The Italian American Executives of Transportation have donated $6,500 from the proceeds of their 2022 fashion show to Casa Italia. The check was presented to Casa Chairman Ron Onesti by Fashion Show Committee Co-Chair Dr. Michele Monica Daly at the IAET’s July meeting. The event was also co-chaired by Theresa Cascio and Grace Galletta, with Jadon Quaglia as chair. “Casa Italia has been a home away from home for the Chicago-area Italian-American community for more than two decades,” says IAET President Vito D’Ambrosio. “We encourage everyone to open their hearts and wallets on the Casa’s behalf.”

The Mazzini Verdi Club was done up with Las Vegas pizzazz for this year’s Festa Fuori. More than 250 members and guests turned out to enjoy the evening’s festivities. Emcee Paul Ciminello sang the American and Italian national anthems, and Diamanti provided music for dining and dancing. Chef Giorgio Mei’s menu included risotto Bolognese con funghi and beef tenderloin. Ladies Club President Lydia Arnstein thanked the many volunteers who pitched in to artfully decorate the tables and fence in the club’s expansive outdoor seating area.  

Last year, Società Santa Fara di Cinisi successfully lobbied the city of Chicago to name the stretch of road outside of their clubhouse on Addison Street Honorary Via Santa Fara di Cinisi. The society was presented with an extra sign at the time, which it shipped to the mayor of Cinisi, Sicily, to display outside their town hall. The sign was installed in Sicily on July 10 during the Feast of Santa Fara. “This was done to keep the lines of communication open between the town of our birth and the Cinisensi of Chicago,” says society President Carlo Vaniglia. “It …

Riccardo Muti marks his 13th and final season as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director in 2022-23. Once his tenure is complete, he and the orchestra will have performed more than 500 concerts together at Symphony Center, across the U.S. and around the world. Muti will lead nine programs in 2022/23, including Mussorgsky’s “Pictures From an Exhibition” from Oct. 6-8 and Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” from May 25-27, 2023. (cso.org) A live recording of Muti directing the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Mascagni’s “Cavalleria rusticana” will soon be available. To learn more, click here.  

Chicago attorney Antonio Romanucci received the Howard Twiggs Award from the American Association of Justice at the organization’s annual conference in Seattle on July 18. The award is given to an AAJ member whose “passion, civility, cordiality and professionalism reflect the high standards set by Attorney Howard Twiggs; and whose courtroom advocacy and distinguished service to AAJ have brought honor to the trial bar and the legal profession.” A founding partner at Romanucci & Blandin, Romanucci has served in a wide variety of posts at the AAJ over the years.

Chicago law librarian Eugene Giudice has been named a fellow of the Special Libraries Association. The designation reflects the work Giudice has done and will continue to do on behalf of the profession and the SLA. SLA fellows are expected to act as mentors to those entering the profession and offer their knowledge and wisdom in the governance of the SLA. The senior research services training specialist at the Chicago office of Dentons US LLP, Giudice is chair of the SLA Legal Community, has chaired the Workplace Emergency Preparedness Council, and has been a member of several task forces and …

Third-generation union leader Gary Perinar washonored as Man of the Year when the Italian American Labor Council assembles for its 2022 dinner dance on Oct. 22 at Drury Lane in Oakbrook Terrace. The following profile was provided by the organization. Perinar is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, which represents 52,000 members across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Eastern Iowa. He has led the union since 2018 when he was elected Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, which later merged with the St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council to form the Mid-America Regional Council. Gary …

Members of the Associazione Regionale Campania will head west this spring, visiting President Grant’s home and the Blaum Distillery in Galena, Illinois, and the Dickeyville Grotto and Shrines in Dickeyville, Wisconsin. Erected on the grounds of the Holy Ghost Parish in Dickeyville, the expansive display of religious and patriotic art was created by Fr. Matthias Wernerus, pastor of the parish from 1918-31. The grotto contains several shrines, including ones dedicated to the Blessed Mother, the Holy Eucharist and Christ the King.  

The main conference room of Addison’s village hall has long been graced by a display celebrating the village’s sister city relationship with Triggiano, Italy. That exhibit has been enhanced thanks to a generous donation of images and documents by Angela Liberio. Angela’s late husband, Vincenzo, helped forge the relationship, which was launched in 1993. Since then, regular student exchanges have been sponsored between high schools in the two municipalities. Angela (left) bestowed the memorabilia upon Addison Clerk Lucille Zucchero (right).  

Joseph Izzo was the driving force behind RationAll Food Rescue, which salvaged food from grocery stores, restaurants and other businesses, and delivered it to food pantries and shelters. When Izzo succumbed to cancer earlier this year, the board voted to dissolve the nonprofit, making a sizeable donation to the Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in Aurora. The pantry used the funds to buy a food waste composter, naming it “The Izzo” in his honor.