Comedian Red Buttons once quipped of Dean Martin and his songs, “Let me put it this way: If Dracula bit him in the neck, he’d get a bloody Mary!” While Martin did admit that he enjoyed his cocktails, he long asserted that his boozy, lazy image was more the stuff of legend. “Down deep, [people] know I’m not a lazy guy. If there’s ever a benefit [and...

Tony Bennett, the Astoria native and late singer who gained international fame, will soon have a street co-named after him. The city council passed a bill Wednesday that will see the intersection of 32nd Street and Ditmars Boulevard co-named Tony Bennett Place, in honor of the singer who died in July at the age of 96. Bennett, who grew up in an apa...

The first event in Washington Concert Opera’s 37th season, on Dec. 2, was the D.C. premiere of Gioachino Rossini’s “Ermione,” an opera that “immediately sank into oblivion” in 1819, according to WCO co-founder Peter Russell. Why did it fail? Musically, Rossini “might have just pushed the envelope a little too far” for the Naples audience, suggested...

When Dave Anthony Setteducati and his wife joined the local Sons of Italy lodge in Smithtown, NY several years ago, they were looking to make new friends that shared the same heritage. After all, Nassau and Suffolk counties have one of the largest numbers of Italian surnamed families in the country! Not only did they make many new connections, but...

In a captivating evening hosted at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York, the region of Basilicata took center stage with its rich cultural heritage. The event saw the presence of Fabio Finotti, the director of the Institute, Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele, and the President of Basilicata, Vito Bardi, who provided a journey into the treasu...

Just like last year, We the Italians decided that also in 2023 we wanted to name the Italian American of the year. Last year there was little time to survey all our 100,000 newsletter subscribers, and we asked the members of our team. Stanley Tucci was the 2022 winner. This year we asked all of you, and we had a great response! This year too we dec...

Direct from sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall, Café Carlyle and 54 Below Nightclub, Anthony Nunziata – with his Michael Buble/Andrea Bocelli-esque voice – will win your heart and applause on a special one-night-only performance on Saturday December 23rd 7:30pm at Yorktown Stage. His hit holiday show includes your Christmas favorites, Italian arias...

It's a scene as quintessentially Philly as a run up the Art Museum steps: In the heart of the Italian Market in South Philadelphia, a rusted-bottom metal barrel sits on the asphalt of 9th Street with flames licking out its top. What may appear post-apocalyptic to some is to others a convenient source of heat, if not a deep, nostalgic comfort. And n...

Andrea Bocelli is going to make another attempt at performing in Boston this holiday season. The Italian tenor has announced rescheduled dates for a string of postponed concerts amid some rare struggles with his world-renowned voice.  "As many fans now know, Andrea Bocelli has been working through health challenges forcing the famed tenor to postpo...

Lola Dee passed away at the age of 95 on Thursday. The Italian American singer died of natural causes in a nursing facility in Hinsdale, Illinois, according to an announcement by her publicist and CD producer Alan Eichler. She was a popular singer in the 1950s and had toured with Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Johnnie Ray. Her 1951 hit song, Pretty Ey...