Community

Sixty-four players on 16 teams competed fiercely over the course of 10 weeks this summer during Casa Italia’s 2022 bocce tournament. Team Alta Villa emerged victorious, with Generations, Santa Caterina and Rompe Palle netting second through fourth place trophies, respectively. Ciminna, Free Ballers, Pallini Forte, Amaretti, Corleone, Not So Terrible 4s, Bellas, Casa Italia Library, Primas, Odd Balls, Quartro Leone and Boccissimo rounded out the groups that took part in this year’s tourney. Tony Pertucci served as league commissioner, Phil Sasso and Bill Lowendick as finals referees, and Andy Tegtmeier and Bill Lowendick as grillers. Stay tuned for details on …

Lodge Leone D’Oro #2700 of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America hosted its 19th annual pasta dinner on Sept. 25 at the Tinley Park High School cafeteria. Past President John Simoni organized the event, with Palermo’s Restaurant in Tinley Park cooking the pasta. Members of the lodge teamed up to serve food, prepare salads, bake for an extensive sweet table and clean up. Local crooner and lodge member Nino Folino provided the entertainment. Celebrating its 26th year, the lodge hosts general meetings featuring guest speakers, performances and presentations on the third Tuesday of most months.  

The Mazzini Verdi Ladies Club presented Festa D’Autunno on Oct. 22. The clubhouse in Franklin Park was decorated in fall colors, and Chef Giorgio Mei was in rare form, serving up a feast that included risotto, chicken limone and pork chops, plus a classic tiramisù for dessert. After dinner, guests danced the night away to live music and a DJ. Anthony (Frank) Cassano performed on his eye-catchingly red trumpet, and John Truncali sang and played the guitar. Kudos to Ladies Club President Lydia Arnstein for putting together a memorable evening.  

Members of the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America converged on Elio’s Pizza on Fire in Addison for a deep dive into the art of pizza making. Owner and master pizzaiuolo Elio Bartolotta took participants through the process of pizza making, from preparing and rolling the dough, to topping the pizza, to baking it for the perfect time at the perfect temperature. Flour was flying everywhere, but the outcome was worth the chaos. Attendees supped on the pizzas they made along with an antipasto buffet, followed by a Nutella pizza for dessert.  

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 …

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.