Once again, the Southington Chapter of UNICO will be conducting their Valentine’s Day Celebration fundraising event called Notte d’Amore by selling giftbags. This year, 50% of the net profit will go directly to Bread for Life. The gift bag will contain a $50 gift card to the New Mill, a $25 gift card to Flair (this is a new addition), two bottles o...
READ MOREFesta Italiana Inc. of New Britain (CT) has donated a total of $12,000 to four local charities: $5,000 to the Festa Italiana Scholarship Fund administered by the Community Foundation of Greater New Britain; $5,000 to Saint Joachim Parish in New Britain; $1,000 to Boys & Girls Club of New Britain; $1,000 to YWCA New Britain. Festa Italiana is a fede...
READ MOREChristmas in Italy, at the turn of the twentieth century, was a very different kind of celebration than the American/English version that greeted the immigrants coming to Wooster Square. The star of Bethlehem positioned above the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Amalfi and the festive window displays in the pastry shops were replaced by Christmas trees a...
READ MOREIn 1223, St. Francis of Assisi decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a new way by recreating the Nativity in the Italian town of Greccio. According to his biographer, Thomas de Celano, Francis assembled what is considered the first crèche, saying, “Out of Greccio is made a new Bethlehem.” To mark this major octocentennial anniversary, the Knig...
READ MOREWhat does a 101-year-old cannoli taste like? Probably best not to find out, but Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop in New Haven’s Wooster Square still makes its cannoli, cookies, éclair and more using original recipes from when it opened in 1922. One of those is a winter delicacy. “For Christmas season, we make an Italian specialty called struffoli, whic...
READ MORESora My Way, located in Hartford County at 446 Silas Deane Hwy (Route 99) in Wethersfield, opened for business on Saturday, Nov. 25 and since then, has been met with rave reviews from excited customers for its authentic cuisine. The eatery can serve such accurate food thanks to its chef, who was one of the co-founders of a restaurant just 40 minut...
READ MOREBorn and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, Julia Sferlazza embodies the rich tapestry of her Italian American heritage. A proud descendant of both Ischia, an island in the Gulf of Naples, and the towns of Lercara Friddi, Messina, and Potenza in Sicily and Basilicata, Julia's roots run deep into Italian culture and heritage. Now residing in Rome, Ital...
READ MOREAndrea Bocelli is going to make another attempt at performing in Boston this holiday season. The Italian tenor has announced rescheduled dates for a string of postponed concerts amid some rare struggles with his world-renowned voice. "As many fans now know, Andrea Bocelli has been working through health challenges forcing the famed tenor to postpo...
READ MOREThere are conductors who compose and composers who conduct. Music professor Paul Salerni claims to be the latter. But with his 45 years at Lehigh coming to a close, he looks back having done much more than just compose or conduct music. Though he will be retiring at the end of this year, Salerni, who has composed and conducted music and been a prom...
READ MOREFor all of my life, I’ve been told I was Italian. Sicilian and Calabrese if you really want to know. I have a large and very loud Italian family. For most of my childhood, I remember spending lots of my time in either my house or one of my aunt’s houses, with everyone gathered around the table. With my Papa at the head of the table, he would grab m...
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