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The Modena Apennines in Emilia Romagna will be represented, albeit indirectly, at the now upcoming Paris Olympics. Indeed, on the U.S. Decathlon team will be a descendant on his mother's side of the Pasquesi lineage from Pievepelago. He is 31-year-old Zachery 'Zach' Ziemek, born in Itasca (Illinois), son of Victoria Pasquesi and grandson of Anthony...

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One of the most thrilling and glamorous events in the Chicago-area Italian-American community is the contest to determine who will reign as La Bella Regina of the Columbus Day Parade. “Few events in the community can match the pageantry of the annual Columbus Day Queen pageant,” says Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Ame...

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Summertime in Chicago is in full effect, which means boating season for the luckiest of us. Boaters and lakefront enthusiasts alike can join in on the fun at the Venetian Night boat parade on Saturday, July 20, at Lake Michigan’s Monroe Harbor.  Organized by Chicago Yacht Association, the Italian American Human Relations Foundation and the Chicago...

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The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish will celebrate the 131st anniversary of its devotion to the Blessed Mother on July 14. Festivities will begin with a 7:30 a.m. Mass in English and a 9 a.m. solemn Mass in Italian, followed by a procession with the statue of the Blessed Mother to a noon field Mass. A procession through the streets of the parish af...

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The National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini will honor the life and legacy of America’s first saint with a birthday Mass at 4 p.m. on July 13. The shrine is located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood in a building that once housed Columbus Hospital. Cabrini and her Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus built the hospital as we...

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Freshly baked pastries, coffee, breakfast and deli sandwiches, pizza, wine, and more are all on the menu at the new Petterino’s Pasticceria in the heart of Chicago’s Loop and Theatre District. Corporate executive chef John Boudouvas joined us with a taste. Serving handcrafted UMBRIA coffee and a delectable array of freshly baked pastries, breakfast...

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The Italian students at Ridgewood High School in Norridge were proud to play host to a delegation from Italy on May 23. Among the honored guests were Attilio Fontana, president of the region of Lombardy; Raffaele Cattaneo, the region’s undersecretary for European and International Public Relations; Maria Luisa Scalise, the region’s director of Inte...

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Like other social clubs felled by the worldwide pandemic, the Burgio Woman’s Club could have dissolved in recent years. Instead, the 71-year-old nonprofit organization based in the Chicago area is experiencing a resurgence of new activity. “Our members really worked hard to keep it moving forward, and now we are stronger and more active than ever b...

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Defining her identity and pinpointing where she feels most at home — in Italy or the United States — has never been easy for Raffaella Spilotro, the director of the children’s summer camp at Casa Italia in Stone Park. That’s because, for the first nine years of her life, Spilotro grew up in Capurso, a small town in the province of Bari, Puglia, wit...

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The Italian Cultural Institute and Opera Festival of Chicago present an inspiring conversation about Giacomo Puccini, on the occasion of the 100th year anniversary of his passing. Specially, we will hear from world renowned tenor Jonathan Tetelman, who just finished singing the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Met, and Oliver Camacho, h...

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