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In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we are changing it up. I will be taking you on a trip with me and we will be heading to the black hills of South Dakota to attend a ceremony where Luigi del Bianco will be named the Chief Carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. We will also speak with Lou Del Bianco about the role he played i...

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About nine months ago I received an email from Lou Del Bianco telling me that he was looking for a publisher to publish the story of his family’s 25-year fight to gain recognition for his late grandfather Luigi Del Bianco, who they believed was the Chief Carver on Mount Rushmore.  I read the email and was intrigued. I had remembered interviewing Lo...

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The chief carver of Mount Rushmore who was responsible for refining the expressions on the faces of the monument's four presidents was honored Saturday with a plaque that recognizes his work. Luigi Del Bianco was an Italian immigrant and stone carver whose job included the challenging tasks of sculpting Jefferson's lips and Lincoln's life-like e...

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«CmstP&P Rr»: quasi un codice fiscale, una sigla dietro la quale si cela la «Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad», conosciuta negli Stati Uniti d’America con la più comoda denominazione di Milwaukee Road. Una compagnia ferroviaria di prima classe, certamente, ma anche un pezzo di storia dei trasporti a stelle e strisce. Una rete che c...

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Fazoli’s, America's largest fast casual Italian chain, announced the opening of its newest franchised restaurant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota—marking the brand’s first location in the state. The new restaurant, which is set to officially open its doors on, August 1, is located at 4224 West Empire Place. The Sioux Falls restaurant will feature an as...

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Most states have communities named Florence. Not all are cities. There are towns and villages and unincorporated communities in several states that still are important enough to get attention from Wikipedia. It seemed likely that some would have been named for Florence Nightingale but I found none. Several were named after Florence, Italy, the I...

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Brookings will soon offer its residents and visitors a new dining experience with a taste of Italy. Mama Mia, 1300 Main Ave. S., has a target date for opening at the beginning of April. “The menu will be basically Italian food, casual Italian food, priced reasonably,” owner and executive chef Hamodi Siam said. “We want to keep those prices low, so...

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The Pierre Concert Series wraps up the 2016 season with Julian Gargiulo a dynamic classical pianist who performs the compositions of renowned masters with extraordinary passion and precision. Gargiulo fills concert halls with his personal brand of charm, humor and charisma, and also provides a keyboard video or members of his audience can see his h...

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United States Representative Patrick "Pat" Tiberi (Republican - 12th Congressional District) of Ohio believes the late Luigi Del Bianco "should be formally recognized" for having served as chief carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.   In Carving a Niche for Himself; The Untold Story of Luigi Del Bianco and Mount Rushmore, author Do...

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It's a 1,737 mile drive from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, in Keystone, South Dakota. If you're taking I-80 and I-90 westbound you can do the trip in 26 hours. There's no way to do the trip faster, just as to date, there hasn't been a way to bridge the gap that exists between the United States Department of the...

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