This is the foreword to the catalogue of the exhibition “Dolce color d’oriental zaffiro. Le gemme in Dante e nei bijoux americani” opened on September 24 at the Museo del Bijoux in Casalmaggiore, Lombardy, Italy The history of Italian emigration to America and of the integration of our fellow Italians in a world that was unknown and often hostile t...

Columbus Day weekend is Monday, but there have been many changes to the annual holiday. There’s a fight to re-name the holiday in Rhode Island, as Boston and other cities changed Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day, with Acting Mayor Kim Janey singing an executive order Thursday.  Andre’ DiMino, who is the spokesman for the Italian American Nat...

The Columbus Day Festival on Federal Hill is back after a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, and it's bigger than before. "This year is the full-blown return, and it's the 29th annual," said Rick Simone, president of the Federal Hill Commerce Association. The festival, which starts Friday evening and concludes Monday night, has added a fourth day thi...

The nearly hundred-year-old Italian restaurant on Federal Hill has announced the installation of new windows for an enhanced dining experience. On Tuesday, Angelo’s -- located at 141 Atwells Avenue -- announced the completion of the renovation that now allows for increased ventilation — and more.  The veal and the sausage and fries may even be bett...

Pat’s Italian owner Greg Stevens wanted to expand his restaurant brand and was looking for an easy way to do it. During COVID-19, he noticed an increased demand for takeout options at his Pat’s Italian locations in Cranston, Johnston and Coventry, but he was also dealing with a staff shortage. “I’ve got my brick and mortar places, and then during t...

Many of the more than 4 million Italians who emigrated to the US during the Industrial Revolution to escape poverty came through Ellis Island in New York. The other port of entry, for some, was Providence. “Ellis Island was saturated,” said Walter Potenza, 68, of Providence, who owns the largest collection of Italian photographs in the state. “They...

Federal Hill may be Providence’s Little Italy, but there’s a little Italy floating through the Providence River downtown. It’s a gondola. Yes, Providence. Not Venice. To be a gondolier in Providence, however, there are a few rules:  You get an Italian name, you memorize a repertoire of songs — in Italian, of course — and you log at least 20 hours o...

What do New York City, Miami and Ibiza all have in common with Providence? The cities all have the Cipriani stamp on them. Providence is getting ready to welcome the city’s most luxurious hotel yet on September 1: the Beatrice, complete with a Cipriani-branded restaurant, which will open soon after. The high-end hotel accommodations are the latest...

If Providence were a person, it would be Judge Frank Caprio.  The municipal court fixture and star of the long-running “Caught in Providence” — a televised series of real-life court proceedings from parking tickets to speeding violations — is beloved.  Take it from the 600 or 700 people who showed up for a party to celebrate his Daytime Emmy nomina...

Francesco Caprio, known as Frank Caprio (conceived November 23, 1936) is the boss metropolitan adjudicator in Providence, Rhode Island, and the previous Chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Governors. His legal work is broadcast on the TV program Caught in Providence.  In 2017, recordings showing his court became famous online, with more than 15 m...