rita cipalla

From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Italian film industry was booming. Dramas, comedies, no matter the genre, there were so many films coming out of Rome that it was jokingly referred to as Hollywood on the Tiber. Films often …

To say that Iole Alessandrini would travel to the ends of the Earth to capture images of light, time and space is no exaggeration.  In fact, the Seattle artist spent two weeks this past October in the Arctic Circle, traveling …

Founded in 1907, Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market attracts about 10 million tourists and local residents every year. Seventy farmers have fruit and vegetable stalls, and another 160 artists sell their handcrafted products and artwork there. And don’t forget the …

Nestled above the valley, on the southern slope of Mount Subasio, lies the ancient hill town of Spello, surely one of Italy’s prettiest. Around every corner, down every winding street and alleyway, are stunning photos just waiting to be taken.  …

Walk the quiet stone streets of Lucignano and it’s easy to see why it was named one of the most beautiful towns in Italy. This small fortified village in Tuscany, not far from Arezzo, is famous not only for its cultural and …

Go into any bookstore and you’ll likely see a well-stocked cookbook section. There are cookbooks by continent, country, and geographic region. Some are arranged by meal, by season, or by holiday. Others devote themselves to variations on a single dish …

Cinema Italian Style, which ran November 9-16 at the SIFF Uptown Theater in Seattle, presented 15 stellar films in celebration of the festival’s 15th season.   Fourteen of those films were new releases and one – Visconti’s Bellissima – was …

Sister-city friendships come with economic, artistic and cross-cultural benefits, but even more than that, they offer meaningful personal relationships and ongoing friendships. The idea of creating global understanding person-to-person was a driving force behind President Dwight Eisenhower’s creation of the …

Author and cooking school owner Fabrizia Lanza grew up in Sicily, immersed in the world of food and wine. Raised on her family’s 200-acre agricultural estate in Regaleali, southeast of Palermo, she is part of a well-known Sicilian winemaking family. …

The great wave of Italian immigrants to the United States began in the 1880s and lasted until 1920. More than four million Italians made the journey, with about 75 percent settling in cities on the East Coast. A small contingent …