Tennis champion Jannik Sinner defeated Spanish defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to win Wimbledon, becoming the first Italian to ever do so. Two Italians had come close before, with Matteo Berrettini reaching the men’s final in 2021 and Jasmine Paolini reaching the women’s final in 2024, tennis.com reported. Last year, Sinner tested positive for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March. He was initially cleared, based on the defense that he was accidentally exposed to the banned substance during a physiotherapist massage. The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the exoneration, and Sinner agreed to serve a three-month ban that ended …

Italian confectionery giant Ferrero Group plans to buy U.S. cereal company WK Kellogg Co. in a $3.1 billion deal to “invest in and grow” the Michigan-based business, which has 14,000 employees and 22 plants, CNN reported. Ferrero’s largest acquisition to date, WK Kellogg has a portfolio of cereals including Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes and Apple Jacks. In recent years, Ferrero also bought Nestlé’s U.S. business and Blue Bunny ice cream. Ferrero makes Nutella, Ferrero Rocher chocolates, Baby Ruth candy bars, and Keebler and Famous Amos cookies.

Ostana, a small town at the foot of the Monviso mountain in the Piemonte region of Italy, has seen its population grow from 10 to 150 in just a few years. A bakery and clinic have reopened, an alpaca farm has put down roots, and there are now rooms for rent to tourists, Corriere della Sera reported. What happened in Ostana is part of a larger trend of people leaving Italy’s urban areas to settle in the mountains. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of people living in Italy’s mountain communities increased by 100,000, according to a report from UNCEM …

More than a million young people attended the closing Mass of the Jubilee dedicated to them in Tor Vergata, in the suburbs of Rome. “We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the gravest evils, caused by other human beings. We are with the young people of Gaza, we are with the young people of Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war,” Pope Leo XIV said during the Angelus in English, AGI reported. “You are the sign that a different world is possible: a world of brotherhood and friendship, where conflicts are resolved not with weapons …

  Accomplished Italian composer, arranger and record producer Celso Valli died in July, AGI reported. The 75-year-old worked with numerous Italian music stars, including Eros Ramazzotti, Laura Pausini and Vasco Rossi. Posting photos of himself and the producer, Ramazzotti wrote, “Celso, I will miss you, maestro.” Born in Bologna in 1950, Valli studied music from a very young age at the city’s Martini Conservatory. He began his career as a keyboardist in the progressive rock band Ping Pong and later devoted himself to working as an arranger and producer.

This summer, Cornerstone Restaurant Group opened Dimmi Dimmi Corner Italian in the former Tarantino’s space at 1112 W. Armitage Ave. in Chicago. (“Dimmi” means “tell me” in Italian.) Headed by executive chef Matt Eckfeld, the restaurant has a “fresh, feel-good take on Italian-American fare,” according to a press release. Eckfeld’s culinary background includes work at award-winning New York restaurants such as Carbone and ZZ’s Club. Dimmi Dimmi “blends Eckfeld’s modern approach with the nostalgic warmth of Italian-American comfort, creating a welcoming neighborhood spot in the heart of Lincoln Park where community and cuisine meet with ease.” The menu features homemade …

Ascione Bistro opened at 8006 Lincoln Ave. in downtown Skokie, the second location for the restaurant owned by third-generation restaurant owner Alex Argirov and his wife, Lauren Lucchesi, the Chicago Tribune reported. At 5,000 square feet, the Skokie Ascione is much bigger than the original Hyde Park location, and includes a 24-seat bar, patio seating and semi-open-air seating. The menu features generations-old Lucchesi family recipes from southern Italy. “We wanted to expand our business and (were) just looking to do something close to our house,” Lucchesi told the newspaper. “Something for our friends, something for our family and people in …

The eighth location of Joey’s Red Hots & Pizza opened recently at 7920 Lavergne Ave. in Burbank. The enterprise was founded by longtime friends Anthony Nardo and Nick Iozzo, who launched a hot dog stand more than two decades ago in south suburban Orland Park, Food Industry News reported. Today, Joey’s includes sit-down restaurants in seven suburban locations — New Lenox, Justice, Crest Hill, Riverdale, Orland Hills, Orland Park and Burbank — and one in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood. Joey’s Red Hots serves Vienna Beef franks, Italian beef, gyros, pizza and gelato. The venture also features a catering arm and …

“Italopunk: 145 Recipes to Shock Your Nonna” is the English-language debut from Vanja van der Leeden, a Dutch-Indonesian chef and culinary writer. The cookbook features 145 recipes that “refresh beloved Italian dishes and reimagine what they can become,” a press release stated. “Rooted in the traditional elements of Italian trattoria cooking, van der Leeden shares riffs on classics — panzanella with mango, cacio e pepe with mint, tiramisù with sesame — offering a vegetable-forward, climate-conscious, seasonal collection that encourages readers to explore Italian ingredients beyond the usual grocery store fare.” Van der Leeden studied language and literature in Florence and …

The Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans honored nine accomplished women at the 2025 Impresa Awards. Scholarships were also presented to several deserving female high school seniors at the event. “We’re always so proud to host the Impresa Awards,” JCCIA Women’s Division President Rosemary Ranallo says. “It’s our opportunity to shine the spotlight on Italian-American women of accomplishment and to encourage young Italian-American women to follow in their footsteps.” This year’s honorees are: Lisa Capitanini, award-winning investigative producer for NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) Chicago Tracey Tarantino DiBuono, founder and director of Zzazz Productions Linnea McHugh, chief policy …