For many Oregon kids, pizza is less a dietary staple than a fact of life. But that wasn’t always the case. Even after World War II, newspaper references to “pizza” were still put in quotations, with recipes typically calling for ”4 English muffins” or “2 cans Maine sardines.” That was before 1949, the year Caro Amico opened on Southwest Barbur Boul...

Sunday, October 6th, 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM PDT. Grand Amari, 509 SE Grand Ave, Portland, OR. Buy Sagra ticket here. Join us for Sagra, our beloved celebration of Italian culture and a key fundraising event for the Portland Bologna Sister City Association’s Youth Exchange Program and BIPOC Youth Scholarship. Aperitivo + Dinner Experience ($80).  Aperiti...

January 2024 Let's find out about the Italians in the Pacific Northwest

Over a century ago, a tight-knit network of Italian American families started selling local produce in Portland’s Central Eastside. It began on a single city block and expanded from there — carts and wagons overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables often arrived before dawn to set up shop. It was “farm-to-table” before “farm-to-table” needed a s...

Keen-eyed Nostrana diners in Portland, OR may have noticed the Buckman Italian restaurant’s growing collection of unusual-looking cookbooks. The restaurant staff has spent years collecting all 20 first editions of the “In Bocca” (in the mouth) series of cookbooks produced in the late 1970s by Palermo, Italy, publisher Il Vespro. First, they built a...

Join the Scuola Team! Apply on Indeed or email us! Position: Executive Director. Employment Type: Salary, Exempt. Schedule: Part-Time (10-15 hours). Location: 1542 NW 14 th Ave, Portland, OR 97209. Scuola Italiana di Portland, a not-for-profit language school in Portland, OR is searching for an Executive Director to join our community. We are searc...

Let’s begin the new year of interviews by moving to one of the American territories farthest from Italy, the Northwest. The protagonists of the book written by Tessa Floreano are Idaho, Oregon and Washington, three states that are not among the best known in our country nor among those that have welcomed Italian emigrants the most. But as we have o...

Wishing for a fabulous Italian restaurant in Oregon where you can dine outside in the cold and rainy winter months? Try Montelupo Italian Market, which serves amazing food in a heated tent. You can also dine inside, but if you’re in the mood for outside dining, where’s the fun in that? (Actually, the inside space is quite lovely, too!) Montelupo op...

In Long Island, New York, Bree Licata grew up frequenting Italian American bakeries that stocked dozens of varieties of cookies and pastries. Customers would eye up trays of baked goods in a pastry case, order what they want, and their selections would be boxed up and priced by weight. Licata’s family was one that had always leaned toward cooking r...

ESPRESSO EXPERT, coffee roaster, and cafe owner Andrea Spella first established his reputation with the eponymous downtown Portland coffee cart he opened in 2006. Now after the pandemic, and massive changes in the neighborhood, Spella has once again put roots down in the city center with Spella Caffè, his new flagship that opened October 12. The ne...