A Most Unusual Disaster: Boston’s Great Molasses Flood Resurfaces
On January 15, 1919, Boston’s North End — a neighborhood rich in Italian American heritage — was the site of a catastrophe that would become infamous in history: the Great Molasses Flood. A massive steel tank containing 2.3 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a 25-foot wave of the sticky substance through the streets at speeds up to 35 miles...
Derby (CT) Welcomes Italian Delegation To City
Officials from the City of Derby on Nov. 18 bid a warm welcome to a visiting delegation from Derby’s sister city of Puglianello, Campania, Italy. About 50 residents gathered at J.R. Payden Field House on Chatfield Street for a welcoming ceremony that kicked off with the singing of both the national anthem and the Italian national anthem by Alderwom...
NHS Italian Students Celebrate School’s 21st Annual Italian Day
Newtown High School Italian students came into the school’s lecture hall to celebrate Italian Day on Tuesday, October 29. The event was coordinated, as it has been for many years, by NHS Italian teacher Laura Battisti. She has worked hard to make the event a long-standing tradition for NHS’s Italian students by preparing fun activities for them eve...
Italian-American Defense League Files Federal Appeal to Restore Columbus Statue in Connecticut
New Haven's Columbus statue, installed in 1892 by Connecticut's Italian American community, was removed in 2020 by jittery civic leaders who rushed to dismantle historic monuments in a misguided effort to project inclusivity. Such decisions could be overturned as the Italian-American Defense League pursues a landmark ruling through a federal appeal...
Allegro Italian Restaurant & Lounge to open at former Rudy's location in Rocky Hill (CT)
Just four months after Rudy's Little Italy restaurant closed on the Silas Deane Highway, a new Italian restaurant, Allegro Italian Restaurant & Lounge, will take its place. Owned by Betim Muzlijaj of Middletown and Wilson Solano of Rocky Hill, the restaurant will feature pasta and seafood, but not grinders or pizza. "There's a lot in town already,...
Portland’s last family-run Italian-American corner store is closing
Ed Anania, 63, worked the counter at his store on Congress Street in Portland (ME) Tuesday morning, ringing people up, taking sandwich orders and consoling heartbroken customers who just heard the news. The landmark 61-year-old sandwich shop, Anania’s Variety Store, will close for good on Friday. All morning, a steady stream of stunned customers — ...
Italian Program Establishes Largest Cash Prize in Harvard’s Romance Languages Dept.
Harvard’s Italian Language Program established the largest monetary prize in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, as the program faces declining enrollment. The Diaco Prize for Best Composition in Italian will award $5,000 to those involved in the program for outstanding work. Nick C. Diaco ’04 and his family funded the award to enc...
Testimonial Dinner Planned to Honor Former Watertown High Football Coach John Barbati
Watertown High School alums and community members announced plans for a testimonial dinner in honor of former football coach John Barbati. The event, hosted by renowned Boston sportscaster Mike Lynch, takes-place on Tuesday, November 26 at the Watertown Sons of Italy. A member of Massachusetts High School Football Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame...
Boston’s Anthony Martignetti was immortalized in a spaghetti commercial
Fifty-five years ago, 12-year-old Anthony Martignetti of Boston’s North End became the unlikely star of a television commercial that would prove so popular that it ran for an incredible 13 years. The young Italian immigrant is seen sprinting through the streets of the city as his mother beckons from the window of the family’s apartment on Powers Co...
Italians During Wartime America
When: Sat, Nov 23, 2024 at 3:00 PM - Where: Farmington Library, 6 Monteith Dr, Farmington, CT, 06032 - More info here Mary Elizabeth Basile Chopas is the granddaughter of Italian immigrants who settled in Farmington, CT in the 1930s. Her presentation will discuss the experiences of Italians living in the United States during World War II, with spec...
Carrello Di Cannoli to Open ‘The Cannoli Shop’ in Fairfield
There’s nothing more New Jersey than a good cannoli. Whether you’re Italian or not, living in New Jersey means that Italian desserts and pastries have a special place in all of our hearts. Carrello Di Cannoli, a mobile cannoli service, is officially launching a brick-and-mortar experience called The Cannoli Shop coming to 376 Hollywood Avenue in Fa...
Chief of Naval Operations Inducted into Rhode Island Italian American Hall of Fame
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, a native of Rochester, N.Y., was presented with the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame (RIIAHF), in Providence, R.I., Nov. 2. RIIAHF, a non-profit organization, honors individuals who have succeeded at the highest of levels in their respective fields, a...