Close

Judge Frank Benanti, Sr. was born in 1894 in Kansas City, MO. He was the oldest surviving son of Ignazio & Giuseppa (Arnone) Benanti. His parents were Sicilian immigrants from the town of Campofelice di Fitalia, Sicily. Frank attended the Kansas City School of Law and upon graduation was appointed Justice of the Peace in Kansas City and became...

1561

Joe Spallo is running to return to a City Council seat in District 3, saying he wants to be a voice for that district's constituents.   He said another reason he's running is because it's always important for voters to have a choice. His opponent, so far, is Diane Seif. Voters elected Spallo in 1995 and re-elected him four times, h...

1046

By Sarah Fenske   What do we talk about when we talk about food? As it turns out, the answer is as varied as the places we live. In Florida, they talk about conch fritters. In Texas, they talk about breakfast tacos. In Missouri, we talk about toasted ravioli.   And apparently we talk about it all the damn time -- 1,859 percent mo...

651

by Charles Ferruzza   This morning, a diner at the compact Jerry's Cafe, at 1209 West 103rd Street, walked over to the table where Nick DeFeo was sitting with his parents. "I understand that you're the new owner here," the man said. "Please don't change anything. It's perfect like it is."   DeFeo, the 34-year-old former cook at t...

1080

Today we honor Thomas Gialde and the American Sons of Columbus KC. Tom Gialde, son of Sicilian immigrants Joseph & Josephine (Romano) Gialde, was a lifelong Kansas City, Missouri resident, and graduate of Northeast High School. Tom married Angeline Cicero in 1941 and they had five children: Joseph, Steve, Tom, Mary Teresa, and Thomas Giald...

1467

Due missioni in aprile per il funzionario itinerante del Consolato generale d'Italia a Chicago che nei prossimi giorni si recherà in Missouri e Minnesota per raccogliere le impronte digitali dei connazionali che hanno bisogno di rinnovare il passaporto.   Il funzionario sarà il 9 e 10 aprile a St Louis mentre il 23 e 24 aprile a Minneapolis....

981

by Jody Valet   People don't realize how many successful businesses were started by Kansas City Italians. I would like to post a picture and story about a KC Italian business every week for #TBT. Please send your photos and stories to me @ jhvalet@aol.com. This week we will start with my family. This is an early photo of Fairyland Park taken...

3868

di Paolo Battaglia   Ripartiamo dal Missouri per la tappa di trasferimento più lunga del nostro viaggio: tra due giorni ci attende Denver, la città più italiana del Wild West. Fin dalla metà dell'Ottocento, gli italiani si sono spinti fino al Colorado che, tra l'altro, ha dato i natali a uno dei più grandi letterati di origine italo american...

2127

The National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial, The Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., The Consulate General of Italy in Chicago and The Honorary Vice Consulate of Italy in Kansas City cordially invite you to a champagne toast with the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Claudio Bisogniero.   The event is to celebrate and previ...

925

Laura Norris has worked for Kansas City nonprofits for years but always dreamed of running her own Italian deli. In 2013, she raised money from friends and family to finally open her business, but she kept getting turned down by banks for the last piece of financing to make it work.   Then she learned about Kansas City's micro-loan program t...

1341