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Husband and wife team Lia Pennacchi and Chase Williams are putting the final touches on Plume, an Italian restaurant they are opening on Rockford’s North End later this month. “This is a gorgeous location,” Pennacchi said. “This a wonderful area with just absolutely amazing business owners and amazing neighbors.” The location is 1132 Auburn St., wh...

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What do you get when a true showman joins forces with one of Springfield’s most respected legislators? The second annual Italian Caucus Tour of Italy Reception, of course. Hosted for the last two years by Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans President Ron Onesti and State Rep. Anthony DeLuca, the blockbuster event drew more than 300 movers an...

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Tuesday night’s scholarship dinner gave the Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation a chance to look back at its founding four decades ago while also honoring local Italian Americans today. The foundation, which gathered at Batavia Downs Gaming & Hotel, took time to pay tribute to Vito Gautieri, its lone living founder among those who started the organiza...

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Bernard Ghilarducci and Luigi Banducci are close friends who have been at the helm of the Chicago-area Mazzini Verdi Club since about 2007, when they started alternating two-year presidency terms. Ghilarducci’s current term as president started Jan. 1. A retired engineer, he has been a member of the club since 1980, when he and his wife, Fidalma, j...

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After 27 years as a member of the Beato Giovanni Liccio Society of Chicago, current President Tony Sapienza is as active and enthusiastic as ever. The group’s mission is to promote and foster the teachings of its patron, Beato Giovanni Liccio, a 15th century priest from Caccamo, Sicily, who spent his life helping the needy and the poor, and to whom...

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Kristina Knighten and her husband, Paul Cordier, were living in the United Arab Emirates and working as TEFL-certified teachers when they decided they were serious about buying their first home in America. Knighten, 38, was raised in the Chicago suburbs, and Cordier, 45, was raised in London but loved the idea of living in the Windy City after havi...

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“Mountainmen: Gothic Line 1945”. Des Plaines Theatre • 1476 Miner St. Des Plaines, IL. 7:30 p.m. • Thursday, June 20 Free seating • RESERVATIONS REQUIRED here. It took Allied forces nearly two brutal years from July 1943 to May 1945 to topple Mussolini’s regime and drive Hitler’s forces from the Italian peninsula during World War II. Key to their s...

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The Paolo Busti Cultural Foundation 40th Scholarship Awards Dinner will be held on Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m. The Foundation is excited to be able to celebrate their heritage together. It promises to be a wonderful evening of friendship, pride and of course, delicious Italian food being hosted at Batavia Downs. Tickets are $35.00 and may be purchase...

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The newest addition to Batavia's dining scene is one that serves Italian American cuisine inspired by the owner's grandmother and the restaurant's namesake. Thorabella's officially opened Wednesday at 15 E. Wilson St. The Batavia Chamber of Commerce celebrated the restaurant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony presided over by Mayor Jeffery Schielke. Lo...

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Mazzini Verdi Club Ladies Club President Giovanna Carlino has made many deep friendships thanks to the club, and she encourages others to join and experience the same gift. “It’s an enjoyment,” she says. “All of us when we go, we are happy people, we greet each other like we haven’t seen each other for years but we saw each other yesterday.” A nati...

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