How an Italian sculptor shaped the aesthetic of Lansing
Look up! You might just notice an ornamental architectural fixture crafted by noted sculptor Corrado Parducci, who completed 13 installations in the Lansing area during the ’30s, ’50s and ’60s in Lansing. Parducci’s work can be seen at Michigan Bell, on the campus of Michigan State University, the Capitol Area District Library downtown main branch,...
Celebrate a very Italian Christmas at Casa Italia
A Christmas Village will once again light up the Casa Italia campus in Stone Park after a one-year hiatus prompted by the pandemic. The complimentary open house is slated for Dec. 5, and more than a dozen organizations have signed up as sponsors. A noon Mass with a Living Nativity will be followed by festivities that include a strolling zampognaro...
Homelessness hero Dr. Patrick Angelo
Even 20 years later, Dr. Patrick Angelo struggles to explain the freezing February night when he felt a command to get into his car and drive downtown to go feed and warm the homeless. He didn’t know his way around downtown Chicago. But after making some random turns, he arrived at a homeless encampment on Lower Wacker Drive, where he had never bee...
Sports Hall to honor Colangelo, others at gala
The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame will present multisport luminary Jerry Colangelo with the Mario Andretti Lifetime Achievement Award at a gala and induction ceremony at the Westin O’Hare. The event has been moved from Nov. 13 to Dec. 10. “When the hall of fame needed help making the move to Taylor Street, Jerry Colangelo was there....
Italian dance troupe to interpret Dante
The contemporary Italian dance company Artemis Danza will perform “Dante Solo Inferno” at 7 p.m. on Dec. 4 at the Instituto Cervantes theater in Chicago. In this choreographic interpretation of Dante’s classic poem, the audience encounters the lost souls who crossed path with Dante on his otherworldly journey. The soundtrack alternates between orig...
Arcolians to honor Dr. Wittmus
The Arcolian Dental Arts Society will honor Dr. Jeffrey Wittmus as Arcolian of the Year at its Christmas gala on Dec. 14 at Cafe La Cave in Des Plaines. To make reservations, contact Dr. Chuck Martello at 815-666-4959 or charlesmartell@comcast.net. Wittmus is the grandson of John Joseph Siravo, whose parents immigrated from Italy’s Abruzzi region....
Chicago-Style Giardiniera: Italian-American at Home
Italian immigrants to Chicago had an outsized impact on the city’s food scene during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Few items have endured and even grown in importance as giardiniera, the mix of peppers and other vegetables given a quick pickle and then a soak in oil. Chicagoans and food tourists seeking out a Chicago-style hot dog or an I...
Pompeii to celebrate the 2021 season with song
The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii will host its annual Mary and Christmas celebration both in person and online on Dec. 4. Maestro Paul French will once again lead the incomparable William Ferris Chorale in a program of Christmas favorites. Timeless yuletide melodies, Neapolitan songs and favorites by composer Ennio Morricone will help ring in the...
Italian Immigrants Gave Rise to Cleveland’s Iconic Guardians of Traffic
Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team completed their last season as the Indians on October 3, 2021. The club is now called the Cleveland Guardians, and the new name pays homage to four, two-sided sculptures known as the “Guardians of Traffic,” which stand prominently on the city’s Hope Memorial Bridge. Once known as the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge, it...
At Buona Beef, a family-run business at a crossroads
At any private company, working alongside relatives can come with plenty of internecine challenges. But how about one big extended Italian family that includes siblings, parents and children all part of the operation? At Buona, which encompasses 25 fast-casual Buona Beef restaurants, catering and a grocery-sales division, family somehow works. The...
Professor Massimo Montanari discusses the history of spaghetti and tomato sauce
Professor Massimo Montanari author of A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce discussed his book with the Italian Cultural Society of Chicago in a virtual event. The book examines the history of pasta and tomato sauce. Professor Montarai explained, “pasta is a very very old object”. In ancient societies, pasta was identified as a variant of...
Zia’s Social, Modern Italian Bar And Restaurant, Opens In Norwood Park
A new Norwood Park restaurant is ready for business after almost five months of renovations. Zia’s Social, 6158 N. Northwest Highway, fully opened Monday after a soft opening over the weekend. The restaurant and bar — with high tops and booth tables, two stages for music performances, a wood-fired pizza oven, a private party rental room and lots of...