By Moira Macdonald   Ideally, one would travel to Portland Art Museum's new exhibit "Italian Style: Fashion Since 1945" on the back of a Vespa motor scooter piloted by Gregory Peck. But Amtrak works just fine, too.   The exhibit, featuring dozens of elegant garments from the likes of Valentino, Prada, Armani and Pucci (who, it turns o...

By Samantha Bakall After more than seven months of waiting and a successful Kickstarter campaign, Burrasca, the rustic Tuscan food cart from Florentine native Paolo Calamai, and one of The Oregonian's top 10 of 2014, will open July 14 in the former Block's Cafe space in Southeast Portland.   Burrasca 2.0 will continue serving menu favorites...

by Catherine Accardi   Mauro Battocchi's last day as San Francisco's beloved Consul General will be July 8, 2016. He has been Italy's Consul General in San Francisco since September, 2012. For the past four years, Battocchi has presided over countless events with a never-ending smile and seemingly boundless grace that will be sorely mis...

I'm visiting the Italian community in Portland. There are around 900 Italian citizens in this North-Western state, while many more are the Americans of Italian descent. Honorary Consul Andrea Bartoloni is their active point of reference.Italians here are mainly professionals working in the apparel and hi-tech industry, as well as in Universities an...