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General Giuseppe Garibaldi and Major Roberdeau Wheat landed at Marsala, on the westernmost point of Sicily, on 11 May 1860 to unify Sicily and Italy. Wheat was from New Orleans and would take 1,600 Prisoners’ of War with him when he returned from Sicily in 1861 to fight as Confederates. The was the beginning of Wheat’s raising a group of men who wo...

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“Little Richard rolled into Cosimo Matassa’s J&M Studio (1947-1956) at 840 N. Rampart in New Orleans and cut the epochal “Tutti Frutti” in the fall of 1955. Richard wailed “A wop bop a loo mop a lomp bomp bomp” and kicked off one of the first great wailers in rock history. In 1956’s Here’s Little Richard — his boogie-woogie piano stylings weren’t a...

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Back in the early 1800s, at the height of the age of yellow fever, New Orleanians didn’t know anything about social distancing. They didn’t know anything about N95 masks. They really didn’t even know anything about germs. They did know that people were dying, and that something was causing it. Maybe it was bad air, or “miasma,” as it was known. Or...

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A native of Italy, Nicolo Melli has a unique background compared to his New Orleans teammates, as the only current Pelicans player born outside of North America (Nickeil Alexander-Walker was born in Canada). Melli is also the only member of the roster who did not play Division I college basketball, instead turning pro in his teens and spending a do...

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On Good Friday 2020 The Big Easy Wing Unit of the Commemorative Air Force arranged to take New Orleans Archbishop Gregory Aymond and Rabi Alexis Erheim on Spirit Flights to bless New Orleans from a Pt-17 Stearman bi-plane. The pilots and flight crew of the Big Easy Wing with Archbishop Aymond. The chapter is led by David Capo on the far left. Left...

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This interview with Charles Marsala, who is bringing great news to the world of the Italian American community in New Orleans and throughout the South East, was done right before the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Italy, and then a couple of weeks before it also arrived in the United States. It is therefore a picture of the world before the coro...

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The Hill neighborhood in south St. Louis has long been one of the region’s favorite dining destinations — beloved for its Italian American offerings and family traditions. And two local restaurateurs say the district is managing to hang on, even though the pandemic has put a sudden halt to dining out.  Chris Saracino, president of the neighborhood...

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Mother Cabrini opened an orphanage in the French Quarter in 1892 As a Yellow Fever Epedemic was leaving many orphans in New Orleans, Mother Cabrini arrived. In 1904, she received $75,000.00 from Captain Salvatore Pizzati to build a new orphange which is became Cabrini High School in 1959. Records show that 7,849 people died in New Orleans in 1853 d...

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On Monday March 16th Arthur Brocato and staff came in on their normally closed day to build their annual St. Joseph’s Altar. Just as they were finishing, the city announced restaurants and bars would be closed to inside dining. Arthur made a decision to move the altar from the back of the gelato parlor to the front window of the store. A customer p...

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John Viola and Rossella Rago of the Italian American Podcast spent the weekend in New Orleans as part of the St. Joseph’s Society Marching Club’s events. Friday started with the 50th annual pasta celebration, which is 500lbs of pasta. Since 2006 the pasta has been prepared by Chef David Grecco. Pictured with the “Bowl of Pasta” are Peter Gilberti,...

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