Charlie Guinta, a favorite son of Stamford, turns 100
Arty Gladstone, at age 95, drove 1,300 miles from Florida to be there. Tony Pavia, the former principal of three high schools in Stamford and New Canaan, made it quicker, flying from his winter home in the Sunshine State to Stamford, while for younger brother Sandy and his wife Jesse it was a four-hour flight from their Arizona home. About 50 other...
Rhode Island Philharmonic Appoints Robert Spano Principal Conductor
The Rhode Island Philharmonic has named Robert Spano its Principal Conductor. The announcement will be effective immediately. Spano made his RIPO debut this past September and worked with students at the RI Philharmonic Music School. He is known worldwide for the intensity of his artistry and distinctive communicative abilities, creating a sense of...
Providence, RI’s La Pigna Archway: Settling The Debate Once And For All (Pinecone or Pineapple?)
After hobnobbing with some charming Rhode Island folks on Martha’s Vineyard, we found ourselves inundated with suggestions for Providence, Rhode Island hotspots, with Federal Hill’s Pastiche topping the list. However, amidst the gastronomic gems of the region, a peculiar site loomed – the iconic pine cone (or is it a pineapple?) perched atop the ga...
Southington Chapter of UNICO selling giftbags
Once again, the Southington Chapter of UNICO will be conducting their Valentine’s Day Celebration fundraising event called Notte d’Amore by selling giftbags. This year, 50% of the net profit will go directly to Bread for Life. The gift bag will contain a $50 gift card to the New Mill, a $25 gift card to Flair (this is a new addition), two bottles o...
Boston is the winner of the second edition of the “Capitals of Italian Creativity in the World” initiative
The Consulate General of Italy in Boston won the second edition of the “Capitals of Italian Creativity in the World” (Festival of Italian Creativity) competition, an initiative launched by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation with the aim of encouraging and enhancing the ability of Italy’s network of embassies and c...
Italy's Christmas traditions transcend time, place in New Haven's Wooster Square
Christmas in Italy, at the turn of the twentieth century, was a very different kind of celebration than the American/English version that greeted the immigrants coming to Wooster Square. The star of Bethlehem positioned above the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Amalfi and the festive window displays in the pastry shops were replaced by Christmas trees a...
Contemplating the Crèche: Knights of Columbus Center Celebrates 800th Anniversary of St. Francis’ Creation in Annual Exhibit
In 1223, St. Francis of Assisi decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a new way by recreating the Nativity in the Italian town of Greccio. According to his biographer, Thomas de Celano, Francis assembled what is considered the first crèche, saying, “Out of Greccio is made a new Bethlehem.” To mark this major octocentennial anniversary, the Knig...
Paul Salerni takes a final bow after 45 years of music
There are conductors who compose and composers who conduct. Music professor Paul Salerni claims to be the latter. But with his 45 years at Lehigh coming to a close, he looks back having done much more than just compose or conduct music. Though he will be retiring at the end of this year, Salerni, who has composed and conducted music and been a prom...
Ralph Fasanella painted the power of the union
Portland author Anne Broyles last month published a new picture book to introduce children to the labor movement. “I’m Gonna Paint” tells the story of Italian American painter Ralph Fasanella, who painted large, mural-like images depicting working class people and social movements of the early 1900s. One of Fasanella’s best known pieces is a 45-by-...
A “Thank You” To My Italian Grandparents
For all of my life, I’ve been told I was Italian. Sicilian and Calabrese if you really want to know. I have a large and very loud Italian family. For most of my childhood, I remember spending lots of my time in either my house or one of my aunt’s houses, with everyone gathered around the table. With my Papa at the head of the table, he would grab m...
Italian culture and creativity in the Boston mission of the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Mariangela Zappia
On her mission to Boston, Ambassador Zappia, assisted by Consul General Arnaldo Minuti, had a meeting with the Friends of Italian Cultural Center of Boston (FICC-Boston) cultural association, which will collaborate with the Consulate General in organizing, in November 2024, the Festival of Italian Creativity in Boston. The Festival, an integrated p...
At 95, he is his son's full-time caregiver, hero, best friend, chef
At age 95, using recipes he learned from his Italian mother, Carmine "Charlie" Mazzulli started preparing this year's Thanksgiving dinner a week ago in Hingham (MA). The Korean War veteran and Army cook knows the drill. First came the pickled beets. Over the weekend, the rapini, or broccoli rabe, and Italian vinegar peppers. Then his mother's celer...