Italian Music Hero Fred Bongusto Dies at 84
Fred Bongusto — one of Italy's most treasured singer-songwriters and soundtrack composers — has died. The artist passed away overnight in hospital, according to his press office. While a cause of death was not revealed, Bongusto had been struggling with health problems for some time. He was 84.Born in Campobasso, Italy, in 1935, Bongusto first made...
Pollara Pizza Brings Rome by the Slice to Fourth Street
It should come as no surprise that pizza is serious business in Italy. And when most of us think of Italian-style pizza, we think of a steering wheel-sized personal pizza hot out of a wood-fired oven, its thin crust flecked with crunchy, burnt spots. This kind of pizza that Americans so frequently associate with Italy is Neapolitan-style pizza, and...
Sardinia: A lifestyle destination
On LinkedIn, I noticed an opportunity for travel writers to join a group to visit Olbia. I immediately replied, expressing my sincere interest in the destination, then waited (and waited) with great anticipation to be accepted. What did I do as I waited? I tried to find out where in the world Olbia was located. Now I Know There it was, clearly on t...
A Healthy Diet to Fight Depression
When: Friday, November 22nd at 6pm - Where: Italian Cultural Institute - 500 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1450 Presented on the occasion of the 4th edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. The theme of this year's Italian Cuisine Week, which will take place from November 18-24, 2019, is Food Education: The Culture of Taste. This yearly initiat...
The Number Ones: Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now (Theme From Rocky)”
There’s a moment in the 1976 movie Rocky where the film we’re watching stops being a product of the American new wave and where it transforms before our eyes into the future of cinema. That moment is the training montage. Up until the training montage, Rocky belongs within the ranks of the ’70s dramas that clearly inspired it. It’s a grey, ugly, sl...
Puglia, Italy: from Magna Graecia to St. Peter
There are multiple reasons to explore the ancient Puglia region on the heel of Italy’s boot from Renaissance palaces, extraordinary seafood, mystery churches to a dictator’s folly. This is the first of a two part series on the Puglia region – or Apulia as it was known in past days. Classic archaeological ruins, villages of feudal-era architecture,...
Greater Rockford Italian American Association holds awards banquet
The Greater Rockford Italian American Association recently honored Frank Perrecone and Frank Fiorello at its annual Hall of Fame and Special Recognition Awards Banquet held at the Venetian Club. Perrecone, the principal at Ferolie & Perrecone law firm, was inducted into GRIAA’s Hall of Fame. Perrecone is a former chairperson of GRIAA and a long-tim...
A Brief History of Women Emancipation in Italy
The history of women emancipation in Italy has been long and not always simple, but some may wonder why talking about women emancipation is important still today: in the end, Italy is a country where women enjoy equal rights and opportunities as men, just as in the rest of the Western world. Gender equality remains, in 2019, a hot topic and a di...
‘Dinner at the Club,’ Joey Baldino’s Debut Cookbook, Celebrates the Italian Immigrant Experience in Philadelphia
Dinner at the Club: 100 Years of Stories and Recipes from South Philly’s Palizzi Social Club isn’t just a cookbook so much as it is an exhumation of the immigrant experience and a celebration of family legacy. Like one of his softball-sized arancini, the literary debut of chef Joey Baldino is warm and satisfying, stuffed with details that others mi...
Italian American Vets Of Milford Get Boost From Local Charity
The Italian American War Veterans Post 40 in Milford needed some money to repair the building's heating system — so a local nonprofit that supports veterans and their families stepped in to help. The Milford-based nonprofit Thanks To Yanks presented the post with a $500 check that will be put toward the heating system upgrade, founder Michael Shain...
It's White Truffle Season!
Each year culinary connoisseurs convene in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy to honor the white truffle. This rare and very expensive type of mushroom is only available for a few months. From townies to top chefs, autumn is the season to celebrate a gastronomic treasure which, when shaved over a dish, transforms it into quite the luxury item. N...
Transported in Time: Queens Man Collects Vespa Scooters
Rosario Di Giovanna says his vintage scooters keep him young. The 71-year-old says they transport him back in time, to when he was a young man growing up in Sicily. “All the time. Every time I drive them, the memory goes back. And I enjoy myself,” said Rosario Di Giovanna, an Elmhurst Resident. Elmhurst, Queens is a far cry from the Italian country...