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ONE OF HOUSTON'S favorite personalities and businessmen — Franco Valobra, who divides time between here and New Orleans — recently celebrated a high honor in his other home state of Louisiana. He was named Louisiana’s Honorary Consul for Italy, and he threw a grand party at the new Italian Honorary Consulate in the French Quarter to celebrate. “The...

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The City Council of New Orleans awarded a grant of $10,000.00 to a Committee of Fifty appointed by the mayor that purchased Winchester rifles to conduct the massacre. In 2019, Mayor Cantrell acknowledged the role the City Government of New Orleans played in the massacre and recognized the contributions of Italians to the city of New Orleans. The ev...

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When Hurricane Ida blew through New Orleans two years ago with 113 mph winds, the Central Grocery Company, a hallmark of the French Quarter for 117 years, was left in ruins. The closure of the old-time Italian deli left New Orleanians, transplants, and tourists hungry for its world-renowned original muffuletta — a gigantic sandwich made on 9-inch-r...

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There are 20 glorious sandwiches on the menu at Francolini’s, which opened to much fanfare at 3987 Tchoupitlouas Street in mid-July — 14 of them hot, six cold. There are sandwiches piled with prosciutto cotto, mortadella, salami, capicola, prosciutto di Parma, speck, hot and sweet soppressata, and rare roast beef. There are sandwiches stacked with...

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The American-Italian Federation of the Southeast is hosting a film festival August 5th from 3-7pm at WYES. Four films - each 30-minutes in length will be shown with Q&A to follow each film. Patron’s Party includes Sicilian Wine tasting from 3-4pm. Chef Andrea has donated a copy of his book "La Cucina di Andrea's" for patrons. Tickets can be purchas...

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The muffaletta (also spelled muffuletta), like the po'-boy, was created in what I like to think of as my own (extended) backyard: the incomparable city of New Orleans. Of Sicilian origin, muffuletta is actually the name of the Italian bread that holds the virtual charcuterie board of ingredients that make up this massive sandwich together. If you'v...

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CONSTRUCTED IN 1978, THE PIAZZA d’Italia in New Orleans’ Warehouse district has seen both boom and bust. Originally designed as part of an urban revitalization project under New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu, the entire block was reimagined, though only a portion of the plans were realized. The Piazza was completed in 1978 as a surprise space in the...

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The atmosphere was electric at Union Station. Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians (a.k.a. Lombardo’s brothers: Carmen, Victor, and Lambert—the band was a family affair) were touring to New Orleans for the first time, for a two-week engagement, and on May 3, 1934, a throng of welcomers assembled in anticipation of their train’s arrival. Despite bei...

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Italian Film Festival: August 5th at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie, LA. Featured Films: “Who Killa da Chief?” Solving the murder mystery that led to the 1891 massacre of 11 Italians and the expansion of Columbus Day; “Italian-Americans: Transatlantic Aviators and Transformative Immigrants” Colonel Francesco de Pinedo’s 1927 Trans...

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Friday, June 16 · 7 - 10pm CDT - Piazza d'Italia 377 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA 70130. Opera in the Piazza is presented by the American Italian Cultural Center. Performances arranged and directed by Todd Simmons, former Director of the New Orleans Opera Association, and current General Manager of the Jefferson Performing Arts Center. General ad...

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