More than 100 relatives and descendants of Vito Baldi and Rosa Galzerano, who were born in Campania in the 1800s, gathered at family events in June in Malvern and South Philadelphia. Cousins flew in from Alaska, California, Mexico City and Italy to attend a reception and dinner in Malvern hosted by Patty Baldi Holloway and her husband Gary. A bus t...

Consul General of Italy in Philadelphia, Cristiana Mele, attended the handover ceremony of Leonardo's 100th TH-73A Thrasher aircraft to the US Navy. The helicopter, which can accommodate two pilots and up to three additional passengers, is used for pilot training for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.  The aircraft is characterised by its man...

In the shadow of the MLB debut for Samuel Aldegheri and recent win for the Los Angeles Angels as well as the success of Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Alessandro Ercolani at High-A ball (6-2, 3.29 ERA with 93 K in 76.2 IP),  Italian baseball celebrates and welcomes the initiation of two promising prospects into the world of professional baseb...

May 2024 From the city of brotherly love to the love for the Italian brothers and sisters

February 2024 Christopher Columbus' legal defense in American courts: thanks to George Bochetto

Saturday, September 28th, 2024. 10-12 pm (doors open at 10:15). Light refreshment from GCA. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia - 219 S 6th St. Philadelphia, PA. FREE ENTRANCE but REGISTRATION is REQUIRED! PI-Philly, in collaboration with the Italian Consulate of Philadelphia, presents a lecture by artist Melissa McGill titled "Water Stories from the Ven...

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...

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...

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...

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...