A Look Back At 'The Godfather,' With Mario Puzo And Francis Ford Coppola
DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm David Bianculli, editor of the website TV Worth Watching, sitting in for Terry Gross. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Mario Puzo's "The Godfather." A new edition has just been released with an introduction by Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola and Puzo co-wrote the screenplays for...
Feast of St. Joseph Tied to the Heart of Italian Traditions and Faith
We’re in the middle of March and for Italians, March means a few things. For one thing, we’re in Lent, so chances are, Catholics have Easter on their minds. But before that, we’re looking forward to celebrating the Feast of St. Joseph, or La Festa San Giuseppe, in Italian. Celebrated on March 19th, the feast honors Joseph, husband to the Virgin Mar...
DiLella, Giordano to Lead U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) congratulates Daniel DiLella and Frank Giordano for their appointments as Chair and Executive Director of the United States Semiquincentennial Commission, respectively, in Spring 2018. The U.S. Semiquincentennial will celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence and the founding of the Uni...
‘Leading Men,’ a Novel About Tennessee Williams and His Lover, Casts a Spell From the Start
In his 1956 book “In the Winter of Cities,” Tennessee Williams printed a small and exquisite poem titled “Little Horse,” a tribute to his lover Frank Merlo. This poem ends: "Mignon he is or mignonette avec les yeux plus grands que lui. My name for him is Little Horse. I wish he had a name for me." Williams and Merlo were together from roughly 1947...
Pubblicato il consuntivo 2018 dell'Italian Wine & Food Institute
I dati appena rilasciati dal Department of Commerce, (dopo la sosta conseguente al blocco delle attività amministrative USA), confermano che il 2018 si è concluso, come era stato già anticipato nelle prospezioni effettuate dall'Italian Wine & Food Institute, senza particolari sostanziali variazioni rispetto all’anno precedente. Secondo Lucio Caputo...
Mario Batali Exits His Restaurants
The 20-year partnership between the celebrity chef Mario Batali and the Bastianich family of restaurateurs was formally dissolved on Wednesday, more than a year after several women accused Mr. Batali of sexual harassment and assault. Mr. Batali “will no longer profit from the restaurants in any way, shape or form,” said Tanya Bastianich Manuali, wh...
Pieranunzi lands role in national tour of “Bronx Tale” musical
Chicago-area native Robert Pieranunzi will dance his way into the Nederlander Theatre as Frankie Coffeecake in the first Broadway national tour of the musical version of “A Bronx Tale.” After leaving the biz for nearly 10 years to build a corporate career, Pieranunzi was whisked back to his passion when he was cast as Busby Berkeley in a world prem...
From Rafael Ortiz to Andre’ DiMino
Our IAOVC Executive Board Member, Andre DiMino has been in regular communications with Rafael Ortiz, author of the Columbus books; “Christopher Columbus The Hero” and “Columbus Day vs Indigenous People Day.” He was happy to see we have been posting many of the true facts of Columbus. He was very pleased at our efforts! He is grateful we have been r...
A star is blocked: Chinese broadcaster blurs out Lady Gaga while showing the Oscars - sparking speculation the singer is censored by Beijing because she met the Dalai Lama
She was the talk of this year's Oscars, but many audience in China didn't see her at all during the ceremony. A Chinese TV station has censored Lady Gaga when it broadcast the awards ceremony on its website, sparking speculation the singer has been censored by Beijing. Lady Gaga's fans in China have been enraged by the move from Mango TV, which the...
Italian architect Ferruccio Laviani imbues iconic Foscarini lamps with color
Released in the United States for the first time this month, the Be Colour capsule collection reworks designs from Italian lighting brand Foscarini’s catalog of decorative luminaires. The Venice-based company asked its longtime collaborator Ferruccio Laviani to reimagine some the company’s most iconic pieces. The architect chose a bold color palett...
Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., USN (ret) Named First Sons of Italy Foundation NELA GALA Honorary Chairman
The Sons of Italy Foundation® (SIF), which is the philanthropic arm of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America® (OSDIA), named Admiral Ed Giambastiani as the first-ever Honorary Chairman of the National Education & Leadership Awards (NELA) Gala. The 31st Annual NELA Gala will be held on May 23, 2019 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convent...
Tuscany’s ties to the United States, as told by gelato
The spirit of #Insieme200 (“#Together200”) is present everywhere in our daily lives, even in the neighborhood gelateria. One of the first known American recipes for a gelato-like dessert was scrawled out by none other than Thomas Jefferson. One can imagine that he got the idea for this from his good friend Filippo Mazzei, who perhaps brought over t...