Looking for an Italian restaurant in Rhode Island? Do you want red sauce, homestyle, freestyle, inexpensive or fine dining? Should it be a ristorante or a pizzeria? Is Federal Hill the only place to find the best? When it comes to Italian dining, there are so many questions. But there shouldn't be. Rhode Island is blessed with many and all told, th...

When Joseph Nigrelli Sr. — the patriarch of Westerly's "First Family of Jewelry" — answered the knock on his front door one recent afternoon, he was a little taken aback to see Dr. Daniel Gaccione standing there before him. When Gaccione announced he was there to tell Nigrelli he'd been named the Dante Society of Westerly's 2023 Person of the Year,...

Forty-three years is a long time. That’s over four decades - a whole quadrennial (plus three). If 43 is your age, it means you're approaching the end of early middle age and moving towards your late middle ages. At 43, you are well-seasoned, but still in your prime. If you are 43, it means that Jimmy Carter was president when you were born. Gas at...

Last weekend, the Department of Italian Studies hosted “Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour,” an Italian film festival showcasing a selection of rare and restored films from the world-renowned Cineteca Bologna. The event marked the tenth anniversary of the festival’s first visit to the University. Held in the Martinos Auditorium at the Granoff Center for t...

Two days ago was St. Joseph’s Day and bakeries on federal hill said it was one of their busiest days of the year. Thousands of residents flocked to the hill to pick up their favorite Italian pastries. “Its the most important thing in my life to keep these Italian bakeries alive, to keep the culture present,” the general manager of Scialo Bros. Bake...

March 19 in Rhode Island is all about zeppole, a pastry some say is in the shape of St. Joseph’s hammer. It's his feast day that is celebrated this week. It used to be that zeppole could only be had on the one day. But no more as they are a seasonal treat. Zeppole resemble a cream puff that’s been flattened, filled with cream and topped with more c...

Daughter Robin travels from East Greenwich to East Providence to buy her Italian deli products and ready-packaged Italian dinners at the Italian Corner. It is a much shorter trip from Edgewood or even Warwick on 95 North to 195 East to the Warren/Barrington/Seekonk exit. The deli/restaurant sits on the hill at the corner of Warren Ave. and Boyd Ave...

Both houses of the Rhode Island General Assembly will honor Irish and Italian cultures Thursday, March 16, with their traditional celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day and St. Joseph’s Day. In the House, the celebration will begin at the conclusion of business at the 4 p.m. session.  Rep. Joseph M. McNamara (D-Dist. 19, Warwick, Cranston) will regale t...

Did you know that Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla grew up in Rhode Island? You’ve probably heard that once or a thousand times by this point in the season. Zolak and Bertrand like to pick the Johnston native’s brain about peculiar Ocean State traditions on his weekly interview. During Super Bowl week they decided to ask Mazzulla his opinion of the ...

Former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino is the new owner of the Providence Columbus statue. In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Providence Board Park Commissioners, headed by Mayor Brett Smiley, selected Paolino’s bid to purchase the statue. “[Paolino] was the most responsive bidder,” said Smiley. “There were two bids, effectively the same dollar amount....