Fig leaves : The great Italian cover-up
Ancient Romans and Greeks adored the human form, sculpting and painting it in all its nude glory. Renaissance artists who followed centuries later were captivated by the purity of the ideal ancient forms and revived classical values to fill contemporary palazzi with frescoes and statuary of nudes to great acclaim. Why then are so many now covered w...
Hemingway’s Ode To Italy Published After 70 Years
“It would be difficult to find a lovelier church nor one where the mosaics expressed more doubt...” “Doubt” would have been the operative word for Ernest Hemingway. It was 1948 and although he was the most famous writer in the world, he was also in the midst of a creative drought, going on nine years since his previous novel, For Whom the Bell Toll...
Italy's Piedmont region serves up elegant wines
One of my very favourite things about having a career revolving around wine is that I never stop learning. Every tasting I attend, every meeting I have with a winemaker, and every trip in which I participate offers an opportunity to discover something new. During the past couple of weeks, I’ve travelled through the Piedmont region in northern Ital...
ARSA to honor Sicilian Band at Sapori di Sicilia
Associazione Regionale Siciliana in America will stage Sapori di Sicilia at 6 p.m. on Sept. 23 at Altavilla Banquets in Addison. The event will feature an extensive array of Sicilian appetizers followed by a sumptuous dinner, music and dancing. This year, ARSA will honor the Sicilian Band of Chicago for its decades-long commitment to celebrating It...
‘Don Giovanni’ at Lincoln Center, New York
The much-renowned opera entitled “Don Giovanni” with music by composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be staged at the Rose Theater of Lincoln Center, New York. “Don Giovanni” is a two act opera that runs on an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Premiered in 1787 by the Prague Italian opera at the National Theater, the opera revolves around the fo...
Then and Now – Boston’s North End
I went back to my roots last week. I had to escape the heat of the desert Southwest. I had to feel an ocean breeze. I had to return to my childhood home. I needed to experience again the sights and sounds and smells of the North End. I had to replenish my spirit. I found a North End apartment on VRBO and I rented it for three nights. What I discov...
Inside Luca Modern Italian Kitchen
AL DENTE, the way Italians cook pasta, translates as “to the tooth.” It describes the feel of chewing on a correctly boiled noodle: somewhat stiff, cooked long enough that it kneads rather than crumbles or sticks between your teeth. At Luca Modern Italian Kitchen, servers tell guests that the pasta is all made in-house, adding a gentle reminder th...
Blauvelt Sons of Italy Presents Homes for Heroes with $1,500
On July 26th, Michael Guzzino, President of the Blauvelt Sons of Italy Rockland Lodge 2176, presented former Rockland County Legislator and Veteran John Murphy with a check for $1,500. The money will go directly to support Rockland Homes for Heroes, a not-for-profit 501[c]3 corporation, created to provide supportive, permanent, affordable rental ap...
Pittsburgh wrestling icon Bruno Sammartino visits the roots of a life well-lived
A handful of sports figures in this town need only one name to be recognized. Sid. Geno. Ben. Cutch. A precious few others were so extraordinary at what they did that statues were erected in their honor. Mario. Roberto. Maz. Honus. It is time to add another name to that privileged second group. Bruno. Pittsburgh icon Bruno Sammartino has traveled t...
“La cultura come identità”: Giorgio van Straten e il ruolo dell’Italia a New York
La diffusione della cultura italiana in America: è questa la ragion d’essere dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York. Dall’arte alla letteratura, dai libri ai social network e soprattutto alla lingua, “tutto fa cultura”, perché negli Stati Uniti, dell’Italia si apprezza e si imita soprattutto il lifestyle, in tutte le sue forze, come ci spieg...
Coal-fired pizza returns to Magazine Street as a revamped Amici reopens
The Uptown eatery Amici Ristorante & Bar (3218 Magazine St., 504-300-1250) has reopened following a change in ownership and a round of renovations. First opened in 2013, Amici was developed by the Rizzuto family through their Rizzuto Management Group. In July, however, the restaurant was purchased by Felix’s Restaurant Group, the company behind the...
Six Things you Might Not Know About Michelangelo
There are many ways to engage with Florence – from the whirlwind tour of the first-time visitor to the microscopic examination of the repeat visitor intent on peeling back history’s layers to peek below the surface. Take Michelangelo. Everybody knows who he is. His David has drawn tourists to Florence for centuries. But understanding the context in...