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For the first time in 18 years, the Italian filmmakers Pupi and Antonio Avati will return this month to the Quad Cities, to shoot part of their ninth film project set in the QC, for a portion of their new thriller, “The Backyard.” The multiple award-winning Avati brothers (Pupi, 85, is director and Antonio, 78, is producer) will be arriving from Ro...

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Have you been to Marengo, Iowa lately? A town of 2,500 situated just north of Highway 80, featuring a National Register of Historic Places listed courthouse, a Carnegie library, and a venerable cemetery with a Civil War memorial, it is intricately connected to French history, just like Iowa City, which developed out of a settlement named Napoleon....

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Little Italy Foundation launches Little Italy Midwest and offers free memberships for all Italian Americans living in the Midwest. The Little Italy Foundation was founded in 2021 by founder Jennifer Caito-Ellingson for the purpose of saving the Little Italy enclave in the Des Moines Iowa area. However, in her leadership with other Italian American...

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An Iowa State chemistry professor who grew up in Italy has turned a family recipe for limoncello into an award-winning business. Sara Pistolesi is co-founder of IA-Native Spirits, which produces Lemoncello 50010 based on her grandmother Maria Pia Murzi’s recipe. That recipe was passed down to her mom, Tiziana Bernotti, and then to Sara herself. “I...

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Cedar Rapids Italian restaurant, Via Sofia's, announced Wednesday that it will be hosting a food drive this holiday season. The community can drop off non-perishable food items like canned goods, pasta, rice, and cereal to one of Via Sofia's two locations at 1125 1st Ave SE or 5411 Center Point Road NE.  All donations received from December 6 to De...

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Consistency is the “secret sauce” behind the longtime success of A & A Pagliai’s Pizza, according to its founder, who is still involved in the family business after more than six decades. Armond Pagliai, who turned 90 this year, opened the doors to what was then the Pizza Palace in downtown Iowa City in 1962. At its current location at 302 E. Bloom...

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If someone is looking for great Italian food in Iowa, it’s not hard to find a candidate! The land of pasta, tiramisu, and parmigiana has definitely exported many of its classics over to the U.S., and we’ve embraced it! But with so many options, it can be hard to find the right one – but going to a long-time family-owned joint rarely steers us wrong...

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Dig into Brooklyn-style pizza when Grimaldi’s Pizzeria comes to West Des Moines. The pizzeria chain that originated in New York announced in a news release that it will open in West Glen Town Center in the former Club Envy and dueling pianos bar Blue Moon space at 5485 Mills Civic Pkwy. in West Des Moines. Grimaldi’s announced its expansion to Iowa...

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Join us at the Coralville Center for the Performing Arts (1301 5th St, Coralville, IA) for performances of L’amico Fritz at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15. Tickets are available through the Hancher box office, hancher.uiowa.edu or 1-800-HANCHER. L’amico Fritz (1891) is the second opera of composer Pietro Mascagni. He had b...

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A familiar building has gotten new life in LeClaire. La Ragazza Tuscan Kitchen & Bar will open at 117 Cody Road this fall. The building was formerly home to Faithful Pilot, which closed in December after 30 years in business. Sisters Chandra Bock and Alicia Rolfes co-own the Stardust in downtown Davenport and are now venturing into the restauran...

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