LIFE & PEOPLE

The story of Frank Chindamo’s grandparents, who, in the 1920’s, emigrated from Cinquefrondi, a village in the Aspromonte (in Calabria, region of Italy), to the United Sates – where they managed to make ends meet, by working in the shoe …

Not many may know it, but musicians of Italian descent left an indelible mark in the history of Jazz. Jazz, the rebellious lovechild of ragtime and blues, of spirituals and traditional American ballads, has also Italian blood running in its …

Once you exit the freeway – whether the “605” or “5,” depending on your route – an Emerald City appears on the horizon. No, you’re not re-experiencing The Wizard of Oz in a dream. What you’re seeing before your eyes …

As Italy prepares to commemorate its patron saint on October 4th, we’re reminded of his life’s work. Living in poverty, renouncing worldly goods and working with lepers, San Francesco lived a pious, humble life. And there are many legends around …

Dan Giusti is a passionate and humble man, a young Italian-American who gave his job up in December as the Head Chef of NOMA, voted best restaurant in the world for four-years-running to feed and nourish American school children for …

Producer, filmmaker, cultural ambassador, speaker, Italian gestures expert…Luca Vullo is a man possessed with a perpetual smile – and with a love of culture and humanity. He is a type of anthropologist, watching and enjoying the everyday human, discovering what …

Three-time Oscar winner, Vittorio Storaro is more than just a legendary Italian cinematographer – recognized by the Academy for his outstanding visual work in Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Beatty’s Reds and Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor – he is a philosopher of …

Most of you probably know him better as “Chef Boyardee,” the name and face behind a popular brand of Italian style canned foods.  Established in 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio, by brothers Ettore, Mario and Paul, “Chef Boyardee” (spelled phonetically to …

With a gifted musician for a grandfather and an opera singer for an uncle, it’s no surprise that Rebecca Novelli chose an artistic path. A California native, she worked in southern California for years as a writer, editor and educator, …

Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci might be famous for their early explorations of the New World, yet another Italian adventurer who commanded a four-year expedition to the Pacific Northwest, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand—said to be one of the …