Parsippany Council Dedicates Plaque To Vincent Ferrara
Last night’s town meeting started off with a touching ceremony, as the Parsippany-Troy Hills Town Council dedicated a plaque to their fallen friend, Vincent Ferrara. Ferrara, a resident of Parsippany-Troy Hills since 1996, passed away in February 2020 at the age of 59, Originally from Capusele, Italy, Ferrara moved to the United States in 1972 and...
Health leaders honored as Stars of Essex County at Italian American heritage celebration
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr. hosted the 2021 Essex County Italian American Heritage Month celebration on Thursday, Oct. 28, in the county’s Martin Luther King Jr. Justice Building. During the event, DiVincenzo recognized Judith M. Persichilli, commissioner of the N.J. Department of Health, and Frank J. Del Gaudio, director of the...
Vito Perillo, 97, Was Just Reelected as Mayor of New Jersey Borough
Vito Perillo is a 97-year-old WWII veteran, who was reelected to a second term as mayor of Tinton Falls, N.J. on Tuesday. Perillo is believed to be the oldest person ever to win a mayoral race in the U.S. “Thank you to my fellow residents for trusting me to lead Tinton Falls forward for the next four years. You may know that I am not a politician,...
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church to reopen Nov. 27
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church will reopen its doors Nov. 27 — a milestone some congregants feared would never come, and that parish officials say was only possible after extensive and costly repairs to an unsafe building. With repairs complete, “it’s on to God’s work of repairing hearts,” the Rev. Amilcar Benito Prado — popularly known as “Fathe...
A celebration of sister cities: Montclair gets its 'Aquilonia Way'
Next time you stroll from Clairemont Avenue to Grant Street, things won’t look very different. You’ll pass Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, slated to reopen in late November. You’ll see signs for the Club Aquilonese San Vito Martire, a treasured institution for a century. American and Italian flags will wave above you. But look up, and you’ll see t...
Instrumental Music in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples: Politics, Patronage, and Artistic Culture. Book Presentation and Concert
Join us to meet Prof. Anthony R. DelDonna, author of Instrumental Music in Late Eighteenth-Century Naples: Politics, Patronage, and Artistic Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2021), in conversation with Prof. Guido Olivieri (University of Texas at Austin) as they discuss the monograph and ongoing research into the instrumental music traditions o...
Italian American Police Society of NJ to Collect Gifts for Big Brothers & Big Sisters of NJ
During this Holiday Season, members of the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey will continue to support Big Brothers & Big Sisters of New Jersey by providing toys and gifts for children in single parent families. Come join us in East Hanover at Vespucci’s Marketplace on December 4th to collect toys for families in need. We are very apprec...
available online > The Artemisia Connection - A Webinar at Casa Buonarroti Museum in Florence
When Michelangelo the Younger commissioned a 5-month pregnant Artemisia Gentileschi to paint the Allegory of Inclination on Casa Buonarroti’s ceiling, the fee was three times that of her male counterparts. Her allegorical depiction represented just one of many 'virtues' painted to commemorate the qualities of ‘the Divine Michelangelo’. And it had A...
As Italian American Heritage Month Closes, We Celebrate the Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day Parade's Women and Men of the Year
Rain did not spoil the fun on Sunday, Oct. 10 as people of all ages watched the 2021 Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day and Italian Heritage Month parade pass through both towns on the Franklin Avenue route. The Nutley Board of Commissioners presented resolutions for the 2021 parade honorees during the Sept. 21 public meeting. Due to the parade’s honor...
Fairfield: UNICO Christopher Columbus Statue Now a Part of Hollywood Ave. Rec Center
A statue of Christopher Columbus was unveiled at the Hollywood Avenue Recreation Center on Saturday, Oct. 9. The statue was donated to the township by the Fairfield Chapter of UNICO National in honor of Fairfield’s Italian heritage. In Feb. 2018, Amedeo Pineta, president of Fairfield UNICO, addressed the Fairfield Township mayor and council asking...
Stereotyping South Philly
Some years ago, I was working as a sports-talk host when the program director called me in. “I thought you said you’re from South Philly,” he said. “I am,” I replied. “Well, you don’t sound like it.” That moment still bothers me all these years later. The program director wasn’t complimenting me. He obviously believed that all South Philadelphians...
N.J. board votes to restore ‘Columbus Day’ as name of holiday on school calendar
‘Columbus Day’ will be back on the Rockaway Township School District’s calendar next school year after the board previously had voted to change its name this year. When the Rockaway Board of Education voted earlier this year to adopt its school calendar, Columbus Day was replaced with Indigenous People’s Day, but some of the board members did not k...