Review: Patsy's Ristorante in East Longmeadow fills craving for Italian comfort food
For more than a quarter century the Liquori family has been hosting an Italian Sunday dinner experience six days a week at their East Longmeadow restaurant, serving the hearty, festive fare that's long been central to Italian-American family life. Located in a private residence converted to restaurant use, Patsy's is a compact yet attractive place...
The Palio Of The Contrade: Passion, Intensity, And Intrigue
No one knows for sure when it began or exactly why, but official record formalizes the event starting in 1310. By that time, it was already an institution. I’ve wanted to witness the spectacle firsthand since I learned of it more than 30 years ago. The Palio of the Contrade, the raw, primitive, visceral horse race with murky origins wrapped in myth...
Rockin’ the sister city: Stamford band to play at festival in tiny Italian town
In a little town beside the Apennine mountains in west-central Italy, more than 4,000 miles away, you will find a whole bunch of Stamford people next month. The occasion is an age-old festival in Settefrati, a town that in the last century sent more people to Stamford than it kept for itself. The population of Settefrati now is less than 800, and t...
Italy's Coffee Culture Brims With Rituals And Mysterious Rules
Coffee — it's something many can't start the day without. In Italy, it is a cultural mainstay, and the country is perhaps the beverage's spiritual home. After all, Italy gave us the lingo — espresso, cappuccino, latte — and its coffee culture is filled with rituals and mysterious rules. Caffé Greco is Rome's oldest café. Founded in 1760, it's also...
Save Venice Celebrates Il Gran Gala a Venezia: A Venetian Affair
From June 25 to June 28, 2017, more than 125 Save Venice supporters from around the world gathered in Venice for the biennial Gran Gala a Venezia: A Venetian Affair. These four unforgettable days were filled with engaging expert-led visits to Save Venice’s restorations around the city, sumptuous meals in beautiful Venetian settings, and evening per...
Italy's annual calcio storico tournament -- part football, part MMA -- is a brutal sight to behold
A young man lies spread-eagle in the center of a sand-covered arena, blood streaming from a gash above his eye. The guy who opened up this wound is straddled across his chest, pinning him down. All around them, more men are brawling in a terrifying tangle of fists and knees, shoulder charges and thrown elbows. Lending a surreal edge to this scene i...
Italian Foods in New York That Take You to Italy
Where would you find the largest population of Italians or people of Italian origin outside Italy? Surely, it must be the US. Therefore, travelers who are not fortunate enough to have made it to Italy to savor authentic Italian cuisine must not have any regrets when they are traveling in the US. They can derive the same satisfaction of original rec...
70 years since Tropicana pioneered mass production of Florida orange juice
For 70 years, Tropicana has been adding to the American breakfast by getting freshly-squeezed orange juice from Florida into grocery stores across the U.S. The brand was created by Italian immigrant Anthony Rossi, who developed flash pasteurization and pioneered orange juice transport in 1970 via train from Florida to New York. "He figured out how...
Volunteers Prepare For 119th Tontitown Grape Festival
With three weeks to spare, volunteers are starting to prepare the homemade pasta for the 119th annual Tontitown Grape Festival. Volunteer Jettie Franco said participating in the festival is a way to share a piece of her Italian heritage with her family and the community. "I think that's what happens in a lot of nationalities, they don't pass down t...
Franny’s Replacement Will Also Be Italian and Full of Wine
With the news that 14-year-old Brooklyn pizza trendsetter Franny’s will close comes the flip side of that coin: Former Epicurean Group (L’Artusi, Dell’anima, Anfora) co-owner Joe Campanale is taking over the space, partnering with former L’Artusi executive chef Erin Shambura, who also has experience at Lupa and Del Posto, for an Italian restaurant...
Medal of Honor recipient's gesture stuns brigade
On October 25, 2007, Salvatore Giunta and his 173rd Airborne Brigade team went on a night patrol in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan and stepped into history. The unit was ambushed and came under Taliban fire from all directions. In the heat of the battle, 22-year-old Giunta did something almost unimaginable. President Barack Obama described w...
Milan: Italy's overlooked city is the crossroads of art, fashion and culture
Milan usually plays second fiddle to Italian vacation destinations such as Florence or Rome. It’s known by most Americans as a center for fashion and industry, but Milan is also a magnificent place to visit with incredible art, museums and attractions. Ed Pizzarello, a travel writer and founder of the travel blog Pizza in Motion, told me Italy is a...