rita cipalla

From Seattle’s finest dining establishments to the local McDonald’s, from grocery stores to the Space Needle Restaurant, Gai’s Northwest Bakeries was a popular supplier of breads and rolls for the better half of the 20th century. The bakery was started …

As a writer, Tom Perrotta may not be a household name but chances are you’re familiar with some of the films based on his books. Perrotta’s novel Election, the story of an intense campaign for high school class president,  became …

Food and hospitality are two of the lodestones of Italian culture, part of its DNA. Lisa Caruccio and her husband Rino took these elements to the next level when they opened Caruccio’s Culinary Event Center in September. A stunning event …

In 1975, just a dozen years after its founding, Seattle Opera created an international sensation when it staged the complete production of Richard Wagner’s “Ring” in the six-day cycle prescribed by the composer. This landmark accomplishment stood the opera world …

Walk into the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Seattle these days and the first thing that grabs your attention is the aroma. No, not of coffee roasting but of hot bread and scrumptious pastries, baked daily on the premises in three …

Maria Coassin is passionate about gelato. Not just its creamy texture, distinctive flavorings or even the specialty ingredients she imports from around the world: Madagascar vanilla, Sicilian pistachios, couverture chocolate from Tanzania.     Coassin loves the science of it. …

A new Italian film, “The Truth About Love Is… (La verità, vi spiego, sull’amore),” was warmly received by audiences during its North America premiere at the 43rd annual Seattle International Film Festival. This smart, snappy and thoroughly modern take on …

From Theodore Roosevelt to Elvis Presley, from William Howard Taft to Babe Ruth, guests who stayed in the New Washington Hotel in downtown Seattle ranged from presidents to sports stars to music idols. This once-elegant 14-story building on the corner …

The camera loved Nicoletta Machiavelli, a sultry, dark-haired Italian beauty best known for her roles in the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s. She co-starred with such screen favorites as Marcello Mastroianni, Burt Reynolds, David McCallum and Dan Duryea. How did …

A semester abroad changed the very course of Michelle Bufano’s life. Bufano, executive director of Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, was a science major at Marquette University, on track to become a speech pathologist. When a study abroad opportunity …