Derks to step up to Columbian Club presidency
For Christopher Derks, finally becoming president of the Columbian Club of Chicago is an honor … and a bit of surprise. “You work your way up through the ranks, so you know it’s coming,” he says of the presidency. “It has come a lot quicker than I was expecting.”Derks will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, but the club’s annual installation dinner h...
Parisi a master of collaborative community art
The Italian American community knows Jean Parisi best as La Befana, the good Christmas witch who made appearances for decades at yuletide celebrations throughout the Chicago area. But that’s just the tip of the cultural iceberg for this veteran community arts activist. Over the decades, she has created massive community art installations, staged pl...
Celebrating Italian Space Day: Bridging Italy’s Legacy with Michigan’s Innovation
Tuesday night, the Consulate of Italy in Detroit hosted a momentous Italian Space Day event, marking the 60th anniversary of Italy’s entry into space with the historic launch of San Marco 1 in 1964. Italy’s groundbreaking achievement positioned it as the third nation, after the United States and the Soviet Union, to launch an artificial satellite i...
Italian Women in Chicago, Volume II, Siamo arrivate (We have arrived)
The Casa Italia Library/ Italian Cultural Center (Chicago) announces the release of Italian Women in Chicago, Volume II, Siamo arrivate (We have arrived). This anthology is a collection of stories, spotlights, poetry, and much more. You can order Italian Women in Chicago vol ii from Casa Italia here. Focusing on “Saving Our Stories,” “Pop Culture,”...
Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival announces scholarship increase
There was a special announcement on Sunday night at the Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival’s Annual Christmas Gala. The festival’s board of trustees announced that they will be adding an additional $500 to their scholarship awards. Each year, the festival has awarded two local students a $1,000 scholarship, and now they will increas...
Caitlin Clark credits Italian roots for gaining resilience through failures: "It gave me that competitive fire"
Caitlin Clark has rapidly become one of the most popular atheletes in the world of sports. She took the WNBA by storm, shattering records and making a big impact for the Indiana fever. Then again, her easy-going and down-to-earth nature off the court is in contrast to her tough persona on it. Notably, that might come from her family. In an appearan...
Italian American athletes grace sports Hall of Fame mural in Dunning
The wall of a North Harlem Avenue building in Dunning inspired Ron Onesti as he searched for a new home for the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame — and for a large canvas to promote American athletes of Italian descent. “One of the reasons I bought that building was because of that wall,” says Onesti, president of the Hall of Fame. “Tha...
'Traditions and Progress' exhibit chronicles history of Italian Americans in local area
The exhibit “Traditions and Progress: Italian Americans in Northern Indiana” continues through May 4 at The History Museum, 897 Thomas St. The exhibit features photographs, maps, artifacts and information about the history of Italian Americans in northern Indiana, a press release says. “Traditions and Progress” describes the heritage, values and wi...
Italian American Caitlin Clark Named 'Athlete Of The Year'
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named as TIME Magazine's 2024 Athlete of the Year on Tuesday (December 10). Clark, 22, whose dominant collegiate career at Iowa led to a spike in popularity for women's basketball, was selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft and won the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year award, leading the Fever to a playoff be...
A Hitter’s Perfect Game: A Tribute to Rocky Colavito
In a testament to the strength of Rocky Colavito’s legacy, his passing made front page news on The New York Times. Colavito, a Bronx native and Yankee alum but a Cleveland Indian through and through, was 91 years young when he passed away in his home in Bernville, Pa., on Tuesday. The slugger made the cover of TIME magazine in 1959, he hit 374 home...
Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection in Chicago in March 2025
In order to meet Cupid and Psyche, as is only right since they are two mythological figures, one has to penetrate into the ancient heart of the capital, in Trastevere. Beyond a small secret garden, crowned in the center by a citrus tree, is a room with a very high ceiling where the mortal Psyche, who in beauty equaled Venus, forever holds in her ma...
Visit to Parasson's Italian Restaurant in Akron is like a trip to the past | Local Flavor
It was like taking a trip back in time. My parents would take us to eat at Parasson's when we would visit relatives in Greater Akron. And when they opened a Parasson's in Ashtabula not far from my childhood home in Conneaut, we would often have dinner there. Later when I found myself at Kent State, I would eat at the Parasson's in Stow. There was a...