Who will be crowned this year’s queen?
One of the most thrilling and glamorous events in the Chicago-area Italian American community is the contest to determine who will reign as La Bella Regina of the Columbus Day Parade. “Few events in the community can match the pageantry of the annual Columbus Day Queen pageant,” says Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Ame...
A Beloved West Michigan Festival Returns After 25 Years
West Michigan is known for having some truly exquisite festivals. Some, like Tulip Time, are ranked among the best festivals in the entire country. The World of Winter festival in downtown Grand Rapids is the largest winter festival in North America. Festivals come and go, like the Festival of the Arts, which announced it would cease operations aft...
DePaul women’s basketball coach Jill Pizzotti
A standout basketball player from middle school through college, Jill Pizzotti’s lifelong desire to lead from the sidelines propelled her to the pinnacle of the collegiate world when she was tapped to helm DePaul’s women’s team. Jill M. Pizzotti, who will begin her first season as head coach of the DePaul Blue Demons women’s basketball team this fa...
Dr. Nancy Caronia Named Paul and Ann Rubino Endowed Professorship of Italian American Studies
The College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Chicago has announced that Dr. Nancy Caronia will start on August 11, 2025, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of English, as the Paul and Ann Rubino Endowed Professorship of Italian American Studies. Dr. Caronia earned her PhD in English and cultural studies from the Univer...
Italian wine creates a network in the United States: “wine2wine” in Chicago with Vinitaly.Usa n. 2
Italian wine exports worldwide, while remaining positive in the first quarter of 2025, as reported by WineNews analyzing Istat data, are losing ground and the impression is that the trend may change in the next surveys. Attention is largely focused on the United States, Italy’s historic leading trading partner and leader in wine exports from Italy....
Badagliacca honors parents as CIAO president
The Calabresi in America Organization has elected Gina Badagliacca to serve as its 2025-2026 president, and the longtime member couldn’t be more thrilled to helm the vibrant organization. “I think everything about the club is great,” she says. “The functions are exciting, the people are amazing and there are lifelong friendships that we create.” Ba...
Sarro a force for good in North Riverside
The COVID-19 pandemic is over, but a Facebook group co-created by Theresa “Terri” Sarro during that difficult time continues to thrive as a resource for residents of North Riverside. Sarro, who serves as trustee in the suburban Chicago municipality, started the group North Riverside Neighbors Helping Neighbors with her good friend and fellow reside...
Glimco honored by DuPage Justinians at installation
Each year, the DuPage Chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers bestows the Justice Anthony M. Peccarelli Award upon an attorney who has displayed qualities of leadership and civility. This year honoree was Joseph P. Glimco III. The award was presented at the chapter’s installation dinner on May 14 at Sogno Ristorante in Wheaton. “I am honored to...
Mount Carmel Parish in Chicago to celebrate 132nd feast
The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish will celebrate the 132nd anniversary of its devotion to the Blessed Mother on July 13. Festivities will begin with a 7:30 a.m. Mass in English and a 9 a.m. solemn Mass in Italian, followed by a procession with the statue of the Blessed Mother to a noon field Mass. A procession through the streets of the parish af...
Rockford granita stand Zammuto’s celebrates 100 years in business
There’s no reason to put your celebration on ice when you’ve been selling flavored ice for 100 years! Zammuto’s in Rockford hits a major milestone. Opening in 1925, the business has served granita in the stateline for 100 years, becoming one of the oldest Italian ice stands in the United States. Zammuto’s opened alongside a grocery store. It then e...
The Reverse Demolition of the Guardians of Traffic
In mid-20th-century Cleveland, Ohio, a plan to widen one of the city’s most significant bridges nearly erased its most iconic landmarks. At stake were the Guardians of Traffic — towering Art Deco sculptures lining the Hope Memorial Bridge, which spans the Cuyahoga River and physically links Cleveland’s East and West sides. In the 1960s, Cuyahoga Co...
Festa della Repubblica 2025 in Chicago
In the charming setting of the Chicago History Museum, the Italian community in Chicago and the Midwest celebrated the 79th anniversary of the Italian Republic with Consul General of Italy in Chicago, Mario Alberto Bartoli, and the representatives of “Sistema Italia” (Italian Institute of Culture, Italian Trade Agency, Italian National Tourist Boar...