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Join us August 14-17! Taylor Street is one of the most historic neighborhoods in Chicago. From the late 1800s to about the 1950s, this area was a hub for Italian immigrants to settle and establish their families. It soon became Chicago’s “Official” Little Italy. Chicago’s Little Italy Festa-Taylor Street celebrates the great history of the neighbor...

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Dear friends, Even in this July 2025 editorial, I’m thrilled to share lots of exciting news with you. First up, our cover story, something big is coming to Atlanta, Georgia, this September. We the Italians, through our 501(c)(3) nonprofit, the Italia America Reputation Lab (IARL), is proud to partner in the first-ever Made in Italy Expo in the “Big...

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On the 175th anniversary of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini's birth July 15, the sisters of the order she founded continue on with her tireless work of service to those in need, especially immigrants. The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have a presence in 15 countries. Though they are only a few hundred around the world according to the...

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Chicago Collective is proud to announce that it will partner with the Italian Trade Agency, “ita,” for the August 2025 show with a dedicated area on the show floor featuring a curated assortment of Italian brands. The 62+ brands will be exhibiting with the support and representation of the ITA to promote the internationalization of italian companie...

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Italian candy giant Ferrero plans to launch its first new flavor variety of Nutella next year, right from the Chicago area, the Chicago Tribune reported. Nutella Peanut was developed by Ferrero’s food scientists and will be made exclusively at the company’s factory in suburban Franklin Park. “We think it’s going to be big,” Seth Gonzalez, senior di...

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This is a story about Pfc. Louis Grippo and his travels during World War II. But a little background first. I grew up in my father’s family building on West Taylor Street in one of the Italian enclaves of Chicago. My mom’s family lived on South May Street, two blocks away. In my early years, we went over there almost every day. When I was in gramma...

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Ross Martucci fell in love with special effects makeup as a child, when he saw the gruesome Freddy Krueger of the movie “Nightmare on Elm Street” on the cover of a horror magazine. “I couldn’t believe how it was possible to make somebody look like they were burnt from head to toe and it not be real. It was almost like magic to me,” the Chicago-base...

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What do these famous cultural references have in common? The fifth episode in the first season of the 1960s television show Batman, which introduced Cesar Romero as the Joker; the Agatha Christie short story, Swan Song; the Marvin Gaye song, (I’m Afraid) The Masquerade is Over; the 1970 hit by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Tears of a Clown; the...

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“I had the great pleasure of meeting Illinois Supreme Court Justice Moses W. Harrison II — or “Mose,” as he liked to be called — about the time he declared his candidacy for the Illinois Supreme Court in 1987. We became dear friends over the years.  Named after his paternal grandfather, Justice Harrison was highly respected and the first Italian Am...

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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...

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