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Francesco Forgione, OFMCap, better known as Padre Pio, was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He was beatified in 1999 and canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II. His relics are exposed in a golden crypt in the sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, next to the convent of San Giovanni Rotondo, now a major pilgrima...

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Riccardo Muti will become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director emeritus for life starting next season. The announcement was made on the stage of Orchestra Hall on Friday night after a performance of Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” the start of Muti’s final subscription weekend as music director. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season. Mu...

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A restaurant in Edgewater is serving up Italian street food, and bringing the community together, as it marks its first year in business. On the corner of Broadway and Ardmore, Edgewater has its very own slice of Italy. Sfera Sicilian Street Food just celebrated its first anniversary, and it's already become a neighborhood favorite. And to think it...

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The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish will celebrate the 130th anniversary of its devotion to the Blessed Mother on July 16. 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 to a noon field Mass. A procession through the streets of the parish afterward will culminate...

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A philanthropic powerhouse for more than 30 years, the Chicagoland Italian American Charitable Organization has bestowed nearly $900,000 in scholarships and tens of thousands of dollars more to veterans in need over the decades. In years past, most of those funds were raised at CIACO’s annual Honor and Hope gala, but last year the organization pivo...

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The middle of three children, Steven Decker was born in Chicago to Roy and Kathryn Tomasello Decker, who were living near North Avenue and Larrabee. When Decker was 3 years old, they moved to Logan Square, where he grew up living close to his Sicilian-born grandparents and his mother’s five siblings and their families. On Sunday mornings, Decker aw...

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Back in 1889, the automobile had barely been invented, and the airplane was still a gleam in the Wright brothers’ eyes. Yet, Italian immigrant Vincent Formusa had the foresight to found a company to meet his paesani’s growing demand for food products from their homeland. And so, V. Formusa Co. was launched at 710 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago. A century...

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A dedication to family and friends and the Italian-American community in Batavia is why James Saraceni was recognized on Wednesday night at Batavia Downs as the Paolo Busti Foundation's Italian-American of the Year. In his remarks, Saraceni spoke about his friends and family more than about himself and recalled the difficulties that immigrant Itali...

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Riccardo Muti taking over artistic leadership of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra after the departure of music director Daniel Barenboim in 2006 was anything but a sure thing. After all, the famed Italian conductor hadn’t even conducted the orchestra since 1975. And despite flirting with a possible union with the New York Philharmonic, Muti had made...

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The Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has signed a new loan of 14 million euros with Roncadin, an Italian company specializing in the production of frozen pizzas. The aim is to launch an internationalization project through the US subsidiary, Roncadin Holding USA Corp. This involves the purchase and renovation of a production facility in Chicago and the...

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