State OSDIA celebrates 100th anniversary
The Grand Lodge of Illinois/Wisconsin of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America celebrated its 100th anniversary on Oct. 13 at the Silver Oaks Country Club. The event brought together members and friends to reflect on the century-long journey of an organization dedicated to preserving Italian heritage, promoting community service and supp...
History and politics collide in Ohio’s capital
As a third-generation Italian American growing up in the Little Italy neighborhood of South Philadelphia, I fondly remember learning about my immigrant grandparents. They immersed themselves in Italian opera and took great pride in the history and masterpieces of renowned Italian artisans and sculptors. Our home, like many in the neighborhood, was...
Volunteers deliver best holiday gift ever!
We put out the word and they turned out in droves. In what can only be described as a holiday miracle, nearly three dozen volunteers and benefactors pitched in to pack and move the Italian American Veterans Museum from Dec. 26-28. The distance travelled was negligible — from the top floor of the Office Center to a building across the grounds — but...
Christmas Eve on Carpenter Street
My mother’s family came to America from their home in Acerra and eventually settled in the near-west side of Chicago in the Little Italy area, much of which has since disappeared under the concrete of The University of Illinois-Chicago. They established a grocery store and meat counter that saw them through the Depression, supporting the five child...
Derks to step up to Columbian Club presidency
For Christopher Derks, finally becoming president of the Columbian Club of Chicago is an honor … and a bit of surprise. “You work your way up through the ranks, so you know it’s coming,” he says of the presidency. “It has come a lot quicker than I was expecting.”Derks will assume the presidency on Jan. 1, but the club’s annual installation dinner h...
Parisi a master of collaborative community art
The Italian American community knows Jean Parisi best as La Befana, the good Christmas witch who made appearances for decades at yuletide celebrations throughout the Chicago area. But that’s just the tip of the cultural iceberg for this veteran community arts activist. Over the decades, she has created massive community art installations, staged pl...
Italian Women in Chicago, Volume II, Siamo arrivate (We have arrived)
The Casa Italia Library/ Italian Cultural Center (Chicago) announces the release of Italian Women in Chicago, Volume II, Siamo arrivate (We have arrived). This anthology is a collection of stories, spotlights, poetry, and much more. You can order Italian Women in Chicago vol ii from Casa Italia here. Focusing on “Saving Our Stories,” “Pop Culture,”...
Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival announces scholarship increase
There was a special announcement on Sunday night at the Undo’s Upper Ohio Valley Italian Heritage Festival’s Annual Christmas Gala. The festival’s board of trustees announced that they will be adding an additional $500 to their scholarship awards. Each year, the festival has awarded two local students a $1,000 scholarship, and now they will increas...
'Traditions and Progress' exhibit chronicles history of Italian Americans in local area
The exhibit “Traditions and Progress: Italian Americans in Northern Indiana” continues through May 4 at The History Museum, 897 Thomas St. The exhibit features photographs, maps, artifacts and information about the history of Italian Americans in northern Indiana, a press release says. “Traditions and Progress” describes the heritage, values and wi...
Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection in Chicago in March 2025
In order to meet Cupid and Psyche, as is only right since they are two mythological figures, one has to penetrate into the ancient heart of the capital, in Trastevere. Beyond a small secret garden, crowned in the center by a citrus tree, is a room with a very high ceiling where the mortal Psyche, who in beauty equaled Venus, forever holds in her ma...
A very Italian suburb
As I grew up in Highwood, visiting my friends was like being in my own home: the same foods were served, I sat on the same style furniture, and I saw pictures of relatives on their walls posted in a fashion similar to mine at home. The promotional calendars of the local Italian insurance firm hung right next to the pictures of the pope in all our k...
The Italian American Veterans Museum is on the march!
After nearly two decades at Casa Italia, the Italian American Veterans Museum will be bidding a fond farewell to our longtime home and marching confidently toward a promising future. We’re going to need your support like never before: please donate here. We’re calling on supporters past and future to give as generously as you can to help us defray...