Nick Hanushchak’s journey from Springfield, Pennsylvania to the banks of Lake Como was a quiet leap of faith — a chance to step into a new country, a new culture, and a different kind of football. As the first recipient of the Como 1907 Scholarship, the 18-year-old centre back spent a formative year learning his craft in one of the most tactical fo...
READ MOREEvery time we finished dinner at a nouveau Italian restaurant back in the 1980s, my dad, God rest him, would wave his hand dismissively and say with an air of contempt, “It was good, but these yuppies think they invented peasant food. My mother made those dishes every night for dinner, and they were better than any meal you could get at a restauran...
READ MOREA family-run Italian market is under new ownership in Northampton County, PA. Nonna's Italian Market, offering authentic Italian bread, meats, cheeses, pasta, pastries and more at 2112 Schoenersville Road in Hanover Township, this week was purchased by the Crivellaro family - brothers Al and Michael and Michael's children, Mikey and Tana. The Crive...
READ MOREDid you know that an Italian inspired the design of the White House, Monticello and the Philadelphia Museum of Art? Andrea Palladio was born in Veneto in Padua in 1508. He began as an apprentice in sculpture which led to his admission into the stonemason’s guild. He moved to Vincenza and worked for a patron who supported the classical style of Anci...
READ MORERalph’s Italian Restaurant, located at 760 S. Ninth St. in the heart of Philadelphia’s Italian Market, was dimly lit but bright with laughter when my boyfriend, Manny Nkrumah ’26 and I visited for dinner one Sunday evening in early March. The mosaic-tiled floor and closely-sat tables reminded me of Italian restaurants in old movies. When we arrived...
READ MORERaymond DiBiasi, a flight attendant based in Philadelphia, always knew Sicilian heritage was in his blood, but he never knew it would become a living part of his story. His grandfather emigrated to the U.S. more than a century ago, and family lore suggested no relatives remained in Sicily. But in 2015, his genealogy research revealed a thrilling tr...
READ MOREAlthough, less prominent than New York’s Ellis Island, Philadelphia was home to what was once the third largest immigration port in the country: Pier 53 on the Delaware River. It was in 1873 that the Washington Avenue Immigration Station began its operations. Arriving immigrants first disembarked at Lazaretto Station at Essington for health inspect...
READ MOREIsgro Pastries, the 121-year-old South Philadelphia bakery that has been a staple at the Italian Market, is set to undergo its first-ever expansion, writes Emma Dooling for the Philadelphia Business Journal. The bakery is planning to open a new 18,000-square-foot to 20,000-square-foot facility in South Philadelphia and relocate there. The new wareh...
READ MOREOn a rainy Thursday, stationed at a stand in the Italian Market, Victoria Ciliberti patiently weaves tough, green fronds together. She is a “palm lady” carrying on an ancient tradition. “I’m the third generation doing the weaving,” Ciliberti, 34, said. “So my great-grandmother and my great-aunt are the ones who taught me. My mom carried it on, and...
READ MOREAndy Polhemus turned his passion for pasta into a business. Since its inception, Molto Bene! Ravioli Co. has grown from a food truck to farmer's markets and a brick and mortar shop on Frankfurt Avenue in Philadelphia, PA. Andy's love for pasta can be traced to his Italian American roots, growing up in a family that made pasta by hand and took a lot...
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