Former Providence mayor new owner of Providence Columbus statue
Former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino is the new owner of the Providence Columbus statue. In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Providence Board Park Commissioners, headed by Mayor Brett Smiley, selected Paolino’s bid to purchase the statue. “[Paolino] was the most responsive bidder,” said Smiley. “There were two bids, effectively the same dollar amount....
Italian immigrants found new paths, maintained traditions in New Haven
In the late 19th century, during the period of great political upheaval in Italy, people from all classes were affected, both financially and economically. The great migration to America was one that included Italians from all walks of life and from various social classes. The population that immigrated to New Haven seeking financial and social sec...
NOIAW Honors 3 Wise Women
NOIAW, a national organization dedicated to empowering, connecting and inspiring women of Italian American descent recently celebrated the Epiphany by recognizing the achievements of “Three Wise Women,” and the role their heritage has played in their achievements. According to Pat Tinto, president of the 43-year-old nonprofit, the traditional cerem...
Nino Antonelli, a leader in Stamford's Italian-American community, mourned: 'Nino helped' everybody
Annino “Nino” Antonelli never complained, was willing to take a chance on people, loved politics and managed to participate in a host of community organizations while remaining devoted to his family, said his wife of 37 years. Nino Antonelli died Feb. 3 after a hard fight against prostate cancer, his wife Marylena said. He was 70. Marylena Antonell...
Former Providence mayor places $50K bid on controversial Columbus statue
Former Providence Mayor and real estate mogul Joe Paolino has set his sights on purchasing a controversial statue. Paolino tells 12 News he’s attempting to preserve the capital city’s Christopher Columbus statue, which has been vandalized numerous times in recent years. “It turned my stomach to see red paint thrown on it,” he said. “It was a slap i...
“In Light of Rome” brings “exceptional” photography collection to the BCMA
Harpswell resident John McGuigan began his collection of early Roman photography as something of a side project to his work as an independent art historian. Now, more than a hundred of these photographs fill the Halford Gallery and the Bernard and Barbro Osher Gallery on the first floor of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art (BCMA), representing one...
Mark DeFranco: Giving Through a Shared Culture
Joining the Sons and Daughters of Italy Lodge 2805 began as a family affair for Mark DeFranco. Mark, the group’s treasurer, who joined in 2004 to be with his cousin and the group’s founder Neil Velleca, Sr., saw it as an opportunity to socialize and work with other Italian-Americans. “My cousin, Neil Sr., thought it would be a great idea to have a...
New Haven's Italian immigrants valued heritage as well as assimilation, achievement
St. Michael School was built in 1940 during the period when the immigrant children were being more fully exposed to the influences of the secular education opportunities that were part of the American system. The ethnic parishes were encouraged to create local schools that were more aligned to those in their countries of origin, where there was les...
The 150th Anniversary of St. Leonard's Church in the North End
St. Leonard's Parish in the North End is kicking off their 150th Anniversary year with a special mass to be celebrated by Boston Archbishop Sean Cardinal O'Malley OFM Cap. at Noon, this Sunday, January 8th, at St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish, 320 Hanover Street, Boston, MA 02113. St. Leonard's holds a special place in the hearts of the Italian-A...
La Befana 2023. Come join us to celebrate the Festival della Befana, with a special guest visit from La Befana herself!
Sunday, January 8, 2023, 4:00 PM EST. Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts - 41 Hampshire Street - Cambridge, MA. Please join us as we welcome La Befana back to Boston this year! This annual event sponsored by the Consulate General of Italy Boston, The Dante Alighieri Society, Comites Boston, and C.A.S.IT celebrates the traditional Italian holi...
Fairfield native curates show of Italian artist's 'charming, funny and very colorful' work
Steven Guarnaccia is something of a renaissance man in the art world. Born in Fairfield and now living in Brooklyn, N.Y., Guarnaccia is a graphic designer, illustrator of children’s books, a professor in the department of Illustration at Parsons The New School for Design in New York and a curator. “I grew up in Fairfield and my parents were both s...
Back to my roots: returning to Italy as an Italian American
Lately, I’ve got about 16+ tabs open in my browser at all times. There are a few duplicates–dedicated to the same family tree page on Ancestry.com, a scan of my great-grandfather’s naturalization document, Google Translate, a Facebook group dedicated to Italian Americans pursuing Citizenship, a half-drafted email to the small commune where my great...