Luca Garello Honored With In Scena! Italian Theater Festival's 2021 Mario Fratti Award
In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY announces Luca Garello's play When Men Used to be Men (Quando gli uomini erano uomini) as the winner of the 2021 Mario Fratti Award. The In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, previously postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will return in spring 2022. "Not being able to celebrate Italian theater as we do eve...
Festa! Memorial Day Weekend Italian Festival Returns for 32nd Year
While Memorial Day typically kicks off the summer season globally, here in the Hudson Valley, there's a yearly event that many look forward to that officially signals that summer is here. Presented by the Joe DiMaggio Lodge 2248 Sons and Daughters of Italy, the 32nd Annual Italian Festival will return to the East Fishkill Rec, 392 Rt-376, Hopewell...
A Tribute to Barbara Rose (1936–2020)
Barbara liked to tell people she found me in a basement in Brooklyn. Technically, it was a warehouse, but I wasn’t in a position to argue with her. Our first meetings were in 2013, when I was the managing editor of the Brooklyn Rail and she was co-editing the special Ad Reinhardt centennial edition of the publication, which we produced on-site in t...
Syracuse mayor creating Columbus statue task force
Renewed political debate continues over Christopher Columbus and the explorer’s legacy. Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh is detailing plans to move forward with the removal of the statue at Columbus Circle. Walsh says the city is assembling a task force of Italian-Americans to decide how to respectfully relocate it. “As painful as it’s been at times, it’s...
Pol proposes law to preserve Columbus Day as NYC school holiday
A state lawmaker — outraged by the de Blasio administration’s canceling of Columbus Day as a school holiday — is introducing a bill to restore the explorer to the New York City school calendar by rescinding the re-labeling to “Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous Peoples Day.” “It is being drafted. Hopefully ready for submission next week,” said state S...
What Is The Fate of Most Precious Blood Italian National Parish In NYC’s Little Italy?
The proverbial alarm was sounded on Sunday, May 2nd, when during Mass at Most Precious Blood church, it was announced that there would be a meeting held on Tuesday, May 4th, to discuss the future of the church and its parish. With the recent sale of the church’s rectory in 2019 and the instant rise of condominiums in its place, the parishioners fra...
NIAF Firmly Opposes the NYC Department of Education's Decision to Eliminate Columbus Day
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) stands firmly in opposition to the New York City Department of Education’s decision to eliminate Columbus Day and replace it with Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day. This decision, which was arrived at without any community input, effectively pits two communities, both worthy of their own in...
Il teatro politico e la connessione Italia-America con le opere del Novecento
La direttrice del Kairos Italy Theater, Laura Caparrotti ha intervistato lo sceneggiatore Frank J. Avella e la storica Marcella Bencivenni. Accompagnati dalle letture teatrali degli attori: Giacomo Rocchini e Mario Merone “Political Theater in Italian American Theater” è l’evento organizzato da Kairos Italy Theatre e Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò de...
Statement by Columbus Heritage Coalition President Angelo Vivolo on Action By NYC Department of Education
Mayor de Blasio's education department today violated the civil rights of the tens of thousands of Italian American students in New York City. By canceling the celebration of one culture and substituting another, themayor's appointees have pitted group against group. They seek to spread the virus of hatred to destroy understanding and unity. These...
NYC schools try to save face with ‘Italian Heritage Day’ after dumping Columbus Day
Maybe they should have explored this idea — or even checked with City Hall — before moving ahead full sail. As backlash over its previously unannounced decision to scrap Columbus Day snowballed Tuesday, the New York City Department of Education later said it would now close schools on Oct. 11 for “Italian Heritage Day/Indigenous People’s Day.” “Cit...
“Stanze Italiane”: un museo virtuale per scoprire l’Italia
La nuova piattaforma web dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York. Internet come «spazio che va disegnato con il gusto e lo stile italiano, costruendo edifici virtuali che abbiano la stessa eleganza e fruibilità di quelli reali». Da un’idea di Fabio Finotti, nuovo Direttore dell’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York, inaugura “Stanze Italia...
‘We share the same Italian heritage, customs, and culture:’ Childhood pals still friends after 79 years
Not even a pandemic can come between the friendship of two native Staten Islanders, self-dubbed as “friends since birth,” who have been pals for over 79 years. Ann Somma Terjesen of West Brighton and Dolores Viscione Connelly of Tompkinsville have enjoyed a lifelong friendship that has spanned cherished childhood memories, high school years, marria...