Iavarone Bros., fueled by family ties, celebrates 90 years
One of Joe Iavarone’s professors at Sacred Heart University once told the class that no family-owned business survives longer than three generations. Iavarone, now 26, objected — he’s among the fourth generation of his family to run Iavarone Bros. Gourmet Italian Foods, managing the company’s New Hyde Park market with his cousin, Jonathan. The busi...
'My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, & I'm in Therapy!' highlights joys and struggles of family
Steve Solomon has made a successful career out of talking about his family. The one-man show he created and stars in, “My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish, & I'm in Therapy!” — which he will bring to Greensburg's Palace Theatre on June 11 — has had 4,000 performances and is one of the longest-running off-Broadway productions to date. The show p...
Delicious news: Italian Feast Days is back this weekend
If you’re on the north side of Endicott this weekend and catch a whiff of something delicious, follow your nose. Chances are you’ll wind up at St. Anthony’s Feast Days. The annual St. Anthony Italian Feast Days is a tradition for generations of families throughout the region. Thousands of people visit this part of Endicott each year. You’ll find li...
Former location of Albano’s Market to be torn down
Albano’s Market was a long-time Italian market located in downtown Springfield and best known for their homemade Italian ice. They closed their doors for good nearly two years ago and since then, the building has been vacant. The market was in business for more than 100 years, but the owners ultimately decided that, with the casino on the way and t...
Brief Excerpts from “Italy’s Knights of St. George: The Constantinian Order”
“Ferdinand II [1830-59] – known as ‘King Bomba’ by his enemies – was the greatest of his dynasty in Italy after Charles VII, a man of enormous personality and energy. History has been more than unjust in labelling this most Neapolitan of all rulers of Naples as ‘an unimaginative foreign tyrant’. He was the last of the benevolent despots, taking a k...
An exhibition tells the story of slaves in Ancient Rome
They wrote many chapters, often with their own blood, of Ancient Roman history. Meanwhile it should be said that the lives of these people themselves remained unknown. Based on what we know today, Rome had the greatest number of slaves ever, constituting at least 10% of the total population of the Empire and probably more. In large cities slaves ac...
It’s Negroni Week at American Grocery, Vault & Vator
Up until recently, the Negroni was one of those cocktails that time had simply forgotten thanks to such bar fare as Lemon Drops, Fuzzy Navels, and Long Island Ice Tea. But just as those once-popular drinks from the ’90s and ’00s have faded, old classics have reemerged, timeless cocktails like the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and, yes, the Negroni, a b...
To Save Its Cliffside Towns, Italy Revives the Art of Terracing
The teenagers panted heavily as they climbed up the steep slope in the early morning, the Mediterranean sun glittering on the sea far below. Along the way, they stopped to survey the stone walls bordering the winding roads, carefully taking measurements. “When you rebuild a wall, you dig among the rubble until you find the original corner stones, a...
Italian American Club awards scholarships in Vero Beach
Three graduating seniors from Indian River schools have been awarded $1,000 scholarships from the Vero Beach Italian American Civic Association. Brian Kutner and Elizabeth Tuite of Vero Beach High School and Esdras Mora Jusino from Indian River Charter School were selected for academic achievement,community service and school activities. Club presi...
You say Rosé, I say Rosato… Whatever, It’s Time to Drink it!
Although it remains most associated with France, Italy is also a major producer of rosé wine, though here we refer to it as rosato (plural: rosati). And it’s made all over the country. Plenty of it is sparkling too, and of very good quality (see below for recommendations). Surprisingly, however, Italians have not been as great at consuming this win...
Lucca conquista il West
Un pezzo di Toscana è stato portato a San Francisco dal lucchese Rino Bertini, colonna portante della comunità italiana nella Bay Area, insieme al Consolato generale d’Italia e con la sponsorizzazione del Banco del Monte di Lucca. In occasione della Festa della Repubblica sono arrivati a San Francisco molti rappresentanti degli Sbandieratori di Luc...
Judge decides to end temporary ban on Our Lady of Loreto's demolition
Our Lady of Loreto is in jeopardy once again. Justice Ellen Spodek of the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn has denied plaintiff and former parishioner Jillian Mulvihill's motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the demolition of the vacant historic church by Catholic officials. Catholic Charities Progress of Peoples Development Corp. (POP) plans...