the flock to the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the Fisherman’s and Seaman’s Memorial Chapel on Pier 45, and he was priestly on a daily basis as he walked the streets of North Beach, visiting shopkeepers and all keepers of the villa...

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When Lawrence Ferlinghetti died in February, for some it felt like the poet and City Lights Booksellers & Publishers co-founder took a piece of San Francisco with him. Like the store, Ferlinghetti was a literary landmark, his presence in North Beach and around the city as much a given as the fog or cable car bells. While his death at age 101 was pe...

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Caffe Trieste, San Francisco's iconic high temple of coffee in North Beach, is marking its 65th anniversary on Thursday, a milestone that seems even more noteworthy after surviving through the pandemic and temporary closure.   San Francisco's Board of Supervisors declared Thursday "Caffe Trieste Day" in San Francisco, and the cafe planned to hold s...

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Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who died on Monday at the age of 101, was one of the key figures in 20th century American culture. He was as responsible as any single other person for the rise of the Beats, the end of obscenity laws, and, not least, the transformation of San Francisco from a backwater province to a vibrant artistic center. He did all this t...

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By early afternoon, a small memorial of flowers and a can of Pabst had begun to accumulate outside the door of City Lights Books, to commemorate the death of its co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti. And by the evening, a vigil for Ferlinghetti, one of the last living links to the Beat generation, was being held in the adjacent Jack Kerouac Alley, a ti...

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