Taste six Italian cities' specialties
“Traditional Florence cooking is... a poor kitchen, and making use of everything,” says chef Guiseppe Imparato of Florence's elegant Il Salviatino hotel, a former private estate which looks down on the grand city from its northeastern hills. The hotel's restaurant serves a variety of local specialties, highlighted by a three-course Firenze tasting...
The Curious Tale of Williamsburg’s Historic Abate Grotto
At the intersection of Woodpoint Road and Conseylea Street in Williamsburg sits a 20th century curiosity built on a tiny plot of ground with a centuries-old significance in the history of Brooklyn. The Vito Abate grotto at 219 Woodpoint Road was built in the late 1930s as a religious shrine associated with St. Francis of Paola Church, located acros...
The hidden history of Southern Italy’s glory – Part Three
This episode features the third and final part of our Southern Italy series. These episodes have consisted of interviews with National Italian American Foundation President John Viola, and Anthony and Patrick O’Boyle, who are all members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George. We have a candid conversation with these passionate...
The Voice of Opera: Remembering Luciano Pavarotti
It has been almost 10 years since Luciano Pavarotti’s passing on September 6, 2007, but his legacy will live on forever. He has been one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar. “I would like to be remembered as the man who brought opera to the masses,” the legendary tenor said in an interview. The most beloved and cel...
Upbeat Italian food sets the scene at Luce
The best part of a romantic comedy is the part where they fall for each other in a montage of tangled dog leashes, diner scenes and raindrops. Movies love raindrops. The montage is a good way to move the story along without dwelling on any one scene. A montage is a good way to tell the story of San Antonio’s Luce Ristorante e Enoteca, with an upbea...
Mario Andretti receives IMRRC's Argetsinger Award
A star-studded group of giants in the motorsports industry gathered on Thursday as Mario Andretti was presented with the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for Outstanding Contributions to Motorsports by the International Motor Racing Research Center at the Corning Museum of Glass. This was the fourth year the glass trophy has been presented; previous ho...
Fall in Italy: Lovely Weather, Lower Prices
Italy is always in style as a vacation destination for travelers from the United States, and this year is no exception. The country is a best-seller within the travel networks Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network, the latter of which has a double-digit growth in sales in 2017 for Italy trips. Flight searches are also up, but, fortunately, airfare...
Our Lady of Grace Feast and Festival on tap
It’s a feast and festival that’s been going on for decades at Our Lady of Grace Church in Johnston. It’s considered one of Rhode Island’s best end-of-summer events, especially when it comes to home cooked Italian foods, Don DePetrillo’s delicious doughboys, family fun and those always-popular carnival rides and games of chance. It’s a Rite of Septe...
Al Vicolo Brings Authentic Italian Food and Friendship to Hawai‘i Island
Itʻs said the problem with eating Italian food is five or six days later youʻre hungry again. Al Vicolo, the new Italian restaurant in Kawaihae Harbor, lives up to this declaration, serving up delicious dishes brimming with the authentic tastes of Italy. Al Vicoloʻs owner, Davide Semenza, arrived in Florida from Italy two years ago with his family....
Italian employment figures rise to pre-recession levels
The number of Italians in work rose to pre-recession levels in July, according to figures from national number-crunching agency Istat. For the first time since before the start of the country's long recession, the number of people in work has topped 23 million. In total, 23.06 million people were registered as working in July, a figure which has no...
Feast of the Three Saints gets under way, livens up Lawrence
Dr. Richard LaSpina, a pediatrician who practices in Methuen, lives in Windham, New Hampshire and has deep roots in Lawrence, describes the Feast of the Three Saints with three words: family, friendship and heritage. The 94th edition of this annual tradition, which honors the three young Sicilian men who were tortured to death when they refused to...
How Michelangelo came to a New Jersey mall
Scott Sanders' job is to bring unusual experiences to the most common American activity — spending a day at the mall. His first big effort on that front opens in Paramus on Saturday, in a 20,000 square foot tent in the parking lot of New Jersey’s largest shopping mall, Westfield Garden State Plaza. He is the man behind Up Close: Michelangelo’s Sist...