NEWS FROM : Art & Heritage  

What’s an ethnic group to do when its icons are under assault? There’s the traditional approach, which relies heavily on anger-fueled protest marches. Then there’s the Enza Raineri way. If you were to codify the crisis management playbook of this longtime government official turned political consultant, it would read something like this: Get your f...

Hon. Basil Russo was formally inducted as a “Knight of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy” on Sunday, Oct. 8. The Order, established in 1951, is the highest-ranking honor of the Italian Republic. The official ceremony took place in Little Italy at Angelo’s Nido Italia, where Russo earned the Cavaliere dell’ Ordine al Merito della’ Repubbli...

Donald Ferrone was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Henry and Filomena Trimarco Ferrone, who were from the Little Italy on Taylor Street. He had one younger brother, Francis. Ferrone’s paternal grandparents emigrated from Salerno, Italy, and his maternal grandparents from Naples. The family lived in West Chicago before moving to Oak Park, across the...

The Greater Rockford Italian American Association (GRIAA) held its annual hall of fame banquet Saturday. This event has gone on for roughly three decades and honors business and people for their work in the Rockford region. Each of the hall of fame nominees have gone above and beyond to give back to their community. Everyone who was nominated was d...

Dawn Marie Galtieri has devoted most of her professional career to nurturing Voice of the City, a small multi-arts nonprofit she founded 24 years ago in Chicago. “Our mission is to build community through making art and teaching art,” she explains. The nonprofit has a staff of two — Galtieri, who serves as executive and artistic director, and Chris...

Triton College will celebrate Italian American Heritage Month with a panel and discussion from 2 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, in the Library Upper Commons (A Building - 2000 Fifth Avenue, River Grove, IL 60171). The panel will feature: Frank Di Piero (Moderator); Maryann Pisano – Staff writer at Triton College; Louis H. Rago – Triton College Foundat...

On the day the U.S. commemorates Christopher Columbus’ landing in the Americas, Italian Americans in the Chicago area are demanding the city return three statues of the explorer that were removed due to protests. In 2020, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the removal of the statues from Grant Park, Arrigo Park and South Chicago. At the time, Lightf...

Columbus Day is Monday, October 9, and for many Italian Americans the annual national holiday now comes with the sting of having to fight for their place in American society all over again. “In this age of cancel culture, we’ve gone from perpetuating the contributions Italians have made to America to defending them,” Ron Onesti, President of the Jo...

Tomorrow, thousands of Greater Clevelanders will gather in Little Italy to attend our annual Columbus Day parade. The story of how the first Columbus Day celebration began in 1892 is a tragic example of the mistreatment of immigrants that needs to be told. Between 1880 and 1920, some 4 million Italian immigrants left impoverished towns throughout s...

The Columbus Day Parade is marching back to Cleveland’s Little Italy neighborhood on Monday, Oct. 9, along Mayfield Road. Elaborate floats, marching bands, local artifacts, and city leaders will make up the parade, which steps off at noon to celebrate Northeast Ohio’s deeply rooted Italian American culture. As usual, Columbus Day Mass will be held...

ABC7, Chicago's most watched television station, is celebrating the city's vibrant Italian American community with the broadcast of the 70th Annual Columbus Day Parade. The live event is hosted by ABC7 sports reporter and Windy City Weekend host Ryan Chiaverini, reporter Liz Nagy and meteorologist Greg Dutra reporting all the festivities from the s...

Retired law enforcement officer Kenneth Lavorata will top the list of honorees at the Italian American Police Association dinner dance on Nov. 3 at the Chateau Ritz. Lavorata served in the Marine Corps from 1964-67, including a tour of duty as a battalion scout in Vietnam from 1965-66. He entered the Police Academy in November 1967, and served as a...