The International Voices Project will present an English language stage reading of “Hide and Seek” by Italian playwright Tobia Rossi at 6 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Cervantes Theater in Chicago. The free performance will be followed by a complimentary reception and conversation with the playwright as well as Laura Caparrotti, founder of In Scena!, the largest Italian theater company in America. According to publicity provided by the IVP, the play, “looks at the dangerous power of social media and how vulnerable young minds can be to loud, discriminatory voices around them. Set in a small town in Italy, …

OCTOBER 2/9/16/23/30 Who: Casa Italia What: Essential Italian-American film series Where: Italian Cultural Center at Casa Italia (Stone Park) Time: 7 p.m. Cost: Free (donations appreciated) Contact: 708-345-593 Details: “Pane Amaro” on Oct. 2; “The Italian Americans, Part I” on Oct. 9; “The Italian Americans, Part II” on Oct. 16; “And They Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy” and “5,000 Miles From Home” on Oct. 23; “Prisoners Among Us” on Oct. 30. OCTOBER 3 Who: American Italian Cultural Society What: 97th Columbus Day Banquet Where: Holiday Inn & Suites (Joliet) Time: 6 p.m. Cost: $75 per person (cash bar) Contact: 815-585-5854 …

Fra Noi is only months away from monumental changes in the way we look, the stories we tell and the technology we deploy to share those stories with the world. As we enter the home stretch of this miraculous transformation, I thought it fitting to shine a spotlight on the person who started us down that road. It’s time for you to meet Fra Noi Chairman and Publisher Nicholas Giuliano. Nick is the picture of a successful American businessman, serving as chairman of a thriving bank with six offices across the Chicago area. But make no mistake: Within him beats …

When I was hired in 1990 to save Fra Noi, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into and what I had to do. That’s because I briefly served as its managing editor five years earlier, when it was ably helmed by one of my personal heroes, Jim Ylisela. Fra Noi had been bleeding red ink and readers for a while as a glorified newsletter for Villa Scalabrini when Fr. Cozzi, who ran both, hired Jim to stanch the flow. A gifted writer and editor, Jim quickly transformed Fra Noi into a newspaper of record for the Chicago-area Italian-American …

They say still waters run deep, and that’s certainly been the case lately with Fra Noi. We may appear to be moving at our usual pace, but since we announced plans last year to dramatically up our game, we’ve been toiling tirelessly behind the scenes to make that happen. By early next year, Fra Noi will boast a new look, new features and a wide-ranging digital campaign aimed at sharing our publication with the world. As we head into the home stretch of that transformation, the time is ripe to look back at how it all began. Fra Noi came …

Carl Liture — who sold newspapers at the Century of Progress world’s fair in 1933-34 and witnessed the landing on Lake Michigan of Italo Balbo’s historic transatlantic flight — turned 100 on Dec. 26, 2025. The eldest of two sons born to Giuseppe and Giuseppina (Varvaro) Liturri, Carl grew up in the Italian enclave known as The Patch on the Near Northwest Side of Chicago. (The spelling of his last name was changed when he registered for school and the staffer wrote it the way it was pronounced rather than asking him for the spelling.) Carl worked a series of …

It’s taken a long time to get here, but you are now reading the 205th Petals from Roseland column that I’ve written! I took over writing this column from Mario Avignone when Fra Noi was still a tabloid-sized newspaper. That was when you were able to read all the publication’s content in print. But when the switch was made to a more manageable magazine format, the community columns appeared in whole on Fra Noi’s website, with teaser articles and e-blast links driving traffic to the online version. The transition ended up being a blessing in disguise. With the full-length version …

After six whirlwind months of construction, the first floor of the Community Center at Casa Italia has been transformed as part of an ongoing rinascimento at the venerable institution. The Community Center has always been a great venue for special events, with a modern lobby and restrooms, the Chandelier Room accommodating up to 140 guests, and the building’s former gymnasium being available for larger crowds. But the gymnasium was only accessible via flights of stairs, and food had to be prepared off-site and brought in, preventing the facility from reaching its full potential. All that has changed, thanks to a …

From a barrio of Buenos Aires to the top of the web development world, Norb Svanascini has been propelled by a simple but potent belief.  If ever there was proof of the power of positive thinking — and hard work — it’s Norb Svanascini. Born in a barrio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised since the age of 11 in Bloomington, Indiana, he went on to launch one of the nation’s marquee website-development companies. A philosophy major at Indiana University, Svanascini left during his junior year because he felt he could learn more in the real world than in a classroom. …

Lisa Turano and her parents, Patricia and Renato, figured prominently in Nazareth Academy’s 125th anniversary celebration June 6-7.  Lisa received one of the 2025 Four Pillar awards, and all three were acknowledged among the “125 Faces of Nazareth” in celebration of the La Grange Park high school 125th anniversary. “There is simply no missing the ‘Naz Spirit’ that Lisa Turano embodies,” promotional material for the event points out. “She lives the model of giving time, treasure and talent, always with her unique passion and zeal no matter where she goes or what she is doing. Lisa represents the best of …