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Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) announced that she had been selected as the new Democratic Co-Chair of the Italian American Congressional Delegation: “Italian Americans are an integral part of our nation’s diverse cultural makeup. Growing up in Wooster Square—the heart of New Haven’s Italian American community—I learned the value of hard...

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New Haven's Columbus statue, installed in 1892 by Connecticut's Italian American community, was removed in 2020 by jittery civic leaders who rushed to dismantle historic monuments in a misguided effort to project inclusivity. Such decisions could be overturned as the Italian-American Defense League pursues a landmark ruling through a federal appeal...

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New Haven is a pretty easy place to find Italian food and fairs, but what about films? The Institute Library is satisfying that craving this summer with their new film series, “Ciao, Bella!” On Thursday night the second film of the three in the series — 1962’s Mamma Roma, directed by Pier Polo Pasolini — was screened among the stacks of their biogr...

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“Go Luca, go!” shouted someone in the crowd, encouraging the violinist Luca Ciarla to return to the stage for one final song. He obliged, walking back on as the audience clapped and cheered. The upbeat notes of the composition “Libertango” soon enveloped attendees lounging on the New Haven Green.  Ciarla took the Alexander Clark Stage on the New Ha...

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Zuppardi’s Apizza is turning 90! The historic pizzeria, nestled in West Haven’s Union Avenue neighborhood, has been serving New Haven-style apizza, pronounced “abeetz,” since 1934. The fourth-generation business is one of the oldest family-owned pizzerias in the United States and was recently featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” according to C...

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David Lee strummed a guitar while sitting on his front porch in New Haven. He lives two blocks away from Wooster Square Park, where the city installed a new sculpture representing an Italian American immigrant family, replacing a controversial one of Christopher Columbus which was removed by the city. Lee understands why the old statue means so muc...

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In 1889, members of the Italian community in Wooster Square, led by Paulo Russo, decided to establish their own parish instead of continuing to have to attend mass at St. Patrick's Church on Grand Avenue. They dedicated it to St. Michael the Archangel. The church occupied several sites before the edifice on Wooster Place, which had served as a Bapt...

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 (Pictured, from left): Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Committee Treasurer Sal Decola, committee member Mike Luzzi, Mayor Dorinda Borer, and newly sashed honorees Celia Pinzi and Mark Consorte are all smiles at the committee’s Kickoff Dinner at Cielo Banquet Hall on Wednesday. The fundraising dinner recognized Consorte, a longtime s...

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After a four-year journey, an Italian-American immigrant family landed in Wooster Square Park on Monday, pointing to both the past and the future. The family — representing the Italian-American immigrants who settled in New Haven a century ago and transformed Wooster Square into the city’s Little Italy — is depicted in a solid bronze statue entitle...

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West Haven is the host community for October’s Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Festival. Kicking off the festivities is a dinner from 6-10 p.m. May 15 at West Haven’s Cielo Banquet Hall, 85 Chase Lane, where the city will recognize this year’s grand marshal, longtime resident Mark Consorte. Mayor Dorinda Borer, who tapped Consorte, said...

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