North End Feasts Return
Long-awaited and much-anticipated even in so-called “normal” times, the feasts and processions of the very Italian North End of Boston are summer staples that are not to be missed. Several of these religious-based processions dedicated to individual saints have already taken place, yet the ones with the aromatic, beloved street festivals surroundin...
Local fans celebrating Italy's Euro Cup win
Italy's Euro Cup Championship win over the weekend has Italian soccer fans here in western Mass. overjoyed. “Our team was wonderful because when Italy plays they don’t play like other people we played with passion from the heart,” Springfield resident Lia Acerra said. The Italian national soccer team clenching the Euro Cup in a thrilling win over E...
New waterfront eatery Bacari Social opens in Westbrook
Bacari Social, a new waterfront eatery, is considered by its growing list of regular patrons as a bit of a hidden treasure at Safe Harbor Pilots Point Marina. Tucked along the dock, patrons are advised to call when they arrive to pass through the private marina’s electronic gate, driving by an 80-foot sailing yacht on dry land, to reach the restaur...
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel kicks off Friday
A 93-year-old, deeply-revered, local religious tradition will have a bit of a different feel in 2021. This year will mark the first Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel celebration in more than six decades without the involvement of the late Antonio "Junie" Trebisacci Jr., a longtime member of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Feast Committee, who died in...
Boston’s North End celebrates Italy’s Euro Cup win
Boston’s post-victory reputation was on display in the North End after Italy’s Euro Cup win filled the neighborhood’s streets with celebrations on Sunday night. Following Italy’s 3-2 victory over England, soccer fans stormed the streets Boston’s North End — a historically Italian neighborhood — for hours of flag-waving and “It-al-ia” chanting.
Sicily Coal Fired Pizza - 'far beyond a pizza place' - opens in Middletown
Sicily Coal Fired Pizza is more than the gourmet restaurant’s name suggests. One of the first things co-owner Tony Prifitera, who runs the place with his wife Maria, wants people to know is the thin and crispy New Haven-style pizza is just one offering at the 412 Main St. location. It is housed in the former three-story R.W. Camp’s department store...
A walking tour of Boston’s North End: What to see, do and eat in Little Italy
I headed to the North End (pronounced “Nah-th End”) in search of the apartment building where my paternal grandmother — whom I never met — was born in 1902. Even though I was on the hunt for my own family history, it’s impossible to avoid learning about the Italian American immigrant experience when in this Boston neighborhood. My grandmother died...
Newport Polo will host USA vs. Italy on Saturday
Team Italy makes its first transatlantic crossing since 2019, as the players return to challenge Team USA in the continuation of the Newport International Polo Series’ 30th Anniversary Season at 5 pm on Saturday, July 10th. According to Newport Polo, the celebrations kick off with a meet and greet on Friday evening at the Brenton Hotel, followed by...
Francesco ’70, SM ’72, and Marybeth Pompei
Frank Pompei is founder and CEO of Exergen, a maker of scanners, thermometers, and sensors. He credits his MIT education with equipping him to build a successful company, mindful of the possibilities created by his financial aid package. “My parents could never have sent me to MIT on their wages as factory workers,” he says. Thriving at MIT and b...
Former Italian eatery in Portsmouth sees new life
About six or seven years ago, I had a friend send a take-and-bake lasagna dinner. Not to sound too Garfield-like, but a fresh made lasagna on your doorstep is always a godsend (it even improves a Monday). The lasagna was delivered from Fatigati's Fresh Pasta which, at the time, was on East Main Road in Portsmouth, right next to Ferreira's Package S...
Hartford residents support replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, city task force finds
A year after Hartford removed its statue of Christopher Columbus from the shadow of the state Capitol, a task force is preparing to recommend the city join countless others around the state and country in replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Renaming the Oct. 11 holiday is just one of several potential changes the city task force wi...
At Strega Restaurant in Milford, the goal is an experience of 'traveling in Italy'
The best compliment a customer can give new Strega restaurant owner Danilo Mongillo after tasting the food is to tell him, “I’m back in Italy,” as they recall the tastes and vibes of trips there. “It happens frequently,” Mongillo said. “We want to give the experience you get when you’re traveling in Italy. It’s something Connecticut deserved.”For M...