Restored Christopher Columbus statue finds new home in Rockland County
A 2,000-pound bronzed statue of Christopher Columbus has been relocated to the Rockland Sons of Italy Lodge in Blauvelt, NY. The nearly 100-year-old statue, created in 1925, was previously vandalized and defaced during protests in Richmond, Virginia, in 2020. An Italian-American organization fundraised to restore the statue, which arrived at its ne...
Serie A USA Announces Partnership With New York Soccer Nonprofit South Bronx UTD
Lega Serie A USA has announced a community partnership with South Bronx United, a New York City nonprofit organization that seeks to use soccer as a tool for social change in the South Bronx. The partnership - launched at an event at South Bronx United’s facility before Saturday’s friendly between AC Milan and Manchester City at the neighboring Yan...
New York Italian Food Is Getting Weird (in a Good Way)
On a recent Friday at Daphne’s, a new Italian restaurant in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, the red sauce was green, made from chartreuse-colored tomatoes and a splash of vodka. The lasagna came in the form of noodles fried into chips, broken over a dish of beef tartare topped with shoyu-cured egg yolk. There was a Milanese cutlet, but...
Italian Americans of Long Island: Giuseppe Mario Bellanca
You’re familiar with Charles Lindbergh, but probably not Giuseppe Mario Bellanca. The Italian aviation pioneer, designer, and engineer who ran a flying school in Mineola, NY, for a period of time was born in Sciacca, Italy, and left an indelible mark on aviation and Long Island history in the 1920s. He is most notable for building the plane that ma...
How the Death of Joe Petrosino, the 'Italian Sherlock Holmes,’ Remains a Mystery Over 100 Years Later
Towards the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th, one New York immigrant community was terrorized by their own people. Italian immigrants arriving in America in search of a better life were treated as subhuman. On top of that, a secret society known as the Black Hand, which was a loose organization of Italian criminals, terrorized the n...
‘Mangia! Mangia!’: Buffalo’s Italian Heritage Festival returns to Hertel Avenue
A big stretch of Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo is filled with red, white and green for the annual Italian Heritage Festival that kicked off Friday. Hertel is closed from Delaware Avenue to Virgil for the celebration of food and fun. “I just love the energy. You can tell everyone is just enjoying themselves,” declared Gabriella of Buffalo. As I too...
The profound truth about the town of Roseto, and owing it all to the meatball
In 1882, a group of men left Roseto Valfortore (Valley of Roses), a town of 1,300 near the province of Foggia in the region of Puglia, to set sail for New York. The men spent their first night in America sleeping on the floor of a tavern on Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Italian neighborhood. They eventually found work in the slate mines of Bangor,...
Where to find the real deal, classic Italian food in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
There is no shortage of old school and new Italian restaurants throughout New York City, from Manhattan’s Little Italy to Carroll Gardens in Brooklyn. But an often overlooked neighborhood with a rich Italian history is Bensonhurst in southern Brooklyn. My friend Frank Pinello, chef and owner of Best Pizza, grew up in Bensonhurst. His grandparents a...
Italian American Podcast ep. 330 pt. 2. The folk doctor (Zia Rosa) stories continue!
What ancient Italian remedy could save you from your next cold, and which family superstition might just predict your next visitor? Join us on a nostalgic journey through the rich tapestry of Italian traditions and remedies as we continue part 2 of this discussion with Zia Rosa! In this episode we learn heartfelt stories and cultural practices pas...
Magazzino Italian Art: A Unique Museum Tucked In The Hudson Valley
Magazzino Italian Art is located in the historic village of Cold Spring, New York, across the Hudson River from West Point. This unique museum—the only one of its kind in the United States—specializes exclusively in postwar and contemporary Italian art. As such, it offers visitors a chance to experience the beauty and diversity of Italian art and c...
Italian American Women’s Center awards five $1,000 scholarships during annual luncheon
The Bayside-based Italian American Women’s Center honored five graduating high school students with $1,000 scholarships during the 22nd annual Scholarship Luncheon on Sunday, July 21 at Vivo! Bayside. The five high school seniors — Rose Cohen, Ava Deluca, Daniel Esposito, Francesca Picone and Chiara Pullara — were each chosen for the scholarship ba...
Ghirardelli, a haven for chocolate lovers, is opening in the Empire State Building
Life in Midtown Manhattan will get a little sweeter as of August 6 when the first-ever Ghirardelli Chocolate & Ice Cream Shop in New York makes its decadent debut at the Empire State Building. This beloved brand currently operates 16 sweets shops across the nation, mostly in California, and this store will be its northeast debut. Expect the Empire...