Close

In 1971, during his first year selling houses, Elmwood Park resident Gabe Caporale sold $1 million worth of real estate. He made a deal with his boss that if he sold $2 million the following year he’d get a diamond ring. Caporale got the diamond ring and since has sold hundreds of additional homes and properties. This month, Caporale, who has serve...

614

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the canonization of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and to celebrate the occasion, the national shrine to her, located in Lincoln Park, is launching a jubilee year on Nov. 13. The year includes a plenary indulgence for those who make a pilgrimage to the shrine, walk through its holy door and complete the necessar...

812

When Chicago Wolves assistant coach Bob Nardella was growing up in Melrose Park, the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame was located next door in Elmwood Park. His father, Robert, relished taking his son to the institution’s conventions hosted in Rosemont. “It was a big thing for my father,” Nardella said. “He took me all the time. There...

732

Step through the doors of Alla Vita, and the whole room feels like it could float in the breeze. The restaurant’s titanic windows flood the space with light, while delicate pieces of linen run in waves across the ceiling, flapping back and forth. A large wooden pergola runs along one side, with plants winding up and around, like you’re strolling th...

776

It's not easy to take over the reins of NIAF at this time, with a pandemic that is still doing damage and casualties, and that has left major economic and social problems in the United States. Several programs of the National Italian American Foundation, as well as other national and local Italian American and non-Italian American organizations, ha...

2809

Chicagoans have always loved Italian-American restaurants—we’ve got several neighborhoods chock full of them—so no matter where you find yourself, a platter of Fried Calamari or an order of Chicken Parm is always within a fork’s reach. And lately, a whole new crop of markedly fancy Italian spots have opened up around town, including Boka Group’s Al...

635

ABC7, Chicago's most-watched television station, is celebrating the city's vibrant Italian American community with the broadcast of the 69th annual Columbus Day Parade. The hourlong event is hosted by ABC7 Windy City Weekend anchors Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini. They will be joined in the broadcast booth by Anthony Rago, Italian American Human Re...

1278

Sometimes it happens that I find out about the story of a person who personifies exactly the message that We the Italians has been representing for 10 years now: when Italy and the United States come together, the result is wonderful. Other times I have the pleasure of interviewing people who embody one or more positive symbols of Italy. Still othe...

6150

The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to defer a resolution that would change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day, the second time a vote on the issue was delayed this year. The resolution was viewed as a step toward reconciliation and healing for Native American communities, but it faced pushback on Tuesday from members of the county’s...

491

As the Frank Rossi Quartet played the song “Tarantella” late last month in a banquet room at Balagio Ristorante in Homewood, Mary Lucarini blew out the 100 candles on her birthday cake. Lucarini, known to most as Mama Mary, has lived in the working class Hungry Hill neighborhood of Chicago Heights all her life, in the same home she was born in. “Sh...

958