rita cipalla

Seattle is said to have more coffee shops per capita than any other city in the country― at last count, 43 cafés every 100,000 residents. But even in a city synonymous with coffee behemoth Starbucks, there are still plenty of …

Astra Zarina, who studied architecture at the University of Washington in the early 1950s and later became a UW professor, began traveling to the picturesque hill town of Civita di Bagnoregio in the 1960s. This historic gem, perched high atop …

It’s not often you find a nuclear engineer and an MBA graduate running a restaurant.  But the unique talents and interests that Filippo Fiori and Davide Macchi bring to Dué Cucina Italiana are what set this Capitol Hill eatery apart. …

Relevant, passionate and fiercely devoted to the arts: these words are used to describe Gage Academy of Art, a fine art school in Seattle that celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, but can be applied equally as well to the …

Composer and Seattle native Mateo Messina has scored the soundtracks for more than 50 films and 100 television episodes and won a Grammy award for scoring the 2007 hit film Juno, yet he might be one of the city’s least-known …

From Raphael to Titian, Parmigianino to Gentileschi, 40 magnificent works of art from southern Italy’s largest museum arrive in Seattle this month. Flesh and Blood: Italian Masterpieces from the Capodimonte Museum opens at the Seattle Art Museum October 17 and …

The new film from director Laura Luchetti, Twin Flower (Fiore Gemello) explores unlikely friendships and the loss of innocence, set against the starkly beautiful landscape of Sardinia. The film had its American premiere in May during the Seattle International Film …

Diners looking for The Pink Door restaurant, a Seattle institution for nearly 40 years, need to know there is virtually no signage. Just head down Post Alley near Pike Place Market, look for the slate-gray exterior walls and enter through, …

In the early 1980s, Wine & Spirits magazine named a Washington state Cabernet Sauvignon the best in the nation. It was a surprising announcement, since Washington wines at the time were under-the-radar in terms of quality and sophistication.   “Buyers looked upon Washington as …

Many Italian immigrants who arrived in the Northwest in the late 1890s found themselves toiling for low pay in dangerous and physically demanding jobs, such as logging or mining. Those who could find another way to make a living did …