Meet Cesare Casella, the Tuscan Chef Who's Known as the "Prosciutto Whisperer"
You’ve probably never heard of him, but in the world of restaurants few chefs are more beloved than Cesare Casella, a bighearted Tuscan who strolls through life with a smile on his face and a sprig of rosemary in his pocket. “Cesare knows everyone. He knows everything about food, and he’s the most generous guy in the world,” says Patrick Martins, a...
Dante's last laugh: Why Italy's national poet isn't buried where you think he is
Dante Alighieri will forever be associated with Florence, city of his birth and the dialect he helped elevate such that it would one day become the basis of Italy's national language. Yet when Dante died nearly 700 years ago this week, Florence isn't where he ended up. The story of how Dante's remains came to be in Ravenna isn't that complicated. I...
“Lumi in aria,” lights in the air: expression of art and beauty
Since the beginning of time, light has been a recurrent symbol in Christianity and, from a liturgical point of view, it refers directly to God. Light was considered a weapon against the treachery of darkness and remains still today ancestrally connected to life, love and truth. In the past, Christian countries would restrain the use of luminarie,...
Experience the Italian Alps at BAITA
Get ready to cozy up Chicago – BAITA is coming! Inspired by the Italian Alps, BAITA (pronounced bye-tah) is an all-new restaurant opening on our second floor Friday, October 19. Meaning "ski lodge" in Piemontese dialect, BAITA is our answer to fighting the winter blues. As the temperatures drop, escape the chilly sidewalks of Chicago and let yourse...
October 23, 2018. Nutrition and Health Conference at Calandra
This is a one-day symposium on one of the major exports of Italy: the culinary health and nutrition benefits of the Mediterranean Diet. The discovery of the nutrition and health benefits of Italian cuisine demonstrates how Italian global migration and host-country identity-building connect the food and culture of the individual with that of their e...
Vicky Carabini (Chair of the Italian Studies Council at Chapman University)
Sometimes, (virtually) wandering around the United States getting to now Italian American leaders, I end up meeting somebody who really is committed to promote and celebrate the Italian culture, our language, our values. I live in Italy, and for me it is always incredibly inspiring to see how much love there is for my country, outside of it. Today...
‘Senso’ Trailer: Luchino Visconti’s Ambitious Italian Melodrama Gets a Fresh Restoration
When lauded Italian director Luchino Visconti first conceived of his big screen adaptation of Camillo Boito’s novella “Senso,” the “La Terra Trema” filmmaker aimed high: he wanted to cast no less than Ingrid Bergman and Marlon Brando in the film’s lead roles, a conspiring contessa and an Austrian deserter who woo amidst the dying embers of the Riso...
Poggio Conte Hermitage
In the valley of the Fiora river, which springs from the southern flanks of Monte Amiata in Tuscany, medieval hermits carved and chiseled the local tuff rock into sacred places of meditation and spirituality. Because of its bucolic and peaceful setting, its unusual architectural details, and the short hike that’s required to reach it, the Poggio Co...
Democrats line up behind Folcarelli at fundraiser
It was entitled “a reception”, the type of event Linda Folcarelli has hosted, chaired and worked on time and again during her unique and seemingly endless extraordinary career of community volunteerism. The event, though, was much different than those Folcarelli, who is a part-time civilian employee with the Johnston Police Department, has ever bee...
Sicilian Citrus: A Lush and Vivid History
Citrus fruits were brought to Italy via Sicily by the Arabs around 850 AD. Its warm climate and mild, sea breezes are perfect conditions for large-scale cultivation of many types of citrus. At first, only bitter and yellow oranges were grown, though over time, sweeter, loose-skinned and even red varieties were developed. The climate and local condi...
Lerici: secrets, solace and sorrows on the Gulf of Poets
There is something at the heart of Lerici that works on my imagination to create magic as interesting things happened in its world of sand and sea, harbor and castles, alleys and pastel-colored houses. All can be read through the lens of literature. Many great English-speaking literati have been inspired by the town at the southernmost end of the I...
Washington, Emiliano firma accordo su voli suborbitali a Grottaglie: 'Primo scalo d'Europa ad avere il decreto come spazioporto'
Nella sede dell'Ambasciata d'Italia a Washington è stato firmato, nell'ambito dell'evento "Italy-Us Space Cooperation on Suborbital Flights", un importante accordo tra Virgin Orbit, Virgin GALACTIC e Gruppo ANGEL. "Siamo nell'ambasciata italiana di Washington – ha detto il presidente Emiliano - abbiamo appena firmato un accordo importantissimo che...