Francesco LaRosa drives at Monticello Raceway
It was only one start but for Francesco Laosa a chance to drive a pacer proved fruitful when the Sicilian professional harness racing finished second in the one race that he drove at Monticello Raceway on Thursday, June 22. According to his friend Marco Barone who doubled as his interpreter, the Italian speaking professional driver and his wife Car...
Chef Spotlight: Pat Trama of Trama’s Trattoria in Long Branch
Chef Pat Trama grew up in an Italian American family steeped in traditions that focused on faith, family and food. While he was offered a full scholarship to the Culinary Institute of America, he gave it all up in order to work with the likes of powerhouse chefs Charlie Palmer, David Burke and Pino Luongo, before eventually going back to his roots...
5 fast facts about the 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
The 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio performance crossover follows the 4C and 4C Spider two-seat sports kart and the Giulia midsize sedan in the Italian brand’s return to the U.S. after a nearly 25-year absence. Based on the overwhelming popularity of crossovers, the Stelvio is crucial to the brand’s success. Stelvio is based off the Giulia midsize sedan, s...
Josephine Rotolo dies at 107; was longtime LI resident and matriarch
When a visitor walked through the door of Josephine Rotolo’s West Islip home, she never said hello. She’d give them a hug and instead ask “Have you eaten yet?” She almost always had something prepared and if she didn’t, she’d sit her guest down at the table and whip something up, her family said. Rotolo was the matriarch and epicenter of a large fa...
Italian-American crowned International Festival queen
For the third time since the International Festival’s inception 51 years ago, the reigning queen is also a member of the festival’s spotlight nationality. At the Lorain International Association Princess Pageant Thursday night, 17-year-old Madison Maniaci was named queen after representing her Italian heritage. “My grandfather is probably crying ri...
Senate passes bill to fix Verrazano Bridge spelling
If he was alive today, Giovanni da Verrazzano -- who discovered New York Harbor in 1524. -- would likely give the state Senate a thumbs up for attempting to fix the spelling of his namesake bridge. For more than 50 years, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge has been missing the second "Z" in the Italian explorer's name. But now, the state Senate has passe...
101st Carmel Feast draws hundreds
Hundreds poured Saturday into the lot behind St. Anthony’s Church off Arsenal Street to check out the annual Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, marking its 101st year. For Dexter resident Susan Naso and her husband, Mark, going to the Italian festival is all part of the early summer routine. They’ve attended every year for the last 17 years. What k...
Subway digging uncovers 'Pompeii-like scene' in Rome
Digging for Rome's new subway has unearthed the charred ruins of an early 3rd-century building and the 1,800-year-old skeleton of a crouching dog that apparently perished in the same blaze that collapsed the structure. Archaeologists on Monday said they made the discovery on May 23 while examining a 10-meter (33-foot) -deep hole bored near the anci...
'It's all about family': Visitors return to hold on to Fiesta tradition
Seeing the Mother of Grace statue carried down the main aisle toward the St. Peter’s Fiesta altar, Phyllis Moore, 90, shouted one of the first among dozens of “Viva” chants that reverberated Sunday across Gloucester’s downtown. It was 9:30 a.m. — a half-hour prior to Fiesta’s annual outdoor Mass, let alone the noon procession. But the spirit of cel...
A Little Italy at Battalion
San Antonio is a lot of things, but it isn’t a bastion of Italian cuisine. Unlike New York, Boston, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago and San Francisco, the city didn’t experience the huge wave of Italian immigration that many other U.S. cities did during the early 1900s. Consequently, our choices beyond pizza or spaghetti and meatballs have been me...
Al Centennial Park in USA si celebra il 29esimo PASQUESI DAY
Il ‘Pasquesi day’ diventa festa ufficiale negli Stati Uniti. Il sindaco di Highland Park, Illinois, ha infatti proclamato ufficialmente che la domenica dopo la festa americana del papà, sia dichiarata festa del Pasquesi Day (solitamente la quarta domenica di giugno). Nel ‘Mayoral Proclamations’ si citano le motivazioni di questo riconoscimento. Si...
Italian Cars Parade Through West Hartford for Annual Concorso Ferrari & Friends
Sunday’s warm and sunny weather was perfect for showing off an incredible collection of autos and supporting Connecticut Children’s Medical Center at the 17th Annual Concorso Ferrari & Friends in West Hartford Center. Visitors flocked to West Hartford Center on Sunday, June 25, 2017, in order to get an up-close-and-personal look at more than 200 hi...