The feast of St. Lucy is December 13th and in Italy ushers in the Christmas season. In keeping with this long-lasting tradition, the Cultural Center will have a celebration at the Center on the feast day, Sunday, December 13th. The celebration will begin with the lighting of the Christmas Fire at 3:30 pm. This will be followed by a candlelig...

By Tony Fioriglio Parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel learned at the 4 p.m. Mass Saturday that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close the church and merge the parish with Sacred Heart Church in Swedesburg at the end of June.   The announcement came less than 24 hours after the Facebook page for The Bridgeport Feast said that th...

Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari tweeted this morning that he knew "there was something he loved" about Iowa. What was it? Two photos of the mural outside the Italian American Cultural Center of Iowa on Indianola Avenue.   Calipari, an Italian American, said he was leaving mass when he came across the art. "Sent us to the r...

Viva L'Italia, the Italian-American Heritage Festival of Iowa, will take place on Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27 in Des Moines' Western Gateway Park. The fourth annual event is a celebration of Italian culture that features food and beverage vendors, dancing, live music, children's activities, cooking demonstrations, art, a bocce ball tourna...

Cristina Fontanelli has become a well-known personality through her recordings, her appearances on TV, radio, in concert, nightclubs, and opera, and through her acting debut on network television. Her most recent accomplishment is as PBS Host for Andrea Bocelli's historic free concert in Central Park also starring Celine Dion, David Foster and Tony...

A new men's clothing store called Lord Midas opened in downtown Des Moines recently. "Everything is made in Italy, exclusively made in Italy," Max Stanco said. Stanco was born in New York and raised in Italy. He opened his first clothing store in Des Moines at Sixth and Locust streets. Men's suits are priced from $1,000 to $3,000, bu...

by Patt Johnson Max Stanco wants to bring a bit of Italy to Des Moines. The New York businessman is opening an upscale Italian boutique in downtown Des Moines that will feature clothing, shoes and accessories, mostly for men. He has rented street-level space in the Des Moines Building, 513 Locust St., and will open a modern boutique that...

Join us Saturday at 7AM or Sunday at 6PM to hear selections from the Ames concert by one of today's leading Baroque ensembles, Trio Settecento. Violin virtuoso Rachel Barton Pine, cellist/ gambist John Mark Rozendaal, and harpsichordist David Schrader perform music of the Italian Baroque as guests of Ames Town and Gown. The broadcast is part of our...

Sister Mary Anne Leto (Mary Jacinta), CHM, 87, died July 1, 2015, at Bishop Drumm Retirement Center, Johnston. Services are at Bishop Drumm, Our Lady of Peace Chapel. Vigil will be 4 p.m. Monday, July 6, and funeral Mass will be 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 7. Burial services and interment will be 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 8, at Mount Olivet Cemetery,...

by Susan Stapleton   Tony Lemmo and his team at Café di Scala are back,now with a different name and a new monthly dining concept. Aposto, loosely translated from Italian, means "everything is right," said Lemmo, who closed his decade-old Café di Scala at the end of 2015.   Now Aposto takes its place with ticketed dinners, brunches an...