La vita italiana

Many people, especially native San Francis-can’s, certainly noticed when the historic North Beach establishment, the U.S. Restaurant, closed for remodeling in April, 2015.  Patrons would walk by 515 Columbus Avenue looking for signs of a much anticipated reopening.  Months went …

La spartenza is a literary jewel, a linguistic triumph and the precious preservation of one man’s journey to the USA from a small town in Sicily. Written by a semi-literate contadino who was fluent in dialect rather than Italian or …

Tiziana Rocca, general manager of the Taormina Film Fest since 2012, has been largely innovating the historic Sicilian festival, founded in 1955. Her main concerns are to celebrate and foster Italian young talents, as well as to assure female filmmakers …

The streets of Sicily is where you’ll find the real people, the locals who work hard and take pride in everything they do. They do it with a smile and in my experience, they always seem happy to engage in …

Audrey Hepburn. Gregory Peck. Rome. A Vespa. Nobody can forget the funny and entertaining scene of one of Italian most popular movies, Vacanze Romane, and this is mainly because the characters, the location, the style perfectly represented Italy and the …

Pulcinella was going to Biella, sitting on a carriage, and if the horse had been attached, then certainly by this time would have arrived.  Pulcinella was going to Turin, sitting on a horse, and if the horse had not been …

Nestled in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley stand the historical Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes of Bacigalupi Vineyards.  Growers Charles and Helen Bacigalupi are internationally known after winning the 1976 Paris Tasting. Not only represents this a Californian success, but …

The Bridge Art Exchange Building in Santa Monica opened a little over a month ago on December 12th in collaboration with the Bice Bugatti Club Italy, the solo exhibit of Franco Marrocco, professor and director of the prestigious Academy of …

It was a beautiful day in November when I stepped off the train in Cefalù. Pots of petunias and geraniums were growing on every windowsill and balcony, and the palm trees that shaded the train station were so perfect they …

“Being Italian-American in New York, I am very proud of my heritage. It’s something I have great pride in and I’m a little emotional, knowing how proud my father and grandfather would be if they could see me here.” It …