There are two things you need to know about Nicola Orichuia. Though he was born in Italy to Italian parents, his dad’s globetrotting career gave him an international perspective. Still, he is thoroughly Italian, transmitting the love of his native land to his new home in America. Also, he loves to read and share knowledge.

OK, that’s four things, but from those characteristics flow many of his achievements, from a journalism career in Rome, to his coming to Chicago and writing for Fra Noi, to the Italian-American magazine he launched in Boston, which resulted in the first brick-and-mortar Italian bookstore in the United States. Dubbed I AM Books, it quickly evolved into a cultural hub.