NEWS FROM : Art & Heritage  

Order Sons of Italy - Dayton/John Pirelli Lodge #1633 kicks off  their 46th annual Fall Festa by offering lunch to go this Friday with pick up from 11am – 1pm. The actual Festa kicks off Friday night at 6pm runs through Sunday at 8pm. It’s a weekend full of  Italian music, delicious Italian food, good friends, and a fun game of Bocce on the beautif...

In yet another sign that we’re in summer’s winding-down period, Festa Italiana returns this weekend, Sept. 8-10, to close the book on what’s considered the city’s modern ethnic festival lineup. The first Festa took place back in 1978, when members of Milwaukee’s Italian community revived the traditional neighborhood festivals that started in the ea...

As the 123rd annual Feast of Maria Santissima Lauretana got underway in Niles Friday, the Sicilian Band of Chicago played and marched down the festival midway, stopping before an elaborately decorated shrine tent. The band serenaded those inside, many sitting in front of large stands of red flowers, others lighting candles and still others lined up...

For the first time, the arm of St. Jude will leave Italy and tour churches, schools, prisons, and more across the United States beginning this month, a Catholic evangelization ministry announced this week. The relic of one of Jesus' 12 apostles, considered to be the patron saint of hopeless or difficult causes, is scheduled to first stop at St. Joh...

After the success of the 2022 edition, the Consulate of Italy in Detroit and the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan are about to launch their presence at the Detroit Month of Design through the project called “LoveITDetroit”, that, in its second edition, won the grant "City of Italian Creativity in the World" established for the first time by the...

The scrawled etching in stone reads: “I’d like to be the gem in your ring for just an hour to get the kisses you give when you press the seal.” The ancient Pompeii graffiti is a reminder of how little has changed in the last 2,000 years or so — think of the far-less-creative tourists recently caught carving their initials into the walls of Rome’s C...

“First we eat, and then we do everything else.” That’s a mantra for Briana DiTommaso, who was crowned Universal Woman Italy 2023. She also believes in working hard and not letting obstacles stand in your way. DiTommaso, 41, is the executive chef and winemaker for her family’s vineyard, Valentino Vineyards, in Long Grove, Illinois, where she lives w...

Coal mining has been at the foundation of the local economy for decades, drawing those seeking employment and serving as the engine for larger industry. At 6 p.m. today, area historian David Adair will be unearthing the details of the lives and work of the miners who built the area. Cathryn Stanley, curator of the Belmont County Heritage Museum, is...

The Belmont County Heritage Museum in St. Clairsville (OH) is boasting its newest exhibit, “A Family’s Journey: From Italy to Belmont County.” The exhibit features the Italian immigrant experience to life in Belmont County, including the importance that the coal mining industry had in the decision to move to the USA for work opportunities post the...

A new day is dawning at Casa Italia as the village of Stone Park enters into negotiations with the Scalabrini Fathers to purchase the property bordered by Division Street and 39th, 37th and Soffel avenues. The Casa currently leases the property from the religious order. Plans for the property include a park district-style facility with banquet room...

Crowned "Chicago's Cabaret Queen" by the Chicago Tribune, Sun-Times, WGN Radio and Daily Herald, the legendary Denise Tomasello returns to headline the Little Italy Festa-Taylor Street with the 16-piece Denise Tomasello Orchestra in her Vegas-style show. Denise will perform on the mainstage-the Peroni Stage, Sunday, August 20, at 3:00pm- 4:30pm. Th...

The Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America Grand Lodge of IL/WI has installed new presidents for a pair of Illinois lodges. The OSDIA state grand lodge encompasses seven local lodges in Illinois and Wisconsin. Mario D’Antonio will preside over Leone D’Oro Lodge #2700, which meets in Tinley Park. Formerly a network design engineer at AT&T, D’A...