Plaintiffs file lawsuit against New Haven over removal of Christopher Columbus statue
The Italian American Defense League, and a Wooster Square neighbor, have filed a lawsuit against the City of New Haven and Mayor Justin Elicker over the removal of a Christopher Columbus Statue. The lawsuit claims that the removal of the statue on Wooster Square was unlawful and the League, along with resident Ralph Macarelli, suffered damages t...
Portland honors Italian American tailor with "Donatelli Square"
On Thursday, Portland paid tribute to Evangelista Donatelli, an Italian American who opened up a tailor shop in the city half a century ago. In October, the city council voted to name a section of Congress Street on Munjoy Hill "Donatelli Square." "Donatelli Square" is between North and Lafayette streets, where the shop is located. “It means a lot...
Meet Giuliano Cecchinelli, Barre's last Italian stone carver
Giuliano Cecchinelli is 79 years old, has a gray beard, a brown plaid shirt and a floppy beret, and is a classically trained sculptor. He's been carving stone since he was a boy in Italy. “I know more than even the cemetery knows,” he says as he walks through Hope Cemetery in Barre. “You know, the family, the workers.” He’s part of a long legacy of...
History Club’s topic for June 20 is Ridgefield’s Italian community
Ridgefield’s Italian community will be the topic for The Ridgefield Historical Society's Ridgefield History Club on Tuesday, June 20, at 10 am in the 1714 David Scott House at 4 Sunset Lane. Jack Sanders, who has written 10 books on Ridgefield history, will be on hand. Parking at the Scott House is limited and carpooling is recommended. Registratio...
Looking for Monument Descendants
On Oct. 9, Newport Festa Italiana will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Columbus Monument, which was erected by the Italian community of Newport on Oct. 12, 1953. A special commemorative ceremony is being planned with descendants of the original monument committee in attendance. Names of the original planners included Gabriel Russo, Enrico Cas...
Columbus Day Parade in Bridgeport Names First Woman Grand Marshal
The Council of Italian American Societies of Greater Bridgeport will name Nancy DiNardo the 2023 Grand Marshal of the Greater Bridgeport Columbus Day Parade, presenting her with the Grand Marshal Sash on June 28th at Tashua Knolls Banquets in Trumbull at 5:30 pm. DiNardo is the first woman Grand Marshal of the Parade, scheduled for October 8th o...
After flooding, pandemic, Italian club reopens
First came the flood. In February 2020, three pipes burst at the Italian Community Center, sending 180,000 gallons of water flowing through the building at 302 Rantoul St. By the time the water could be turned off, the interior was completely destroyed. Next up? The COVID-19 pandemic, which arrived in force the following month. Several members of t...
Festa Italiana Taking Place June 10 in Waltham
Come One, Come All! Cheers everyone! The much-acclaimed Festa Italiana, an Italian style festival, is returning to the (Waltham Common): 610 Main St. Waltham, MA 02452. Saturday, June 10, 2023 (10 am – 5m). (Rain date June 11th). Come and enjoy a fun-filled day of live entertainment; music; dancing; food; crafts; children’s amusements; games and ac...
Radio Giant John LaBarca Passes Away, Famed For Italian House Party
John LaBarca, the jovial giant of radio who spread love for his Italian heritage with his flagship Sunday show Italian House Party on several area radio stations most prominently WICC, has passed away, according to posts on his Facebook page. He was 76. Born in Brooklyn, New York, LaBarca landed a captain’s job at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan...
The Yale University Art Gallery Receives Gift of Italian Works on Paper—the Largest Private Collection of 19th-Century Italian Drawings
The Yale University Art Gallery announces the extraordinary gift/purchase of more than 190 late 18th- and 19th-century Italian drawings, watercolors, and sketchbooks from the collection of Roberta J. M. Olson and Alexander B. V. Johnson. Comprising over 400 individual sheets, this superb trove is among the finest in private hands anywhere in the w...
For New Haven's Italian immigrants, the village took care of its own
It was always important for families to keep their personal issues in the family. When something went wrong, or a difficult time was encountered; the family came together to help each other. This attitude of self-reliance was instilled in the cultural practices that many of the immigrants understood from their own family experiences back in the vil...
Johnston adopts Christopher Columbus
Scrap metal or monument? Johnston picks the latter. Removed from its Providence pedestal in 2020 and locked away in storage, a 130-year-old statue depicting Christopher Columbus will be re-erected in Johnston’s War Memorial Park in October. In the 1890s, the same French artist who sculpted the Statue of Liberty — Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi — crafte...