Kissing the Stone
I will never forget the first time I saw San Donato. I had just crossed the Apennines from Pescara and descended into the Val di Comino. I drove, awestruck, into the gently lit village nestled into a notch between two snow-dusted mountains. It was incredibly beautiful — it reminded me of a presepe, the elaborate Italian Nativity scene that often se...
The Symphonia Presents ‘Venetian Refractions’
The Symphonia, South Florida’s premier chamber orchestra, and the Boca Raton Museum of Art will host “Venetian Refractions: A Night of Art, Music, and Italian Indulgence” on Friday, September 26 at the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Mizner Park. Set against the backdrop of the Museum’s Glasstress Boca Raton 2025 exhibit and featuring Italian music pla...
In Puglia, Beauty Is a Habit
Our neighbor Vito is always bringing something over: turnip greens in winter, artichokes in spring, barattiere melons and tomatoes in summer, and crunchy taralli baked year-round by his friend Palma. If we’re not home, he leaves them on the porch on chipped plates. At first, it felt like too much, like we hadn’t done anything to deserve such genero...
Fermo's Cavalcata dell'Assunta: the oldest historical reenactment in Italy
What if the most famous medieval horse race in Italy… wasn’t actually the oldest? Everyone knows the renowned Palio of Siena, but few are aware that deep in the heart of the Marche region lies a horse race and historical reenactment that’s even older, a tradition rooted in a time when faith, power, and a community’s sense of identity came together...
Omahans in Sicily, Italy build upon ‘sister city’ ties with Carlentini
Omaha’s sister city of Carlentini, on the Sicilian island from which most local Italians descended, has further cemented a connection with its Nebraska partners. As dozens of Omahans visited Carlentini last weekend, officials in the town some 5,000 miles away put final touches on a sister city pact that started forming several years back. The mayor...
Staten Island-inspired plush is promoting Italian pride: Meet ‘Guido on a Ledge’
For many Italian Americans, the word “guido” has some heavy connotations. It’s a slur, it’s slang and it’s a stereotype. But for Christine Fiscardi Lentinello, it’s a term of endearment. “I think a guido is someone who believes in putting family first. Someone who is confident, generous and extremely proud of his heritage,” Lentinello noted. “The t...
Italy celebrates 100 years of Andrea Camilleri
Italy is staging a special programme of events to mark the centenary of the birth of the hugely popular Sicilian writer Andrea Camilleri, who died in Rome six years ago. Although he penned more than 100 books - selling 30 million copies - Camilleri will be best remembered for the Inspector Montalbano detective novels which have been translated into...
New York Film Festival 2025 (September 26-October 13), Lincoln Center
The 63rd New York Film Festival (NYFF63), running from September 26 to October 13 at Lincoln Center, reaffirms its position as one of the world’s most prestigious showcases for international cinema. This year’s program features 34 films in the Main Slate and a rich Currents section presenting 16 features and 24 shorts from 28 countries. Opening th...
The 92-year-old Italian wonder with muscle cells of sprinters in their 20s
Emma Maria Mazzenga has the world wondering how she does it, and scientists studying her muscles, nerves, and mitochondria, the cell powerhouse, to gain a better understanding of how she’s able to keep running at 92 and beating her own records. She’s simply amazing. Emma dislocated her shoulder during a race in Germany a dozen years ago because she...
New mural celebrates Italian heritage in Springfield’s south end, MA
A new mural celebrating Italian heritage was unveiled during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Italian Cultural Center in Springfield’s south end. The mural, titled ‘Sunday Dinner,’ was painted by artist Eric Okdeh in collaboration with Common Wealth Murals. It depicts four generations of an Italian family sharing a meal, with all models being membe...
Debate over efforts to change the name of Columbus Park
Supporters and opponents of an effort to change the name of Columbus Park in Binghamton (NY) plan to make their opinions known at a town hall meeting next month. A committee of City Council is hosting the public discussion at the request of the Broome-Tioga NAACP. The civil rights organization says it believes the park should have a more inclusive...
Gaeta Commemorates Italian American Hero V. Capodanno on September 4, 2025
The city of Gaeta, together with the American community, will commemorate an Italian American hero whose father, originally from Gaeta, emigrated to the United States in 1901. Vincent R. Capodanno, the youngest of ten children, became a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps and tragically died on September 4, 1967. He was moving through a batt...