Back in the heyday of la festa, hundreds of Italian patron saint festivals graced America’s urban landscape each year, and many major metropolitan areas boasted at least one feast band. Most of those celebrations have disappeared, along with the bands that enlivened them, but the music will play on thanks to Marcantonio Pezzano. The veteran festa chronicler is assembling a trove of photos, oral histories and sheet music into a booklet, CD and archive preserving the Italian feast band tradition. To make a donation, click here.

Carmen Salerno is in the middle of a two-year term as president of the Flowers of Italy Club in Melrose Park. A member since 2013, Salerno served as secretary before being elected to the top spot last year. “It’s awesome to be in charge of an organization that’s been around for so long and done so much for the community,” Salerno says. His parents, Achille and Gilda (Perri) Salerno, moved to Melrose Park from Calabria in the 1970s, and his father was an early member of the club. “I joined to follow in my dad’s footsteps and continue the club’s …

Fourteen attorneys at Romanucci & Blandin have been named 2020 Illinois Super Lawyers and Illinois Rising Stars by Super Lawyers magazine. Founding partner Antonio Romanucci and partner Frank Sommario are among the firm’s Super Lawyers, with Romanucci ranking in the top 100 in the state. Senior associate Bruno Marasso is among the firm’s Rising Stars. An Illinois Super Lawyer for the past 16 years, Romanucci was named a Top 10 Leading Plaintiff Lawyer in Illinois in 2019 by Leading Lawyers and a Best Lawyer from 2013-20 by U.S. News and World Report. He was selected by his peers for inclusion …

di Sara Siliquini Nelle classi di Italiano 3 e Italiano 4, un progetto che mi è piaciuto era quando abbiamo scelto una città italiana per ricercare le differenze nelle comunità negli Stati Uniti e l’Italia. Prima del progetto, avevo appena scoperto dal test del DNA di mia zia che la nostra famiglia è dell’Abruzzo. Ho sempre pensato che fossimo solo di Ascoli Piceno, quindi ho deciso di ricercare Pescara, la capitale dell’Abruzzo. Ho imparato che il primo festival di Jazz d’Italia è stato a Pescara. Tanti musicisti leggendari hanno suonato lì, come Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Chick Corea, e Keith Jarrett. In generale, penso che …

di Angelica Bielawski e Isabelle Huerta Il novembre e dicembre scorso, Venezia ha affrontato le grandi inondazioni che hanno distrutto dei tesori di Venezia. L’acqua alta era la peggiore inondazione dal 1966 ed è arrivata a 1.4 metri sopra il livello del mare. A causa dell’acqua alta, la nostra classe di AP Italiano di Prospect High School si è unita per offrire assistenza finanziaria a Venezia. In particolare, abbiamo collaborato con NIAF e Redoro, l’azienda italiana dell’olio d’oliva in cui facciamo lo stage internazionale, per fare una raccolta di beneficenza per Venezia. Abbiamo fatto una promozione:  vendere l’olio e mandare tutti …

della Professoressa Lauren Krause Enza Spilotro e gli studenti a Addison Trail High School Italian Quattro sono venuti a visitare gli studenti in 8° grado nella classe d’Italiano a Indian Trail Junior High School a Addison. Questo è il terzo anno che studenti di Addison Trail sono venuti a parlare della loro conoscenza e l’amore per la lingua e cultura Italiana. Hanno giocato a Gimkit un gioco sull’internet e hanno ricevuto delle cose per la partecipazione: le caramelle e le bandiere dell’Italia! Hanno parlato al programma a Addison Trail High School. Gli studenti hanno studiato le coniugazioni e il vocabolario …

With Jo Ann Serpico as its Woman of the Year, Casa Italia celebrated another hugely successful 50th anniversary gala. Friends from across the community flocked to Belvedere Banquets in Elk Grove Village on Feb. 8 to honor Serpico, and the program book was filled with words of praise. “There’s nobody who works as hard on as many fronts as you do,” Casa Chairman Angelo Castanza wrote. “You set the gold standard for community leadership that we all aspire to.” The admiration continued to flow during the presentations that evening. “Where would we be without our dear friend Jo Ann?” asked …

Retired CFO Mark M. Corrado stepped up to the presidency of the Columbian Club of Chicago at a black-tie optional installation dinner on Jan. 18 at the Medinah Country Club. Joining Corrado as 2020 officers are First Vice President Michael D. Russotto, Second Vice President John F. Curry, Third Vice President Victor M. Guerrieri, Secretary Carmen P. Forte Jr., Treasurer Christopher M. Derks and Sergeant at Arms Gerard Iannuzzelli. One-Year Directors for the coming year are Edoardo D. Izzi, Matthew Rubino, Jack Ross, Michael Quaid and Anthony L. Scola. Two-Year Directors are Joseph K. Marinacci, John D. Brescia, Vincent Maietta, …

If you’re stuck at home, why not have some good old-fashioned Italian fun and share it with Fra Noi? Send us photos or videos of you and your family celebrating your heritage while you’re sheltering in place. Making pasta by hand with the kids? Take a picture! Playing a game of tombola or scopa with your spouse? Make a video! Watching your grandkid create the next “Mona Lisa” at the dining room table? Don’t just stand there, capture the moment! Email your files to info@franoi.com by April 30. The best photos and videos will be posted on our Facebook page …

Mayor Ronald Serpico        Ron Serpico’s roots run deep into the soil of Melrose Park. His paternal grandparents moved to the near western suburb from Italy more than a century ago, his dad was born there, and his mom moved there with her family when she was an infant. Ralph “Babe” Serpico and Josephine Luzzi were married at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church and raised four boys in the community. Ron and his wife, Donna, followed suit, raising three kids of their own. By the ’80s, Ron was surrounded by nearly four dozen extended family members. “It was great growing …