Happy birthday, little bookstore
Well, little bookstore, you have just turned two. It’s hard to grasp the notion of time inside the magical box that you are. You have grown so much in these two years. When you were a baby, and we all celebrated your birth on Oct. 29, 2015, you were so small, so lean. Looking back, I realize how frail you must have looked to anyone seeing you for t...
Winchester Center pizzeria Comella’s plans November opening
Winchester’s Italian food enthusiasts can rejoice: a new location of Boston’s Italian food chain Comella’s is coming to Winchester. The town is Comella’s 14th location in Massachusetts. The opening date has not been confirmed, the restaurant will open in November, according to the owners. The new space, located at 529 Main St., will seat 27 custome...
Mandolin Classes with August Watters
IAM Books - 189 North Street. Boston, MA 02113. Six Wednesdays, 6-7:30 pm. November 1, 8, 15, 29. December 6, 13. (no class Nov. 22). $250. Introduction to the Italian Mandolin Mandolin is Italy’s most iconic musical instrument. It’s best known as an accompaniment to Neapolitan song, or perhaps as featured in Vivaldi’s concertos — but the mandolin ...
Placido “Tom” Bongiovanni
Placido “Tom” Bongiovanni, 92, died at 8:17 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017 at the Salem Regional Medical Center. He was born Jan. 4, 1925, in New York City, the son of the late Giuseppe and Maria (Comminitti) Bongiovanni. Tom was a brick layer for Wisconsin Steel in Chicago. He was a member of St. Paul Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, 4th Deg...
Lincoln resident takes one-man play to the big city
A piece of Rhode Island’s nostalgic past is making its way to New York City. Nick Albanese of Lincoln is taking his one-man play, “The Last Sicilian,” about his childhood, Italian roots and growing up working alongside his family at their bakery to the “big city.” Albanese, who lives in town with his wife and three children, said the 80-minute perf...
Haute Neighborhood Guide To Boston’s North End
Not only is Boston’s Little Italy one of the most flavorful and aroma filled neighborhoods in the city to dine, but the North End is also host to some of Boston’s most historic sites. No matter the time of year, there is always something going on in the city’s oldest residential one-square-mile waterfront community, which was founded in the early 1...
Fazoli’s To Make Debut In Connecticut With New Milldale Restaurant
Fazoli’s, America’s largest fast casual Italian chain, announced today the opening of its newest franchised restaurant in Milldale, Connecticut. Located at 1875 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike, the new restaurant will celebrate its grand opening with the Southington Chamber of Commerce at a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 23 at 4:30 p.m. and will off...
Italy’s “Prince of Singer-Songwriters” FRANCESCO DE GREGORI to make US Debut
Italian singer-songwriter Francesco De Gregori is as esteemed in his homeland as his American contemporary Bob Dylan. After an award-winning career spanning nearly 50 years, De Gregori will finally make his US debut in November. A pair of intimate theater shows has been announced for Sunday, November 5th at The Regent Theatre in Arlington, MA (Bo...
Honoring Sal DiMasi is complicated
Couldn’t the North End Columbus Day Celebration Committee find an Italian-American who didn’t go to prison for public corruption to honor with a public service award? Former House speaker and convicted felon Sal DiMasi was recently recognized by a North End community organization, at an event attended by Mayor Marty Walsh and City Council President...
Thousands view St. Padre Pio relics at St. Thomas More
St. Pio of Pietrelcina — known throughout the world as Padre Pio — likely faces competition only from John Paul II and Mother Teresa for the title of most popular saint of the 20th Century. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that the public veneration of his relics at St. Thomas More Church attracted record crowds to the Narragansett parish. More...
Commemorating October Italian American Heritage Month
The October 2017 Italian American Heritage Kick Off at Massachusetts State House was sponsored by the Italian Consul General Nicola De Santis and the Italian American Heritage Committee. Speaker of the House Rep. Robert De Leo served as Master of Ceremonies ushering in a full month of activities all over the Commonwealth run by Italian and Italian-...
‘Pomodoro’ aims to modernize city’s 80-year-old Italian tradition
Roger Savini, owner of Savini’s Restaurant, was eating Italian food on Rathbun Street before he was even born, at least according to family legend. Grandmother Anna Savini was a cook at the restaurant’s predecessor, the Sons of Italy, in the 1940s, and when her pregnant daughter came in for a meal, she’d tuck an extra meatball beneath the pasta jus...