A first step into the new year looking back at 2014: a conversation with Mauro Battocchi, Italian Consul in San Francisco
2014 has been a long and full year for the Italian community in the Bay Area. As moments and people marked the last twelve months, the end of the year is the time when people look back to find what is worthy to bring with them in the new one. We talked about this and more with Mauro Battocchi, who started his mandate as Italian Consul in S...
Mirandolina, Mistress of a Tuscan Inn Comes to the San Francisco Bay Area
by Catherine Accardi Can an 18th century Italian comedic play withstand the tests of time and culture? We who live in the San Francisco Bay Area have the opportunity to make that determination when Mirandolina, Mistress of a Tuscan Inn comes to the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek. Mirandolina is probably not the typical type of...
Catania: coastal Italian in La Jolla
by Michele Parente And you thought San Diego had a lot of beaches: Italy has more than 4,700 miles of gorgeous coastline. So when I heard that the accomplished team behind La Jolla's Whisknladle were opening a restaurant named Catania, promising authentic Italian coastal cuisine, my mind went immediately to pastas sun-kissed with...
Italian delegation touts a taste of Tuscany in Sacramento visit
by Mark Glover Sacramento boasts of its farm-to-fork reputation, but an Italian delegation visiting the city on Monday hopes that residents also will be receptive to a taste of Tuscany. About a dozen members of a trade and business delegation from the city of Lucca in Italy's famed Tuscany region showed off their wares Monday morning at Adamo...
Jasmine Tommaso Quintet at the 39th Annual Watts Towers Simon Rodia Jazz Festival
Date: Sunday, September 27, 2015 Hours: www.wattstowers.org Venue: Watts, CA Organized by: Watts Towers Arts Center and IIC The Jasmine Tommaso Quintet that includes Jasmine's father, Giovanni Tommaso at the contrabass, represents Italy at the prestigious Festival that pays tribute to the American music forms of jazz, gospel and R&B...
Il Console Perrone al 25° anniversario della Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West
Domenica scorsa, 2 dicembre, la Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West ha celebrato i 25 anni dalla sua fondazione con un evento presso il ristorante "Valentino" di Santa Monica. La sede di Los Angeles è nata nel 1988 da un'idea dell'allora presidente del Comites Pier Giorgio Luciani e del Presidente dell'Unione della Camere di Commercio Italiane...
Italian-American service club awards seven scholarships
by Holly Valentine For the 21st consecutive year, the Solano chapter of UNICO, an Italian-American service club, has awarded scholarships to deserving local high school seniors. Seven students were awarded one thousand dollars each for the following scholarships: Juilus J. Caserza Memorial Scholarship: Austin Chadwick and Frank Primrose, Vacavil...
Reading between the lines: Learning the Italian culture through literature
by Michele Pluss Renowned science fiction author Ray Bradbury once said, "You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them". Bradbury may not have been Italian - and we can't fault him for that - but he did have a point about the importance of books in culture. Intentional or not, every book carr...
Garry Marshall - Awakening the Italian in me
Hollywood sells the American dream to the whole world, a clear example of that is the movie Pretty Woman, which ends the modern Cinderella fable with the line "This is Hollywood, the land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't, but keep on dreaming". If you were to ask all the people that come to Los Angeles, both from United States and from...
Main Street in Santa Monica, California Welcomes Its First Authentic Italian Gelato Shop, Dolcenero, Which Uses Fresh Locally Sourced Ingredients
Main Street in Santa Monica, California welcomes its first hand crafted, authentic gelato shop. Dolcenero offers Southern Californians not only an incredible assortment of gelato and sorbets, but also a cultural experience in high quality Italian gastronomy. It is the only place in Santa Monica, where gelato lovers can watch as it is made....
Piccola Citta to replace Trick Pony
by Debbie Arrington Exit Trick Pony, enter Piccola Citta. But the artisan pizza is expected to stick around. The midtown Sacramento neighborhood restaurant at the corner of 21st and S streets is about to get another makeover, according to operators Matt Chong and Chris Jarosz. On Saturday, the restaurateurs announced on Facebook that...
Roberto Coin Opens Its Doors In Manhattan Beach
The latest luxury retailer to join the scene in downtown Manhattan Beach is Italian jewelry boutique Roberto Coin, which celebrated its grand opening on Thursday, Oct. 29 with a soiree hosted by Roberto Coin president Peter Webster and actress Elisabeth Rohm, who stars alongside Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence in the upcoming film, Joy. ...