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There is a big heart that has been celebrating Italy, Christmas, children and the musical traditions of our country for almost twenty years in New York. It does so with commitment, courage, talent, and an infinite love and pride for its Italian roots. It is the heart of Cristina Fontanelli, artist, singer, producer, who every year in December organ...

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Frank Lucianna, a powerhouse defense attorney in Hackensack and a World War II veteran, died Monday, leaving an impressive legacy and profound love of the law. "He's an institution," said his daughter Diane Lucianna. "[For] 71 years he was practicing law in Hackensack." Lucianna was 99 years old at the time of his death. Diane, her sister Nancy and...

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Join us Sunday, December 4th at 2pm at Watchung Booksellers (54 Fairfield Street in Montclair) as we celebrate the launch of Rossella Rago's newest book Cooking with Nonna: Sunday Dinners with La Famiglia, followed by an exclusive Q&A session with the author herself, book signing, and FREE food tasting from da Pepo in Montclair. RSVP Here. Host of...

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Some people say, “We don’t talk about Bruno.” But let’s talk about Bruno’s, shall we? Bruno’s, an Italian and French bakery, recently opened on Main Street in Freehold Township. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because the Settepani family, who own Bruno’s, used to operate Bruno Bakery in Manhattan and now own Bruno’s Bakery & Restaurant in Staten...

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When you bite into a pastry, cookie or cake from Italian Bakery & Espresso Bar in Flemington, N.J., you are biting into recipes developed during 100 years of family history. Jack Mannino operated a pizzeria when he first came to this country but wanted to return to being a pastry baker, a job he trained for and loved in Sicily. In 1985 he opened th...

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A new GoFundMe campaign was recently launched by the Società Madonna Della Fontana and Spilingese Social Club in Newark, New Jersey to help raise money for the creation of a new processional statue of the Madonna della Fontana. Devotees will carry the statue during the Annual Feast of the Madonna della Fontana and San Michele Arcangelo, celebrated...

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When it comes to making music, conductor Jason C. Tramm throws himself into a little bit of everything. I don’t bother asking him why. It’d be like asking the sun why it shines. He’s just doing what he was born to do. His calendar has returned to pre-pandemic levels after nearly three years of COVID-19 cancellations. “There’s so much going on and I...

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THERE’S AN “AIR OF SECRECY” surrounding certain establishments, then there’s Chef Vola’s. This unmarked, cash-only feasting hall has no advertised phone number, email, or website, equated by one New York Times food critic to “a game of hide and seek.” The space comes by it naturally: It was likely once a speakeasy. Before it became a restaurant in...

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You may have heard of the 'Feast Of The Seven Fishes' which is a traditional Italian dinner served on Christmas Eve. Well, it's more of a tradition here in the New Jersey/New York/Philly area than it is in Italy for the most part. It was a tradition started hundreds of years ago in coastal towns around Rome and Naples on the Mediterranean Sea. Outs...

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The afternoon of November 22 started with a few members of the Morris County Lodge of the Sons of Italy arriving at Parsippany Child Day Care Center on Baldwin Road in Parsippany with a truckload of Holiday Turkey Dinners, ready to be distributed to various locations in the general Parsippany area. 18 boxes of those meals, along with assorted pies,...

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