La Festa Italiana expands to four days this year
La Festa Italiana will be extended to four days this year, starting Friday, Sept. 4, and running through Monday, Sept. 7. Organizers decided to start early for the 40th annual festival, which traditionally spans Labor Day weekend, because it coincides with First Friday, said Christopher DiMattio, chairman of the La Festa committee. Fe...
Prophecy. Pasolini's Africa (2013, 77')
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2015 Hours: 6:30 PM Venue: IIC Organized by: IIC In collaboration with: Department of French and Italian at USC In conjunction with the exhibit Massimiliano Gatti. Passages and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Pier Paolo Pasolini's death, the IIC remembers the director, poet, writer and intellect...
Labriola's Pizza Barra Opens With Macchia's Menu and an Exhibition Kitchen
by Brett Hickman Pizza Barra, Rich Labriola's latest restaurant, hit the Oak Brook Promenade (3011 Butterfield Rd.) today at 4:00 p.m. Featuring a menu from Chris Macchia (The Florentine, Coco Pazzo), Pizza Barra will attempt to satisfy a wide variety of pizza lovers with their Chicago thin crust, pan-style and coal-fired "Neapolitan-ish"...
Southington Italian Festival proceeds donated to local non-profits
By Farrah Duffany Two nonprofits were each recently awarded $1,500 from the proceeds of the Italian-American festival in July. The Southington Italian-American Festival Committee presented Southington Community Services and Southington Community Cultural Arts with the donation on Monday. The funds came from the beverage booth at the...
Fancy A Fig? California's Growers Desperately Hope You Do
by Ezra David Romero For many Americans, their only association with figs comes in the form of a Fig Newton. And indeed, once upon a time, most of the figs grown in California ended up in fig pastes and cookies like those familiar chewy squares. But tastes change, and the fig industry has gone through tough times. Lack of demand a...
IT and US: Birds of Passage, An Italian Immigrant Coming of Age Story
WTI Magazine #70 2015 October, 16Author : Joseph Giordano Translation by: I wrote Birds of Passage to honor the memory of my father and grandparents, all of whom emigrated from Naples to New York. The great wave of Italian immigrants started after 1871, when Italy had been consolidated, but il Risorgimento, did not create a nation. A...
Month Long Celebration Of Italian Culture Wraps Up This Week
by Tim Jimenez A month-long celebration of Italian culture called "Ciao Philadelphia" wraps up with a number of events this week. There's an Italian Cinema Night at Widener University on Wednesday. On Friday, it's a Wine and Cheese tasting at Drexel. Andrea Canepari is Consul General of Italy in Philadelphia. For a second yea...
Joseph Sciame Receives Papal Honor for Service
Joseph Sciame, Vice President for Community Relations and St. John's University alumnus, has received Knighthood in the Order of Pope St. Sylvester. This honor, one of the highest given by the Vatican, honors the contributions of lay people from Christian and non-Christian faiths for their contributions to the Church. The award was present...
Passione e Fantasia in the Windy City
Passione e fantasia! Sounds like a Felini movie. But when pizza entrepreneur and dough magician Gino Rago, owner of Panino's and Via Pizzeria 1-2-3 in Chicago, pronounces the words in his native tongue, it's clear he's melodically accenting a committed way of life. I met Gino and his lovely wife, Tina, for the first time last week and I'm not exagg...
Little Italy Christmas Tree Lighting
Sponsored by the Original Little Italy Restaurant Association. Friday, December 4, 2015 - 7 pm - rain or shine. FREE FAMILY EVENT! (corner Stiles & High Streets) Christmas carols sung by Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Candlelight caroling will begin previously in the church and process to the tree lighting...
The Solidarity Creche: Now on Display at Casa Belvedere through January 7th
The 9-11 Solidarity Creche is now on display this holiday season at Casa Belvedere through January 7th. Il Presepio Della Solidarietà is a gift of friendship and solidarity from the Naples, Italy Chamber of Commerce to The New York City Fire Department in honor of the victims of 9/11 and the brave Firefighters, Police and EMS workers that made...
Elena Ferrante’s writing is better in English than Italian
by Annalisa Merelli Sorry, New York Times Sunday Book Review, Elena Ferrante is not "one of the great novelists of our time." Zadie Smith, Arundhati Roy, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie—these are all great novelists. Ferrante is not, which is unfortunate, because she has a good story to tell. About a month ago, while I was back in my hometo...