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Italian food means a lot more than spaghetti and meatballs these days, but sometimes the basics, in an old school red sauce joint, are all we want. They’re the places that originally made Italian food popular in this country – authenticity aside. That’s why we want to tell you about some of Chicago’s best old school Italian joints – the kind of pla...

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It’s a snowy Saturday afternoon in Rockford, Illinois. My grandfather, Ignazio, is all but pressing his ear against the Zenith radio to hear the Metropolitan Opera broadcast of La Boheme, starring Bidú Sayao and Ferruccio Tagliavini. He pleads with me to sit with him and listen to the music of his country, which he deeply misses. No doubt the opera...

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No musical instrument is more closely associated with the Italian immigrant than the accordion, and no place in Italy is more closely associated with the accordion than Castelfidardo. Known throughout the world for the accordions it manufactures, this small town in the Marche region is the inspiration for a musical and theatrical celebration that w...

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Early last year, as anti-immigrant rhetoric intensified during the presidential campaign, William Massolia, the Griffin Theatre Company’s artistic director, thought of his own family’s past. All four of his grandparents came from Italy speaking very little English. Massolia started sleuthing. He dug up his paternal grandparents’ marriage certificat...

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If you’re craving food from the windy city, you don’t need a plane ticket, just a drive into Canyon Country. Marciano’s Chicago Style Deli was not only deemed the go-to sandwich shop for Super Bowl Sunday on KTLA’s “Burrous’ Bites,” it has become the destination for hungry SCV residents since March 11 of last year. “It’s been great,” says owner Bre...

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The Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Feast Committee will honor Louis Napolitano III as Man of the Year at its kickoff dinner on April 28 at Elmcrest Banquets in Elmwood Park. The De Chrisopher Family and Padre Pio candle houses will be honored at the event, and James V. (Jimmy) Lorenzo will receive the Fr. Benjamin Franch Biretta Award. Donations are $65 pe...

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Dr. Joe Baldassano was named Arcolian of the Year at the Arcolian Dental Arts Society’s annual Christmas party at the Park Ridge Country Club. The award was presented by Arcolian President Dr. Russ Spinazze and past President Dr. Michael Biasiello. An active Arcolian member for over 28 years, Baldassano has served on the board and in every executiv...

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One night, a little more than a decade ago, Chicago immigration attorney Mary Sfasciotti received a desperate call from a nun in the Milwaukee area. Sister Josephe Marie Flynn asked Sfasciotti to help defend a former Congolese political activist in her parish who had been jailed. Regina Bakala faced deportation and was seeking asylum in the United...

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When is a new restaurant not a new restaurant? Today we take a look at two newish places in the western suburbs. La Notte Ristorante Italiano in Oak Park opened in November but is a virtual copy of 12-year-old La Notte Cafe in Berwyn; La Buona Vita in La Grange has been open more than two years, but chef/owner Terry Rempert recently debuted a new l...

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Banking executive Peter Volpe will be honored as Man of the Year and Stone Park Mayor Beniamino Mazzulla will receive a Chairman’s Special Recognition Award at Casa Italia’s 47th annual gala on April 22 at Alta Villa Banquets in Addison. (708-345-5922, casaitaliachicago.org) Peter Volpe. Casa Italia is proud to present its 2017 Person of the Year A...

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