Local History: Italian immigrants helped build the local infrastructure
A prominent feature of the Brattleboro Water System is the Pleasant Valley Reservoir. It was constructed in 1909 and has become the main source of public water for the community. In September 1909, the Vermont Phoenix wrote, “Any person who has not visited the site of the reservoir which is being constructed in Pleasant Valley as a storage basin fo...
'I know I'll get by this': Senate President Ruggerio breaks silence on health, rumors of a coup
One of the most powerful men in Rhode Island has cancer. As a proud − and some close to him say "stubborn" − 75-year-old Italian man who has been a part of Rhode Island's political life for more than four decades, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio was not keen on talking about his health − or the very private conversation he had about it with his...
WH To Host Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Festival
West Haven is the host community for October’s Greater New Haven Italian American Heritage Festival. Kicking off the festivities is a dinner from 6-10 p.m. May 15 at West Haven’s Cielo Banquet Hall, 85 Chase Lane, where the city will recognize this year’s grand marshal, longtime resident Mark Consorte. Mayor Dorinda Borer, who tapped Consorte, said...
Giovanni da Verrazzano, La Dauphine, and the Discovery of Narragansett Bay
The land that is now the State of Rhode Island was first settled by Europeans in July 1621, however, this was not the first time that Europeans had visited and spent time in the area. That distinction belongs to Giovanni da Verrazzano and the crew of La Dauphine who explored the area in 1524 and spent 15 days with members of the Narragansett and Wa...
Anna Francese Gass - Italian Snacking
When: Wednesday, May 22 · 6:30 - 7:30pm EDT - Where: I AM Books, 124 Salem Street Boston, MA 02113 United States In her new cookbook, Italian Snacking: Sweet and Savory Recipes for Every Hour of the Day (Union Square & Co.; March 19, 2024; $35.00/hardcover), chef, author and culinary influencer Anna Francese Gass invites food lovers and home cooks...
Making It in America
Recently, while conducting family genealogy research, I came across an intriguing 70-page handbook titled the “Guide to the United States for the Immigrant Italian” by John Foster Carr. I immediately thought of my paternal and maternal Italian ancestors who achieved their westward destiny during the Great Arrival with the help of such organizations...
For first time in 116 years, women admitted as Framingham's Columbus Club members
It's 3 p.m. on a windy afternoon, and Jina Villa is serving drinks inside an old brick building in front of the train tracks on Fountain Street. Villa, of Framingham (MA), is among 20 or so people who were recently sworn in as new members of the city's century-old Columbus Club. But there's something different — groundbreaking, even — about this mo...
Italian Americans at Faneuil Hall
Boston's spirited Italian community began as the city attracted a steady stream of Italian immigrants in the late 1860s. By 1876, the population grew large enough for them to establish their own Italian Catholic Church, St. Leonard's, which still stands today on Hanover Street. The population stood at around 1,200 people in 1880, growing to over 25...
The Sons and Daughters Resume Meetings With a Meatball Bakeoff
And the winner is… Everyone at the March Wakefield Sons and Daughters of Italy gathering who enjoyed a variety of 10 different meatball recipes. Some members/contestants made them the way they learned from their families. Others from a cookbook or based on their instincts. It truly smelled wonderful at the West Side Social Club on March 12. Other m...
IAP 317: meatballs & memories on Wooster Square. One family’s devotion to New Haven’s Little Italy
Explore the deep roots of the Italian community in New Haven, CT with our esteemed guests, Frank Stellato and “Uncle Frank” Carano as we explore the cultural and culinary importance of the St. Andrew of Amalfi Society and the indelible mark of Italian migration on New Haven’s history. Savor the stories of reconnecting with family history and trad...
New Documentary Film Screening: “The Italian Factor” 1890s NYC Sculptors: The Piccirilli Brothers
On Thursday, April 18 at 5 p.m. in the Diffley Board Room, Bellarmine Hall (1073 North Benson Road Fairfield, CT) filmmaker Eduardo Montes-Bradley will present his new documentary, The Italian Factor, about the Italian-born Piccirilli brothers, who sculpted many important important monuments in New York including the lions that grace the entrance t...
‘St. Patrick was Italian’: North End restaurant owners protest outdoor dining restrictions at St. Patrick’s Day breakfast
North End restaurant owners protested outside the annual St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in opposition to the City of Boston’s outdoor dining regulations, local news reported. More than a dozen restaurant owners and their staff were outside the Ironworkers Local 7 Hall in South Boston, NBC reported. Breakfast attendees heading inside the hall heard a s...