The coastal holiday city that Italy has been keeping a secret for years
Along a path fringing the Adriatic Sea, I find families entering a play park and older couples walking hand in hand. This is Rimini, a long-time favourite coastal resort for Italians, which is becoming more accessible to UK travellers thanks to new British Airways direct flights from Heathrow, just in time for summer. My tour guide, Monia Magalotti...
Pizza Hall of Fame: Old-School Italian Meets ‘Cheers’ at This 50-Year-Old Memphis Pizzeria
As a new college grad in a bleak job market, Mike Garibaldi noticed a lack of food options near Tennessee’s University of Memphis and imagined opening a deli near campus. Instead, fate connected him with out-of-towners who wanted to start a pizzeria. They exited the business after a year, but Garibaldi’s Pizza is still going strong, celebrating 50...
Discount Shoe Repair, the 'sole' of downtown Syracuse, celebrates 50 years
50 years ago to the day, Ralph Rotella opened Discount Shoe Repair in downtown Syracuse. Today, he was recognized by city hall for the heart-- and sole-- he's brought to Central New York over the years. Common Councilors Marty Nave and Pat Hogan stood alongside Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh to present the proclamation. In his remarks, Hogan recalled the...
Italy's ten most underrated cities
Italy’s biggest surprises aren’t in the guidebooks—they’re found down sunlit backstreets, over long lunches, and in cities you might never have heard of. If you’re craving something a bit more real and a lot less crowded, it’s time to look past the obvious stops. From tucked-away northern towns to brilliant coastal hideouts, some of the most beauti...
Authentic Italian dining in Yuma
The new authentic Italian restaurant in Yuma is off to a great start. Located in downtown Yuma at 202 S. Main St., Trattoria Rossi has been attracting hungry and thirsty clients from all over the region since it opened in early March. “We have had great response,” owner and head chef Diego Rossi said. Besides Yuma, people have come from communities...
Earliest Humans Arrived in Sicily 16500 Years Ago
According to the Greek Reporter, archaeologists have discovered the earliest known evidence of human occupation on the island of Sicily in San Teodoro cave near the town of Acquedolci—finally proving a theory that was first posited over 75 years ago but unable to be confirmed then. Modern dating methods of sediment layers where stone tools, animal...
Caffe’ Rinaldi Brings Italian Flair and Panini to Balsley Park
Hell’s Kitchen got a taste of Milanese magic on Sunday as Caffe’ Rinaldi opened its kiosk in Balsley Park with a sunny welcome, a DJ and a lunchtime line that snaked down the sidewalk. The new café, which specializes in Italian panini and soft-serve gelato (even inside a brioche bun), drew dozens of locals — including many W42ST readers — for its g...
A Look Back: Little Italy, Philadelphia
The city of Philadelphia holds a special place in America’s heart. The 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence in the Pennsylvania State House, now known as Independence Hall, the home of the iconic Liberty Bell and other American Revolutionary sites in this city are forever part of our country’s rich history. Italians have been part of the...
Semolini Dolci and Crema Fritta: the Sweet Side of Regional Italy
Among the many regional desserts that dot Italy’s culinary map, semolini dolci from Piedmont andcrema fritta from Abruzzo are two examples of how texture, tradition, and indulgence come together in fried form. Though they come from different corners of the country, these two sweets share both their preparation method and their cultural role as ri...
Italian-focused restaurant Centro on the Square to debut in downtown McKinney
Centro on the Square is readying to open its doors to downtown McKinney diners. The new McKinney restaurant is a concept from George Stergios, owner of Knife Steakhouse, and Brian Dunne, owner of Mexican Bar Company—both restaurants located at Willow Bend Mall in Plano. The duo, both being life-long restauranteurs, met through their neighboring res...
Giuseppe Tornatore Doc on Italy’s ‘King of Cashmere’ Brunello Cucinelli Revealed Ahead of American Academy in Rome Honor
Oscar-wining director Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”) is putting the finishing touches on a high-profile documentary about Brunello Cucinelli, the fashion designer known as Italy’s “King of Cashmere.” RAI Cinema has announced that Tornatore’s under-the-radar doc — chronicling Cucinelli’s rise from being a farmer’s son to becoming creative di...
Language, legacy and la dolce vita: Shepherd School students explore the roots of opera in Italy
For a group of Shepherd School of Music graduate students, summer 2025 offered more than just a change of scenery. It reshaped how they see their art, their craft and themselves. Thanks to the Margaret C. Pack Language Institute for Singers, vocal performance students going into the second year of the master’s program spent three immersive weeks in...