A month to remember
May has always been a special month for St. Anthony graduates. I recall when I began writing Petals from Roseland many years ago that my May column struck a chord. The column brought back food memories for many St .Anthony’s parishioners so I’m rerunning it here today. I asked a few St Anthony’s girls for their memories of the May crowning and all...
Grosseto and the Maremma, the strength of the land
In one of his 1948 articles, Carlo Cassola had compared Grosseto to Kansas City: or rather, the comparison was attributed to an American serviceman who had passed through the Tuscan town during the war and noted the similarities between the two cities, modern cities at the center of a large and fertile land. “Our city,” Luciano Bianciardi would lat...
Italy’s Prema Racing makes move toward U.S. racing with IndyCar entry
Prema Racing, based in Vicenza, Italy, “is the latest” European team to “try and take on American racing on their own turf” with its entry in IndyCar, according to Vanessa Perdomo of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Co-founded 41 years ago by Angelo Rosin and three other employees, the company now “has roughly” 220 employees across five racing leagues in Europe, af...
Faith and culture: an inseparable connection
For the Catholic Church, this is a spiritually significant year, but the Jubilee also has inevitable repercussions on customs, traditions, society, art, and public works, making it an opportunity to discover much about Italy. Put simply, it can be a journey of knowledge from multiple perspectives. The first Jubilee was proclaimed in 1300 by Pope Bo...
Polenta, Grandma’s Table, and a bottle of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo
Every time we finished dinner at a nouveau Italian restaurant back in the 1980s, my dad, God rest him, would wave his hand dismissively and say with an air of contempt, “It was good, but these yuppies think they invented peasant food. My mother made those dishes every night for dinner, and they were better than any meal you could get at a restauran...
Why Garlic Bread In Italy Is A Little Different (And Better)
One could argue that a lot of things are better in Italy. Obviously, there's the pasta, the mouthwatering marinara sauces from the world's best tomatoes, and the wine and spritzes. Luckily for those of us not dining on the Amalfi coast but wishing we were, it's possible to bring some of la dolce vita Italian flavor home, even if you're the farthest...
How three Italian teens turned speed bumps into clean hydrogen energy
You know those speed bumps that annoy you so much when you're driving? The ones that force you to slow down abruptly, making you jolt in your seat? Well, three underage students from Alessandria, in Italy’s Piedmont region, had the idea to turn that nuisance into a valuable resource: clean energy. Francesco, Tommaso, and Paul created Hydrocult, a s...
After Pope Francis’s death, Rome prepares for pilgrims, funeral, and conclave
Following the death of Pope Francis, Rome is preparing to welcome many more pilgrims than those who had already planned to come. Despite the mourning, the Jubilee of Adolescents will proceed as originally scheduled, from April 25 to 27. Additionally, many heads of state and government have announced their presence. Already yesterday, there was a hu...
The canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, is postponed after the pope’s death
The canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, has been postponed due to the death Monday of Pope Francis, the Vatican announced. Acutis was to be canonized next Sunday in St. Peter’s Square on the occasion of the Jubilee celebration for adolescents. In the months leading up to the expected canonization, the faithful have been flocki...
Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum Announces 2025 Grant Recipients
We are delighted to announce the 2025 grant recipients for the Russo Brothers Italian American Filmmaker Forum (RBIAFF)! AGBO and the ISDA were amazed by the range and depth of this year’s applications and can’t wait to see this year’s grant recipients stories come to life. ST. JOSEPH directed by Maky Rupert, LUIGI LOOKALIKE directed by Luke Salvat...
VIII Edition of the Italian Research Day in the World
May 10th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. TMC3 Helix Park – Hermann Hall – 2 Floor, 7255 Helix Park Ave, Houston, TX. The Consulate General of Italy in Houston, the Comites of Houston, and the West-South Central Chapter of ISSNAF are pleased to invite you to the VIII Edition of the Italian Research Day in the World (Giornata della Ricerca Italiana nel M...
Sailing off the Amalfi Coast
When you think of hitting the high seas with billowing sails and a decent, salty wake, Italy may not be the first destination to come to mind. Don’t be deceived; although sailing off Italy’s Amalfi Coast is a very civilised affair, it can have its share of excitement with a good skipper at the helm. This picturesque coastline has a rich nautical he...