A journey of 35 years
As a third-generation Italian American born in the baby boomer era, I remember growing up getting bits and pieces from my parents about my paternal grandparents who emigrated from Southern Italy around 1910. My aunts and uncles also provided insight into their upbringing as children of Italian immigrant parents. I grew up in the Little Italy of Sou...
The beauty of wine, its architecture, and its landscapes in two words: designer wineries
A client whose origins date back to the Renaissance was the inspiration for the most beautiful winery in the world. It was “an extraordinary “silent” work because it is underground and sustainable, but at the same time powerful in its hilly outline that recalls Lucio Fontana’s famous slashes. It is in a famous landscape, like Tuscany, characterized...
Open For Almost A Century, Dining At Casa Basso In New York Is Always A Timeless Experience
There aren’t many restaurants that last for an entire century, but Casa Basso in Westthampton on Long Island in New York is almost there. It will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2028. This classic Italian restaurant has been serving Long Islanders and visitors since Calvin Coolidge was president! Today, it offers excellent cuisine in a unique se...
Italy has kept its fascist monuments and buildings. The reasons are complex
Cinema Troisi is an art movie house in central Rome. Its stark, white, minimalist façade contrasts with the ornate 19th-century buildings nearby. It was built in the 1930s as the headquarters of the Fascist Youth Organization — the GIL. But there is no plaque explaining its link to the dictatorship. Italian rap music plays in the background as youn...
Scorsese, Di Caprio’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” May Be Headed to Cannes Fest
Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a heavy contender for a prestigious world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s still too early for it to be a lock, but it’s looking promising enough that Scorsese has reserved a suite at one of the posh hotels along the Croisette, sources tell Variety. Thierry Fr...
Why Loro Piana, the Italian Hyper-Luxury Brand, Has Captured the Moment
At Friday’s Loro Piana presentation in the center of Milan, a stand of mannequins comprised what was informally referred to as the Succession section, a nod to one reason why the 99-year-old uber-luxury brand is currently having a surprising moment of hype. When the show returns to the airwaves for its fourth and final season next month, Jeremy Str...
Adolfo’s Italian Market and Pizzeria opens in Lakewood Ranch’s San Marco Plaza
Adolfo’s Italian Market and Pizzeria seems to be in right place at the right time with the right customer offerings. It took owner Gary Blake a decade of careful planning and study, along with 10 months of preparation and permitting to open in the Venetian-style San Marco Plaza, 8225 Nature’s Way, Lakewood Ranch. Blake, 60, has Italian roots on his...
Italian and American archaeologists find 5,000-year-old Sumerian 'fridge'
A team of Italian and American archaeologists have discovered at a southern Iraq site what is believed to have been a sort of refrigerator used for keeping food cool and conserving it in ancient Sumeria 5,000 years ago. The discovery of the 'tavern' was made at the site of the capital of one of the most important Mesopotamian city states, ancient L...
Former D.C. Bar President Speaks About His Legal Career, Upbringing
Chad T. Sarchio, the immediate past president of the D.C. Bar, spoke to an appreciative group of AMHS members and guests on February 12, 2023, at Il Canale restaurant in Georgetown, describing his legal career and his Italian-American upbringing. Following a delicious lunch, Chad spoke to about 25 attendees on how his own values were shaped by his...
‘Le Pupille’ Director Alice Rohrwacher on Rambunctious and Oscar-Nominated Short: “This Film Is Dedicated to All the Naughty Girls”
In the delightfully mischievous short film Le Pupille, which earned Italian writer-director Alice Rohrwacher her first Oscar nomination, a rebellion is brewing within the confines of a Catholic girls’ school in Italy on a chilly Christmas Eve in the midst of World War II. Young Serafina (Melissa Falasconi) attracts the ire of Sister Fioralba (Alba...
Join the Fiamma family: popular Italian restaurant reopens
Just before Valentine’s Day of 2022, the family-owned restaurant Fiamma Italian Grill shut down operations following a kitchen fire. On Jan. 18, Fiamma, located at 2118 Schoenersville Rd., reopened roughly a year after closing. Owner Joseph Jurkivo said he is excited to welcome the community back to the restaurant. “Anyone that eats here one time o...
Village of the month: Summonte
Summonte is a village in the province of Avellino (Campania) gently lying on the slopes of Mount Partenio, at 700 meters of altitude (2,300 feet). Today, it counts 1,485 inhabitants. The village has a long history, as its very name – which is Latin in origin and comes from sub montis, “under the mountain” – attests, but there are also other traces...