Close

Old school Italian comic Dom Irrera and new school Italian comic Sebastion Maniscalco will headline four big shows in Connecticut on March 22, 23 & 30, 2013. Dom Irrera's stand-up material was honed in a multi-generational Italian household. He grew up in South Philadelphia while living with his mother, sister, grandmother, uncles and cousins...

1946

Though Mayor Ken Cockayne's grandfather left his native Turi, Italy to make his way to America long ago, the family's ties to the southern Italian town remain.   On Thursday, Cockayne received an elaborately framed key to Turi engraved with a coat of arms depicting a bull under an oak tree. The first citizen of Turi, Domenico Coppi, sai...

854

Frank J. Cerza will address the Senior Men's Club of New Canaan in Morrill Hall at St. Mark's Church on Friday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. His presentation, entitled, "Representing Italian Companies in the U.S.," will focus on how the legal, commercial and cultural differences between the two countries impact the way investments are made by Italian compan...

981

On a hot July afternoon in 1968, two families gathered for a picnic at 55 Linden St. in Wethersfield. PFC Richard Paul Caputo, 20, was leaving for Vietnam. Drafted the previous December, he had married his childhood sweetheart, Ann Gesauldi, four months earlier. On this particular day, the mood was somber, not boisterous.   "He was leaving,...

1780

"Farms, Factories and Families: Italian-American Women of CT" is the topic of a talk by Anthony Riccio scheduled for June 6 at the public library downtown.   Riccio will tell stories of the experiences of women who moved from Italy to Connecticut between the early and mid-20th century. His talk is set for 10 a.m. at the library at 20 Hi...

878

Philip Vetro will be honored as Italian American of the year, Friday, Oct. 17, at the 23rd Annual Milford Columbus Committee Dinner Dance.   Vetro has been a Milford resident and business owner for more than 44 years. During his time in Milford, he has dedicated his free time to many boards in Milford, including the Planning and Zoning board...

1327

As part of its' celebration of Italian American month, the North HavenLibrary will look back at the musical career of Frank Sinatra with evening of songs and stories presented by local vocalist Rich Moran, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 7 p.m., in the Library's community room. He will be backed by the trio of Judy Webber on piano, Jeff Webber on woodwinds, and...

849

By Owen McNally   What the taste of a small rich cake called a madeleine was for triggering a famous flood of memories in French novelist Marcel Proust's classic "Remembrance of Things Past," the sound of the accordion is for the celebrated, Waterbury-born, avant-garde jazz composer/bassist and bandleader Mario Pavone in his latest, groundbr...

981

By Erik Dobratz   The Italian-Americans in Connecticut used their hands to build much of the state, but that's not all they used them for. Some of them "put them up' as prizefighters and made a lot of history.    Branford High School social studies teacher and track coach Rich Biondi loves teaching and coaching, but boxing really...

1000

by Lisa Backus   Author Anthony Riccio spoke of his grandmother as a woman who was "4-foot-11" with "eyes as black a coal" when she gave her grandson the "you're in trouble look." "Those of us who had Italian grandmothers are blessed," he told a small crowd Saturday morning at the New Britain Public Library. His book, "Farms, Factories...

845