Italian Rugby team to compete in Chicago
Some of the best Rugby players in Italy and Ireland will compete in Chicago in November as part of a Rugby Weekend hosted by USA Rugby and TLA Worldwide in conjunction with Chicago Sports Commission and Soldier Field. All matches will take place at Soldier Field on Nov. 3 The USA Women’s Eagles will open the match line-up against the 2017 Women’s R...
Italian American Theatre of Chicago
The Italian American Theatre of Chicago announces a tie for first place in its First Annual Playwriting Competition. It proved to be impossible to pick between two outstanding works: Passaggio Oscuro (Dark Passage) by Rosemary FrisinoToohey and The Diagonal Trilogy by Vita Patrick Morales. Gold Medal Winners Passaggio Oscuro explores the little-kno...
From Italy to America
Curious about the Italian culture? From Italy to America is Eataly Chicago’s newest class series — and you're invited to join the conversation! Join us for a monthly roundtable discussion focused on Italian-American and modern Italian culturethrough art, music, language, culture, and of course – great food and drink! Each month, we'll invite a loca...
Caccamesi gear up to honor Beato Giovanni Liccio
The Feast of Beato Giovanni Liccio will take place on July 29 at Casa Italia in Stone Park. The feast has its origins in Caccamo, Palermo, Sicilia. The event is sponsored by Società Beato Giovanni Liccio di Caccamo. Festivities include a noon Mass, followed by a procession with the Sicilian Band of Chicago and a family festival featuring food, live...
Longtime Butler County teacher dies
A longtime teacher in Butler County has died. Phyllis DiStaola, who taught in Ross and Hamilton school districts before retiring in 1995, died Saturday at Mercy Hospital of Fairfield. She was 80. She worked five years in the Ross district, then started working in Hamilton in the 1974-75 school year, according to district records. She taught busines...
Chicago product Calistri fitting in well with STLFC
St. Louis FC’s Joey Calistri was living the dream. Born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Ill., Calistri grew up playing for the Chicago Fire Juniors and Fire Academy. While attending nearby Northwestern University, he spent summers playing in the Premier Development League for the Chicago Fire Under-23s. “The summer before my senior s...
Mokena gears up for fifth annual Festa Italiana
The fifth annual Mokena Festa Italiana will be held on July 15. Last year’s event attracted more than 2,500 attendees, and an even larger crowd is expected this year. The festival is based on the traditional Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Melrose Park. The day will begin with an 11 a.m. procession from the Mokena Intermediate School at 11331...
Rossini's sacred masterpiece, the Stabat Mater
Chicago Symphony Orchestra audiences are accustomed to Riccardo Muti’s signing off for the season on a grandly upbeat note, such as he did last year when he closed the subscription series with a festive potpourri of Italian operatic favorites. For this year’s season finale, however, the music director is doing things differently. The scale remains...
Army Major Lorenzo Fiorentino (Middle East)
An officer in the Army for 20 years, Lorenzo Fiorentino was in charge of anti-terrorism at a base in Kabul that housed the Three Star General Command. The youngest of four children, Lorenzo Fiorentino was born in Casteldaccia, Sicily, to Pietro and Rosalia (Canale). His father became ill and could no longer work the farm, and in 1972, the family im...
Loyola launches groundbreaking Italian American studies program
A sixth-generation Italian American with a profound connection to her roots, Carla Simonini, Ph.D., arrives in Chicago next month to lead Loyola University’s Italian-American Studies program. Complimenti! It took five years, a massive fund-raising campaign that netted $500,000 and a historic commitment by Loyola University of Chicago, but our metro...
Festa Italiana 2018 at Freedom Hill Park in Sterling Heights
The annual Festa Italiana will be held Friday through Sunday at Freedom Hill Park in Sterling Heights. Opening ceremonies begin at 6 p.m. Friday with a Parade of Italian Clubs, with Dino Valle, emcee. Headlining the entertainment will be Sal "The Voice" Valentinetti, Aaron Caruso and Ray Massa & The Euro Rhythms. Also featuring live performances by...
Announcing the 2018 Inductees and Honorees
The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce inductees and honorees for the 41st Annual Induction & Awards Gala to take place at a dinner on Saturday, November 3rd, in the Crystal Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The program will be emceed by 2016 Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza and New York Mets Radio Announcer...