For 50 years, members of the Mazzini-Verdi Club and Mazzini-Verdi Ladies Club have gathered at 9230 Belmont Ave. in Franklin Park to spend time together, host events in the clubhouse ballroom and play in friendly yet competitive games of bocce on the indoor courts. To lead the clubs as they begin the next 50 years are two presidents with plenty of experience, Luigi Banducci and Lydia Arnstein. Arnstein joined the Mazzini-Verdi Ladies Club around 35 years ago. This year and next will be Arnstein’s third two-year term as president. Her predecessor, Giovanna Carlino, sadly passed away late last year, during …

Spinal muscular atrophy may confine her to a wheelchair, but it hasn’t prevented Luisa Rizzo from soaring to the top of the drone racing world. The pinnacle of 23-year-old Luisa Rizzo’s drone racing career so far was her triumph at the 2024 Women’s World Drone Racing Championship in Hangzhou, China. She used her innate talent, lightning-fast reflexes and strategic prowess to outlast 111 of the world’s best pilots, all while seated in her motorized wheelchair. “When I won the gold medal, it was unexpected for everyone. I had everyone cheering for me, not just Italians,” Rizzo says. “I was not …

Attorney Lindsey Mirabella’s first experience with the DuPage County Chapter of the Justinian Society of Lawyers came when she was instructed to attend an event by one of the partners at her first law firm after she passed the bar in 2021. “As a baby attorney, of course I said ‘Yes ma’am I will certainly be there,’” Mirabella says. “I loved it right away, it felt like home.” Mirabella was brought onto the chapter’s board almost immediately and before she knew it she was helping plan the group’s annual charity ball. “I was a total fish out of water just …

A full-time MLB umpire since 2011 and a crew chief since 2023, Dan Bellino is upping his game on behalf of his compatriots as president of the Major League Baseball Umpires Association. When Fra Noi last checked in with Dan Bellino in 2011, he’d just been named a full-time MLB umpire after spending parts of three seasons as a replacement. In the 14 seasons since, Bellino has umpired 1,758 MLB games and earned the respect of his peers: In 2023 he was promoted to crew chief and just last year was chosen by his peers to serve as the president …

Dr. Charles Martello had already been practicing dentistry for more than a decade before he first became aware of, and subsequently involved with, the Arcolian Dental Arts Society in 2002. Martello graduated from Loyola University’s dental school in 1987 and joined several other dental societies when he began his career, including the American Dental Association, Illinois State Dental Society, and Chicago Dental Society. “I wish that I had been a member (of the Arcolians) when I was back at Loyola,” Martello says. “It is a great group but I didn’t know of it and when you’re at that level you’re …

Since the start of 2025, Casa Italia has undergone a dramatic transformation after switching landlords for the first time in its history. To lead the group through this rinascimento, Casa Italia’s board chose a man with a lifetime of experience in banking and finance. “They wanted my guidance and I was honored,” says Peter Volpe, whose term as Casa’s Chairman runs the rest of the year. Casa Italia has been a “home away from home” for the Chicago-area Italian-American community for more than a quarter of a century, according to Volpe. For most of that time, the Casa leased the …

The Chicago 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park recently honored two of the sports most dedicated local legends: Frank and Tom Lentine. Among the artifacts on display at the Chicago 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park is a photo of a local team called the Dr. Carlucci BobCats, taken just after they won the 1969 National Championship. To the right of the big trophy, the viewer can see BobCats star player Frank Lentine holding his then 3-year-old son, Tom. The photo captures one of countless great moments Frank and Tom have shared through the …

Rose Mary Ranallo, president of the Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans since 2008, has a deep connection to the organization and has no plans to walk away anytime soon. Her mother, Gina Acino Sclafani, has been a Women’s Division member since 1980, including a stint as president. Ranallo says her mother always encouraged her to get involved and she finally relented in the early 2000s. “I finally came to a meeting and got hooked in with the lovely ladies,” Ranallo says. “I love the camaraderie with them and what the cause is, especially the scholarship …

Three Italians graced UIC Women’s Volleyball Team with her talents during the 2025 season. What would compel a young Italian to leave her home and family to enroll at a state-run university in Chicago? For the three Italians on the 2025 Women’s Volleyball Team at the University of Illinois Chicago, the answer is a combination of wanting to travel, the desire for a challenge and knowing they would be part of a robust community of international students. Francesca Venturini, who grew up in Bergamo, a city of around 120,000 residents northeast of Milan, was the first of the trio to …

Becoming the president of the Columbian Club of Chicago is another opportunity for Gerard Iannuzzelli to be a leader. Since he moved to Palatine in 1994, Iannuzzelli has been involved in many local groups, including the Palatine Men’s Civic Club, the Palatine Jaycees, the Sons of the American Legion and others, often taking on leadership positions. “I love the leadership role, I love guiding organizations,” Iannuzzelli says. “Maybe it’s related to my desire to keep traditions alive.” In addition to serving local organizations, in 2011 Iannuzzelli was elected to a four-year-term as a member on the Community Consolidated District 15 …