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The Opera Festival of Chicago will open its fifth season on Friday, May 9 with a performance of The Love of Three Kings (L’Amore dei tre Re), bringing a long-lost Italian masterwork to the Chicago stage for the first time in 70 years. The season offers opera lovers a rich lineup of rarely performed works, bold storytelling, and thrilling music acro...

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For this week’s edition of “Songs of Home,” I go back to a home that was home for my ancestors before their immigration to Chicago and the tunes they brought with them. My mother is half Sicilian and my father is Sicilian and Calabrese. It is safe to say that I grew up Italian-American, and I’m forever proud that I did. More so, I’m proud that I gr...

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Bindi North America returns to the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago with an expanded presence and a renewed focus on culinary innovation. For the first time, the renowned Italian dessert group showcases not only its iconic Bindi brand but also welcomes two new names to the table: Sammontana, Italy’s leading gelato producer, and Tre M...

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As an Italian American, I know that our story is one of perseverance, passion and a relentless pursuit of excellence. It is a legacy of individuals who, despite challenges, have built thriving communities, contributed to society in remarkable ways and remained deeply connected to their roots. My father emigrated from Brienza, Italy, located in the...

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Mia Francesca, located less than half a mile from Wrigley Field in Chicago serves fabulous Italian dishes— perfect for a night out with friends and family. On the Friday night I visited, every table was full, the service was delightful and the food was scrumptious. Here’s everything I tried! After starting with delicious complimentary bread, I orde...

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The Chicago Park District has reached a deal to end a lawsuit over the removal of Chicago's Christopher Columbus statues. The City of Chicago, which owns the statues, will not be bringing the statues back to their former sites in Grant Park and Arrigo Park. But the city will loan the statue that was removed from Arrigo Park, at Polk and Loomis stre...

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“I-A Literati 2025,” Casa Italia’s 21st annual celebration of local Italian-American authors, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 17 in the Florentine Room of the Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia. The event will begin with a meet-and-greet with the writers, followed by the keynote address and presentations. Additional activities include...

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The Chicago Cubs signed versatile infielder Nicky Lopez to a one-year contract on April 23, 2025 after releasing him earlier in the spring. The Cubbies initially offered a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training on February 7, 2025, but the 30-year-old utility man was one of the final roster cuts before the MLB Tokyo Series against the...

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The National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, which has been celebrating sports history for nearly 50 years, has found a new home on the Far Northwest Side. The Hall of Fame spent much of the past two decades on Taylor Street in Little Italy, but when the museum’s building was sold in 2019, all of its memorabilia went into storage as the hunt...

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Over the last two decades, Thomas P. Valenti has put his arbitration and mediation skills to use across the globe, traveling to places like Greece and India, and now helping young people in Afghanistan via online mentoring. Valenti is a Chicago-based dispute resolution specialist who has held a law license since 1977. He first worked as a trial att...

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