Close

Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci is being recognized for his professional and civic contributions by again being named to the annual Who’s Who in Chicago list, published by Crain’s Chicago Business. Crain’s 2025 issue of The Book includes Antonio among a list of esteemed professionals from various disciplines and profession...

438

My mother’s family came to America from their home in Acerra and eventually settled in the near-west side of Chicago in the Little Italy area, much of which has since disappeared under the concrete of The University of Illinois-Chicago. They established a grocery store and meat counter that saw them through the Depression, supporting the five child...

352

For Christopher Derks, finally becoming president of the Columbian Club of Chicago is an honor … and a bit of surprise. “You work your way up through the ranks, so you know it’s coming,” he says of the presidency. “It has come a lot quicker than I was expecting.”Derks will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, but the club’s annual installation dinner h...

297

The Italian American community knows Jean Parisi best as La Befana, the good Christmas witch who made appearances for decades at yuletide celebrations throughout the Chicago area. But that’s just the tip of the cultural iceberg for this veteran community arts activist. Over the decades, she has created massive community art installations, staged pl...

865

The Casa Italia Library/ Italian Cultural Center (Chicago) announces the release of Italian Women in Chicago, Volume II, Siamo arrivate (We have arrived). This anthology is a collection of stories, spotlights, poetry, and much more. You can order Italian Women in Chicago vol ii from Casa Italia here. Focusing on “Saving Our Stories,” “Pop Culture,”...

644

The wall of a North Harlem Avenue building in Dunning inspired Ron Onesti as he searched for a new home for the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame — and for a large canvas to promote American athletes of Italian descent. “One of the reasons I bought that building was because of that wall,” says Onesti, president of the Hall of Fame. “Tha...

554

In order to meet Cupid and Psyche, as is only right since they are two mythological figures, one has to penetrate into the ancient heart of the capital, in Trastevere. Beyond a small secret garden, crowned in the center by a citrus tree, is a room with a very high ceiling where the mortal Psyche, who in beauty equaled Venus, forever holds in her ma...

1468

You probably remember the old-time cartoon characters – Bugs Bunny, Mickey Mouse, and others – who picked up the scent of delicious food and then magically floated through the air, following their noses to the good smells. I had a similar sensation over 40 years ago, walking into Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Market in Elmwood Park (2400 N. Harlem Ave.) fo...

288

As I grew up in Highwood, visiting my friends was like being in my own home: the same foods were served, I sat on the same style furniture, and I saw pictures of relatives on their walls posted in a fashion similar to mine at home. The promotional calendars of the local Italian insurance firm hung right next to the pictures of the pope in all our k...

275

Chicago’s oldest Italian restaurant is opening a basement eatery with an elevated menu and relaxed vibe that owners hope will attract a younger crowd. Sotto opens Thursday in the basement of the sprawling Italian Village Restaurant, 71 W. Monroe St., following an extensive makeover. It replaces La Cantina Enoteca, one of the restaurant’s three dini...

287