Close

When the eighth annual Washington Italian Festival gets underway this weekend at the Main Street Pavilion in Washington, PA, dedicated organizers from Primo Italiano Sons and Daughters of Italy No. 2800 will be in full force to ensure that the event is a success. The wholehearted effort, they say, builds upon the legacy of their dynamic predecessor...

314

As the 48th annual Italian Mass concluded on Sept. 1, 2024, a new tradition was born. For the first time, a procession of faithful led a statue of Saint Lucy from the Cathedral of Saint Peter about a block away to Courthouse Square in downtown Scranton, to kick off the third day of La Festa Italiana. “We’re all about tradition,” Chris DiMattio, La...

564

Antonio Sabetta, council president of Felitto, Italy, is fascinated by the community those who left Felitto for the U.S. have built in Old Forge. “Today we’re here to honor ancestors and to formalize the tie that our communities have,” he said in Italian in the council chambers of Old Forge’s borough building. His niece, Francesca Sabetta, translat...

719

Filmmaker Stephen Mancini set out to tell a simple story about a small chapel on an Army base in rural Franklin County and the Italian POWs who built it during World War II. Instead, he traveled the world and made a documentary that changed his life. The journey toward making "Fedelta. Soldier. Prisoner," which premieres Friday at Capitol Theatre i...

381

I sang Cherubino [an adolescent boy, usually performed by a mezzo-soprano] when I was 17. Through the sheer effort of singing in Italian, which I hadn’t learned yet, I internalized the whole thing. I would walk around the house singing everyone’s part. Twenty years later, I was doing a show called Only an Octave Apart, with my friend the cabaret ar...

508

An Italian-themed amusement park entertaining families since 1946 has blended the perfect ingredients for fun in Tipton, Pa. DelGrosso’s Park and Laguna Splash is a seasonal destination boasting more than 30 rides, an expansive Italian-themed waterpark and famous food, all made possible because two Italian immigrants met and fell in love — over a p...

385

A memorial race was held Saturday in Downtown Scranton in honor of Captain James R. Minicozzi, a local U.S. Army veteran. Minicozzi was on the Board of Directors for La Festa Italiana and an active organizer in the annual race. Proceeds raised from the event will go to benefit the Boys and Girls Club as well as college scholarships at West Scranton...

394

Lombardi, a play written by Academy Award winner Eric Simonson, (2005 Documentary short) brings to life legendary football coach Vince Lombardi during a week in the 1965 NFL season coaching the Green Bay Packers. Vince Lombardi, the son of Italian immigrants, led the Packers to three straight and five total NFL championships as well as victories in...

551

Get a taste of Italy this weekend when the streets of Courthouse Square come alive with food, culture, and music. La Festa Italiana will be held Labor Day weekend from Friday through Monday, Aug. 30 to September 2, 2024 in the heart of downtown Scranton. The food festival hours run Friday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m , Saturday and Sunday from 11:00...

424

This August, I made the journey again, this time with my cousin Michael D’Imperio to visit our famiglia ancestral roots in Comune di Biccari (Region of Puglia-Provincia of Foggia). My maternal grandparents Aniello and Elisa (Basile) Lucera emigrated from Biccari to America back in 1902/1910 as part of the Great Arrival. My cousin Michael’s great-gr...

1405