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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...

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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...

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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...

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Louis DeSimone was born Feb. 21, 1922, in Philadelphia; His parents Anthony and Nicolina DeSimone were Italian immigrants. He was raised in Bridgeport, Pa., and graduated from what was then named Villanova College. His family was devoutly Catholic, and both he and his two brothers joined the priesthood. His father was a barber and would often give...

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Santucci's Original Square Pizza, the pizzeria founded in Northeast Philly, will add to its footprint in the region with three locations in South Jersey and one more in the city. The restaurant is known for its square pies that have sauce on top of the cheese. According to Santucci's website, the Jersey locations will be in Cherry Hill, at 100 Spri...

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Wine is often a celebration libation, with countless glasses being raised every day as friends, family, and others gather for several reasons. And South Philadelphia native Tom Caruso is celebrating with his own wine, having just opened Pray Tell Wines in Kensington on Saturday, Aug. 3 after spending his childhood making wine on South 9th Street an...

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It was a colorful display to start Monday morning in Philadelphia, courtesy of the Italian Air Force. The famous Frecce Tricolori flew over the city in a 10-jet formation with their signature red, white and green smoke trails. The precision team just put on a show at the New York International Air Show. The next stop is the Air Show in Ocean City,...

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Two bills that were advancing through the Massachusetts House and Senate, seeking to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, are now all but dead-on-arrival thanks to a viral petition spearheaded by affiliates of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO).  COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo, along wit...

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Joseph A. DiAngelo, 76-year-old dean and professor of management at St. Joseph’s University in Merion, Pa., was the first person in his family to obtain a doctorate degree. When he was growing up, his paternal grandmother Camille DiAngelo wanted him to become an accountant so that he could always find work preparing people’s income taxes, and his b...

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Southern Italian restaurant Cicala at the Divine Lorraine has a new sibling in Sorellina, a Neapolitan pizzeria and spritz bar located across the lobby of the historic hotel on North Broad Street and Fairmount Avenue. The expansion is the combined effort of chef-owner couple Joe Cicala and Angela Ranalli-Cicala. They chose the name, which translate...

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