Little Italy celebrating 150 years of Italian-American history
Little Italy Historic District is celebrating the 150th anniversary this year of Italian-American history and heritage in the city of Rochester. Italian-Americans have contributed to Rochester since the 1800s. Domenico Sturla was the first Italian immigrant to register in the city’s directory in 1868, according to an official recount of Italian his...
Tortino Mare: Incomparable Italian Fare Close to Home
Searching for an authentic Italian dinner without flying to Italy or driving to D.C.? Look no further than Tortino Mare, one of Prince William’s newest restaurants, which serves hand-cut pasta, gourmet pizza and artistic desserts almost too beautiful to eat. Located in Manassas Park, Tortino Mare is away from the hustle and bustle in a small strip...
La Palomba
“La Palomba,” which means “The Dove” in English, is located just outside Matera, a popular tourist spot in Italy famous for its ancient town. Though the sculptures are right next to a main road, they’re easy to miss unless you know to look for them. The artwork is obscured from view, tucked out of sight in a defunct tuff quarry. Cuts and slashes ma...
Inside the Studio of an Italian Sculptor Who Made His Name in Chicago
Born in Italy, Virginio Ferrari came to Chicago in the 1960s, and he blossomed into an internationally sought-after sculptor. The artist recently turned 80 years old. “Chicago Tonight” visited him in his Bridgeport studio on the eve of what promises to be another big year for him. Phil Ponce: You’ve seen his abstract work “Being Born” at the Ohio S...
Aldo's Italian restaurant: Warm, welcoming Cleveland classic (review)
Located in a tiny strip-mall on Memphis Avenue, Aldo's isn't the kind of restaurant that makes you stop and take notice from the outside. Step inside, and it's another story. The aromas and warm, welcoming atmosphere will instantly win you over. And that's before you even try Aldo's fantastic, wide-ranging Italian menu. Opened more than two decades...
DNA might prove where I’m from, but not define who I am
Taking a DNA test to learn that my true ethnicity isn’t what I’ve forever believed wouldn’t cause me to turn away from my Sicilian soul. Was it all illegitimate? Was it all fraudulent? Am I not who I think I am? All that spaghetti and rigatoni and ziti and lasagna and chicken parmigiana covered with generous helpings of homemade sauce that moved my...
The (Really) Old and New Meet in Naples
Pompeii’s interior designers made the most of the earthquake. After it hit in A.D. 62, they renovated wrecked villas with vibrantly colored narrative frescoes that were, it turns out, incredibly long-lived. The eruption of Vesuvius, the volcano many of them thought was a mountain, only 17 years later in A.D. 79, both sealed the city’s choked inhabi...
Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group Plans To Rebrand
Now disgraced chef Mario Batali and his business partner Joe Bastianich plan to rebrand their group of restaurants under the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group umbrella. Eater NY reports that employees learned about the changes in a letter emailed on Dec. 22 that a new company, with a new name, will be created “whose structure will better refle...
Film 'Italian American Baseball Family' Premiers In Milford
In the "Italian American Baseball Family" filmmaker Roberto Angotti shares the captivating story about how Italian Americans "assimilated into popular culture through America's favorite pastime in his new hour-long Italian American Baseball Family documentary." The documentary details stories of those Italians who left home between 1880 and 1920 an...
Puglia Is Italy’s New Wine and Food Hub
The undulating landscape of Italy’s southeastern terrain—the proverbial heel of the boot—has long been overlooked by the armies of tourists that make their seasonal invasions of Campania, Tuscany, Piedmont, and the Veneto. Yet this neglect may have been a boon for the people of this predominantly agricultural region who for millennia received an ab...
Let’s Make “Maccarruna”!
In the old days, let’s say until the 50s or even the 60s, my mother tells me that they made their own fresh pasta at home every day. Quite a job, I should say! But in the past being a “matri ri famigghia” (mother of the family) or as we say now, a homemaker, was a very hard task! Of course, at the time, middle class homes were smaller without fancy...
Candidates Coletta, Cole Stake Out Los Angeles Superior Court Seats
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Alfred Coletta will be running for Los Angeles Superior Court Office No. 4, the seat being vacated by Judge Roy Paul who is retiring Feb. 16, and Deputy Los Angeles City Attorney Onica Cole yesterday picked up a declaration of intent to run for Office No. 67, now held by Judge Donna Goldstein who plans to leave...