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Within the span of 50 years, beginning in1900, the Italian-American community in Wooster Square as able to utilize the free public schools to fully integrate into American society. Even though many of the first-generation children were unable to take full advantage of the opportunity to get a diploma, by mid-century almost everyone graduated from h...

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Dressed in a blue tee shirt with “Amalfi” printed across the chest, Fran Calabrese remembered walking hand in hand with her grandfather to a Wooster Square-hosted celebration of St. Andrew when she was just three years old. Now 70, Calabrese returned on Thursday to that very same neighborhood Italian festa — which for her is about carrying on the t...

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If the CIAC ever decided to expand its Scholar/Athlete concept to organizations, it might well consider the Torrington chapter of UNICO. “We’re not a sports organization,” UNICO President Brian Mattiello emphasized in a Saturday morning get-together, along with scholarship co-chairmen Paul Denza and Pat Finn. Neither is any CIAC Scholar/Athlete str...

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The buzz started when people noticed workmen replacing the familiar Adirondack green trim outside Le Petit Café with a sleek modern black. Then the windows were covered with brown paper hiding the interior for weeks.  The package was unveiled last month as Mi Bella Restaurante, fulfilling a lifetime dream of head chef Fernando Chiliquinga and his w...

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The Italian American Defense League, and a Wooster Square neighbor, have filed a lawsuit against the City of New Haven and Mayor Justin Elicker over the removal of a Christopher Columbus Statue. The lawsuit claims that the removal of the statue on Wooster Square was unlawful and the League, along with resident Ralph Macarelli, suffered damages t...

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On Sunday, June 25, car enthusiasts and supporters of Connecticut Children's are in for a treat as the official Concorso Ferrari and Friends show takes place. From the early hours of the morning, Italian supercars and special invitees will roll into the event, culminating in a grand display of nearly 300 magnificent vehicles. Spectators eager to wi...

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Ridgefield’s Italian community will be the topic for The Ridgefield Historical Society's Ridgefield History Club on Tuesday, June 20, at 10 am in the 1714 David Scott House at 4 Sunset Lane. Jack Sanders, who has written 10 books on Ridgefield history, will be on hand. Parking at the Scott House is limited and carpooling is recommended. Registratio...

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The Council of Italian American Societies of Greater Bridgeport will name Nancy DiNardo the 2023 Grand Marshal of the Greater Bridgeport Columbus Day Parade, presenting her with the Grand Marshal Sash on June 28th at Tashua Knolls Banquets in Trumbull at 5:30 pm. DiNardo is the first woman Grand Marshal of the Parade, scheduled for October 8th o...

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John LaBarca, the jovial giant of radio who spread love for his Italian heritage with his flagship Sunday show Italian House Party on several area radio stations most prominently WICC, has passed away, according to posts on his Facebook page. He was 76. Born in Brooklyn, New York, LaBarca landed a captain’s job at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan...

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The Yale University Art Gallery announces the extraordinary gift/purchase of more than 190 late 18th- and 19th-century Italian drawings, watercolors, and sketchbooks from the collection of Roberta J. M. Olson and Alexander B. V. Johnson.  Comprising over 400 individual sheets, this superb trove is among the finest in private hands anywhere in the w...

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