Cuomo Names Joseph Tusiani New York State Poet Laureate Emeritus in Recognition of Contributions to International Literary Community
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the appointment of New York's 11th State Author, Edmund White, and 11th State Poet, Yusef Komunyakaa. In celebration of Italian-American poet Joseph Tusiani's lifelong dedication to the arts, Cuomo has also named him New York State Poet Laureate Emeritus. Governor Cuomo said, "These talented, inspiring...
The good fortune of Italy’s Riace bronzes
by Salvatore Settis The popularity of the Riace bronzes dates back to December 1981, when -- displayed for the first time in Florence in an exhibition scheduled for just three weeks -- they were discovered by the general public; this established their reputation and caused the exhibition to be extended until June 24. That prompted...
Phil Scrimenti pursues acting career
by Mary Solberg Phil Scrimenti enjoys asking people, "Who do you think I look like?" If they say he resembles a doctor or lawyer, he nods knowingly. That's what most people think. But when someone recently mentioned he could be a look-a-like for James Gandolfini from "The Sopranos," he quickly jotted it down in a notebook for future r...
The Center for Italian and Italian American Culture offers scholarships
The Center for Italian and Italian American Culture is offering two Peter Cocoziello Sr. scholarships this year, each in the amount of $2,500. The center administers the scholarship monies annually. The Peter Cocoziello Scholarship Fund was established in 2005 by Peter Cocoziello Sr. to be awarded to a deserving high school senior of Italian o...
Motorcycle review: Ducati XDiavel
by Andria Yu Ducati is trying to market a cruiser again – this time with it's new XDiavel. At first glance, it looks similar to the original Diavel, and the name is pretty much the same, save for an extra letter. But it's actually a very different motorcycle. First, let's back up to the origins of the new X. Ducati North...
College scholarships available
The Italian-American Police Association is sponsoring the Erie County Deputy Sheriff Robert S. Insalaco Financial Scholarship Award and Buffalo Police Patrolman David J. Scime Financial Scholarship Award. The funds are meant to assist a motivated student in the furtherance of his or her college education in memory of two deceased members of the ass...
Sardinia and the myth of Atlantis
According to the Italian expert Sergio Frau, the beautiful island of Sardinia may be Plato's island of Atlantis. The Italian writer and Atlantis expert believes that the southern end of the Mediterranean isle resembles an underwater Pompeii, which may have been the inspiration for Plato's fictional Island of Atlantis. A claim that explicitly contra...
Pizza franchise has plans to expand into Boynton Beach
Chef Anthony Russo, the founder of chef-driven dining concepts that include Russo's New York Pizzeria and Russo's Coal-Fired Italian Kitchen, has plans to expand his franchise throughout Florida, including Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Boynton Beach. The restaurant has a location in Pembroke Pines (14910 Pines Blvd.) with its Coal-Fired Italian K...
The next Copenhagen? Bari plans €7.9m seafront revamp
A new project hopes to "give back the sea" to Bari's residents, by making it more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists, and adding extra facilities to the waterfront. In plans that were unveiled on Saturday and for which the province has secured millions in funding, the ambitious project will "reconnect" the city centre with the Adriatic sea thr...
29 Things You Must Do In Naples
An old Italian saying goes: "see Naples and then you die", meaning that once you've seen the famous Southern Italian city you have seen all what is worth seeing on Earth, and that after leaving it you will miss it terribly. It may be slightly exaggerated, but to us, Naples is absolutely a place to visit at least once in a lifetime, letting...
When America Was Almost Vespucia
Did you know that America was almost called Vespucia? I'm not referring to the United States, by the way. More than five hundred years, the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci determined that the continent "discovered" by Christopher Columbus in 1492 was not, in fact, Asia. This simple realization was apparently enough to warrant naming two...
Counterfeiting an ancient problem, 2000 years ago the first brand said “Made in Rome”
Sometimes, it is appropriate to say, there is nothing more present than the past. While Italy has been for years now at the forefront in the battle to protect the quality of its products against counterfeiting and unfair competition from China, an exhibition at Trajan's market in Rome reminds us that the use of brands is nothing new. Logos, s...