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Vandergrift’s oldest Italian social club celebrated a major milestone last Saturday, Aug. 27. The Bari Club, the sole surviving Italian social club in the borough, celebrated its 100th anniversary with wall-to-wall well-wishers celebrating all things Italian. “All the other Italian clubs are gone in Vandergrift,” said Frank “Beans” Moliterno, 92, t...

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Puglia is having a moment. Long overshadowed by more famous Italian regions like Tuscany, Campania and Sicily, over the past few years the heel of the boot has turned into a destination in its own right, and the place everyone – ourselves included – want to be in the summer (though, hey, the rest of the country is also pretty great). Its appeal is...

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Everyone knows Italy has mastered the art of "il dolce far niente" — and for travelers craving a taste of "the sweetness of doing nothing," there's no better place on earth than an Italian resort. Taking the time to enjoy small, idle moments feels much richer surrounded by Tuscan vineyards or the turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea. Add plenty of pasta and wi...

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In Apulia, land of centuries-old olive groves and an uncontaminated sea, Lake Lesina lies between the Tavoliere delle Puglie Plain and the Gargano Promontory. An evocative, salted lake 12.5 miles long, it is separated from the Adriatic Sea by a sandy, wooded strip of land known as Bosco Isola, the formation of which contributed to deposits from flo...

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A year ago, at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Italy discovered that it was an athletics powerhouse, the queen of Olympic sports. Never in the history of athletics had the "bel paese" managed to win five gold medals in an Olympic edition, and above all, the feat had never succeeded in the symbolic race of the Olympics, the 100 meters (with Marcell Jacobs)...

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One of the most enjoyable aspects of traveling in Italy is discovering secret towns that stop you in your tracks — as Gagliano del Capo does for unsuspecting visitors driving down the Pugliese coast. The town's dry stone walls, round rock farm buildings, and olive trees on Lecce's highest elevation provide a commanding view of the surrounding lands...

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As the Italian wine industry is largely defined by indigenous varietals, the country’s most important wines are all about distinctiveness. Brunello di Montalcino from Tuscany is 100% Sangiovese, Barolo and Barbaresco are produced exclusively from Nebbiolo in Piedmont, while Soave, the famed Venetian white, is crafted primarily from Garganega.  Thes...

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That Salento is amazing is well known by now: for years the “heel of Italy” has become the destination of wild summer pilgrimages for its nightlife, food and Caribbeanesque Sea. But not to be forgotten is also the “spur of Italy”: the mysterious Gargano in the far east of Puglia, reachable only by crossing a forest with an evocative name, the Fores...

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The ages-old apulian cuisine is one respectful of the seasonal cycle, and divided among land-based dishes and coastal seafood ones. Today we explore the cookery art of Puglia. First up a dish which is now considered an appetizer, but which originally was an actual meal for fishermen and farmers who were away from the household for the larger part o...

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“Go to one of the inland cities today,” advises the burly fruit seller as he hands me a barattiere, a mixture of melon and cucumber that’s indigenous to Puglia, the region that forms the stiletto heel of Italy’s boot. “The sand will be blowing today on both the coasts, and you won’t be able to see the lovely colors of the sea.” The wind and the sea...

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