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The fire is burning, the pans are sizzling, the kitchen is cranking, and customers are flocking to Avvio Ristorante. Located in the Garden City Center in Cranston, Rhode Island, Avvio is lot nicer than most neighborhood Italian restaurants and pizzerias, but a lot less expensive than you’d expect, considering the consistently fresh and authentic fo...

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If you haven't been to Pat's Italian Restaurant in a while, you haven't been to Pat's. Before a visit last month, I hadn't been to Pat's since the Boston Red Sox were down three games to the New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series. I was there the Saturday night the Sox lost, 19-8. For that dinner at Pat's, I dined by a fau...

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Italian immigrants have stamped New England as indelibly as any Puritan ever since they started to arrive in large numbers during the 1890s. Today, the descendants of Italian immigrants make up more than 10 percent of the population of every New England state except Vermont and Maine. Any New Englander can recognize the voice of Don Orsillo, Joe Ca...

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Tony Petrarca refers to his first time on the air at WPRI after graduating from Lyndon State College as “the scariest three-and-half minutes in his life.” “March 17, 1987,” Tony recalled. “I just remember going a mile a minute. My mom called after the newscast [and said] ‘You were hyperventilating. Slow down.’ But it got better from there.” Now, WP...

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The Pannese Society of Rhode Island’s “Taste of Italy” held last Sunday served as a kickoff and thank you for the non-profit’s on-going Sister City program with Panni Foggia, Italy. “Papa Joe would be proud of what’s going on here this afternoon,” said Pasquale Simone at the “Taste of Italy” that was served at the nationally-accredited Johnston Sen...

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Massimo Riva and his friend Guy Borlée sat at a café table outside the Piazza Maggiore in Bologna sipping wine and dreaming of ways to share their experiences with Riva's friends and family back home in Providence. "I wanted to bring this back to my students at Brown," says Riva, who is a professor of Italian studies at the university. "Brown has b...

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If you enjoy traditional Italian dinners that include pasta, chicken and more, plan on being at the Johnston Senior Center on Sunday afternoon, February 26. That’s where the proud Pannese Society of Rhode Island will host and serve what promises to be a unique “Taste of Italy” after the doors open at one o’clock. According to Louis Mansolillo, a me...

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A documentary on ex-Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci will be shown at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Jamestown Arts Center, 16 Valley St. The Emmy Award-winning movie, “Buddy: The Rise and Fall of America’s Most Notorious Mayor,” was written, produced and directed by Cherry Arnold. It is a complex portrait of the contradictory and audacious man who became the...

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Avvio sounds sleek, like a celebrity baby name, but it loosely translates to “start” in Italian. What a fitting name for this restart of Papa Razzi, a 20-year Garden City favorite. Avvio’s concept is similar to its predecessor. This is not surprising since both the Newport Restaurant Group and the Papa Razzi chain are owned by the same Rhode Island...

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Former Mayor Buddy Cianci, the wisecracking political rogue who presided over the revitalization of Providence during two stints in office cut short by criminal charges and a prison sentence for corruption, died Thursday. He was 74. Cianci's employer, WLNE-TV, and a friend, Artin Coloian, confirmed his death. Coloian said he died Thursday morning....

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