The 4th edition of Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening conquers the Southwest USA
The fourth edition of Barolo & Barbaresco World Opening made its way to Austin, Texas. This new edition marked a key milestone for the wines of the Langhe region in the USA: on March 25th, the BBWO, organized by the Barolo Barbaresco Alba Langhe and Dogliani Protection Consortium, welcomed over 450 industry professionals and 450 wine enthusiasts at...
'Most important job of my life': Tilman Fertitta reveals plans for ambassadorship
Houston restaurant and hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta said serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Italy and San Marino would be the "most important job" of his life during his U.S. Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday. "If confirmed, I take the responsibility of being an ambassador at this crucial moment in history as the most important job of my...
L'Italiana in Algeri: Classic Rossini Reset on a Modern Day Cruise Ship at Opera in the Heights
Combine a helter skelter libretto with a classic Rossini score complete with bel canto highpoints and you'll have the opera L'Italiana in Algeri about to go on stage at Lambert Hall in a co-production between Opera in the Heights and Anchorage Opera.After four performances in Houston, the cast will travel to Alaska to perform at the Anchorage Opera...
Tilman Fertitta says ownership of Rockets won’t be affected by U.S. Ambassador stint
Assuming he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new United States Ambassador to Italy, Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta plans to separate himself from numerous business entities. However, ownership of the Rockets won't be among them. In a March 16 letter, Fertitta wrote that he will step down as CEO of Fertitta Entertainment LLC — should he b...
Italian-American parade rolls in New Orleans
People filled the streets to see decorated floats covered in green, red, and white roll during the 53rd Annual Italian-American parade. The goal of the parade is to celebrate Italian heritage. In the 19th and 20th Centuries, many Italians settled in the French Quarter. "A lot of them were able to buy those properties and still owned today by Itali...
St. Joseph's Day celebrated in New Orleans
Each year on March 19th, Catholics in the New Orleans area celebrate St. Joseph’s Day by constructing altars honoring the relief St. Joseph provided during a famine in Sicily. The tradition began in the late 1800s when the city of New Orleans saw a large influx of Sicilian immigrants. Peter Gilberte, President of the Italian American St. Joseph Soc...
Eye-popping St. Joseph altars are a Sicilian tradition in New Orleans from the 1800s
The Sicilian tradition recalls a drought in the late 1800s that left people starving. They prayed for the intercession of St. Joseph. After the rains came, to show their gratitude to him, they prepared a table with a special assortment of foods they had harvested. The food then was distributed to the less fortunate. That tradition, which comprises...
Charles Marsala to be Italian Grand Marshall of Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade
We the Italians Ambassador, Charles Marsala, has been chosen to be the Italian Grand Marshall of the 2025 Louisiana Irish-Italian Parade. He holds several national positions in various Italian Heritage Organizations. President: American-Italian Federation of the Southeast; Divisional Vice-President: Conference of Presidents of Major Italian America...
Another discovery from the collaboration between Italy and the US, this time about pancreatic cancer
At the root of pancreatic cancer’s aggressiveness is a particular transformation that pancreatic cells undergo, making them capable, even in the early stages of the disease, of forming metastases and resisting therapy. This is what researchers from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, led by Giannicola Genovese, discovered in a study published...
Happy Texas Independence Day, also thanks to Prospero Bernardi
Happy (Texas) Independence Day! On March 2 in 1836, Texas became a Republic with its declaration of independence from Mexico. Did you know that there are even a few Italian connections to Texas’ independence? One comes in the form of Prospero Bernardi, who was born in what is now Italy in 1794 and was a notary by trade. He arrived in Texas in 1836...
Owner, chef of Milano Trattoria in Georgetown aims to make Italian cuisine everyone can enjoy
John Braga got his start in the restaurant industry working in high-end Italian eateries in New York and New Jersey. There, he cooked for famous folks, including Frank Sinatra, John Travolta, Brooke Shields, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. But when he fell in love with Texas while visiting on vacation and subsequently moved here, he wanted to instead...
45-year-old Italian restaurant is back open in Dallas-Fort Worth
Tell a longtime Dallasite: Bugatti Ristorante, an Italian restaurant open since 1980, is back. Gone is its longtime location on Northwest Highway and Lemmon Avenue, in Dallas’ Bluffview neighborhood near Love Field Airport. There, it served tortellini alla panna (veal-stuffed pasta) and capelli D’Angelo (angel hair pasta with shrimp and sun-dried t...