Remembering Vail music icon Tony G
In Vail, the name Tony G is synonymous with jazz music, but for the man himself, who died peacefully on Saturday, a look back at the Vail years might conjure stronger associations with his other passions, like family, fishing and making Italian sausages. After all, Tony Gulizia had been a jazz fixture in Omaha for more than 30 years before arriving...
Italian American Heritage Day set for Aug. 13
Oelwein Italian American Heritage Day has been set for Saturday, Aug. 13 at Red Gate Park. Organizers Teresa Pirillo Buckman and Anthony Ricchio report this year’s day is being scaled down due to conflicts in schedules and a smaller group to draw from. “There are lots of things going on among the local families this year and it’s difficult to get p...
The Santa Lucia Band returns to Omaha for the 98th annual Santa Lucia Festival
The 98th annual Santa Lucia Festival returns to Omaha this week, as does a cherished staple: The Santa Lucia Band. The band's origins date back more than a century, as other bands including the Peter Cosentino Band and Vincent Emmanual Band merged. Some members today are third-generation, including current conductor Mike DiGiacomo. "So many people...
Omaha welcomes Carlentini mayor for his first visit since the signing of the Sister City Friendship Agreement
Late Sunday night, Carlentini Mayor Giuseppe Stefio officially arrived in Omaha. "I am honored and very happy to be a guest of the City of Omaha and our community from Carlentini. And I want to especially thank the Mayor Stothert for the invitation to come and I look forward to meet her in person," Stefio said in Italian. The Carlentini heritage in...
Behind The Scene: Minnesota Twins Manager and Live Music Enthusiast Rocco Baldelli
“A big part of playing the game is improvising. It’s using your instincts and your awareness of what’s going on around you—how you’re feeling at that moment, and what you’re seeing and sensing,” observes Minnesota Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. The avid music fan, who names Phish, the Grateful Dead, Greensky Bluegrass, JRAD and Spafford among his cu...
Italy Says Ancient Statue In US Museum Stolen, Not Lost At Sea
It has long been rumored that a shipwreck in the distant past sent a precious Roman marble statue – a rare copy of a fifth-century BC depiction of the “Doryphoros”, or spear-bearer – into the depths of the seas off Italy. That was the story given in the late 1970s when the statue appeared out of nowhere in Munich’s Glyptothek, the city’s museum of...
Welcome Roberto Palermo and Yuri Primarosa to St Louis!
The Italian Community of St Louis welcomes two great curators of Italian art to St Louis: Yuri Primarosa of the Gallerie Nazionali di Arte Antica in Rome and Roberto Palermo of the Gallerie degli Uffizi in Florence. Both curators are in St Louis on behalf of their respective museums for the closing of the St Louis Art Museum's exhibition "Paintings...
Omaha attorney Ronald Palagi remembered as larger-than-life figure who bucked stereotype
Prolific Omaha personal injury attorney Ronald Palagi, known for his pioneering advertisements and gregarious spirit, died earlier this month at 75. His decades practicing law earned him a reputation as an empathetic attorney, taking on clients he believed had been wronged and, in some cases, winning sizable settlements. Palagi died at home with fa...
Proposed bill replaces Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day
A bill to change Christopher Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Minnesota state level was voted 8-5 on March 15 to move the legislation out of the House State Government Finance and Elections Committee to be voted on by the full House. Indigenous people have called for the recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day,...
Religious Art Rocks in the St. Louis Art Museum’s “Paintings on Stone” Exhibition
The January 2000 purchase of Cavaliere d’Arpino’s exquisite “Perseus rescuing Andromeda” by Judith W. Mann, curator of European art before 1800 at the Saint Louis Art Museum, stimulated the creation of her magisterial exhibition “Paintings on Stone: Science and the Sacred, 1530-1800,” on view at the museum until May 15. The 74 works on view were ch...
Italian Family in St Louis Opens Home to Ukrainian Refugees
Italian residents in St Louis, Sara and Edoardo di Benedetto, have decided to make their home in Italy available to refugees from Ukraine. While they are offering it for free, additional costs must be paid to help support the family, (utilities, food, clothes, insurance, transportation and more). The Italian Community of St Louis is more than happy...
Italian American Women of Iowa celebrates La Festa della Donna
Italian American Women of Iowa (IAWI) celebrated La Festa della Donna Day with a gentle reminder that heritage is still important. The ladies of Italian American Women of Iowa (IAWI) hosted La Festa della Donna Day on Saturday March 5th from 12:00pm-2:00pm at A.H. Blank Golf Course. The celebration consisted of a luncheon designed around Italian fa...