Highlights

We owe you one. In fact, we owe you so much more than that. When we asked you in July to help us raise $28,000 to technologically transform Fra Noi, we knew what it would cost to make the leap but we only dreamed we’d be able to cover it with a single crowdfunding campaign. Two months and more than 250 contributions later, we’ve not only met our lofty goal but also exceeded it because of your astonishing generosity. In sums large and small, your contributions surged in like a strong backwind. The grand total billowed beyond $30,000, with more …

In 2020, the graffiti-marred statue of Christopher Columbus in Arrigo Park was unceremoniously yanked from its pedestal and stored on its back in a Chicago Park District warehouse. After a protracted legal battle, the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans was finally able to win its release earlier this year, but only on the condition that it be showcased indoors in a museum that’s currently being created on Taylor Street. So, who will now occupy the position of honor that Columbus once held in that storied public park just a stone’s throw away from the Shrine of Our Lady of …

As a driving force behind the American Friends of Capodimonte, Cristina Del Sesto has helped increase stateside awareness and support for “Europe’s least-known great museum.” Creating wider public access to the Capodimonte Museum has been the opportunity of a lifetime, says Cristina Del Sesto. Located in Naples and boasting more than 47,000 works of art spanning the Middle Ages to the 21st century, the museum was described as “Europe’s least-known great museum” in a Financial Times article in 2023. Del Sesto serves on the board of American Friends of Capodimonte (including just over one term as president until earlier this …

Our family histories play a crucial role in shaping who we are today. They serve as a powerful reminder of our roots, the hardships our ancestors overcame and the resilience that defines a community. By embracing these rich legacies, we not only pay tribute to their struggles but also commit to keeping their stories alive for future generations. At precisely 1 p.m. on Nov. 30, 1896, a devastating tragedy unfolded at the Gilorma grain mill, just a few kilometers from the town of Alessandria del Carretto along the Saraceno River in the province of Cosenza. A sudden landslide had blocked …

Bracketing the northeast corner of Italy, the Dolomites are known for breathtaking vistas that make it an alluring wedding destination. Each year, 2.2 million Americans visit Italy. Of course, we haven’t spoken to all of them, but our informal survey tells us that many of them never heard of the Dolomites and even fewer would be able to point them out on a map. Nonetheless, the Dolomite mountain range, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is arguably one of the most beautiful places in the world. During World War I, Italy and Austria fought over the Tyrolian region, a section of …

The statue of Christopher Columbus that for decades graced Arrigo Park is heading back to the neighborhood it once called home after spending nearly five years in storage. After a protracted legal battle, the Chicago Park District has finally released the statue into the care of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans. The cherished icon will be installed as the centerpiece of a new museum on Taylor Street dedicated to the Italian immigrants of Chicago. “This resolution is a huge victory for our community, and to all those who believe in free speech and artistic expression,” JCCIA President Ron …

If you’re just now finding out about the agreement to bring the Christopher Columbus statue back to the Near West Side, you might be disappointed to learn that it’s headed for a museum on Taylor Street rather than its pedestal in Arrigo Park. (For more, click here.) But those of us who watched the process unfold at the monthly meetings of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans can tell you just how triumphant the final accord truly is. As many of you know, the JCCIA is a congress of 50-plus local organizations tasked with acting on behalf of the …

As an Italian American, I know that our story is one of perseverance, passion and a relentless pursuit of excellence. It is a legacy of individuals who, despite challenges, have built thriving communities, contributed to society in remarkable ways and remained deeply connected to their roots. My father emigrated from Brienza, Italy, located in the province of Basilicata, while my mother emigrated from Catania, Sicily. They and their families arrived around 1920 and settled in one of Chicago’s thriving Little Italy neighborhoods. My father, Roy, worked for 50 years at the well-known Chicago retail department store Carson Pirie Scott & …

The Italian-American community is about to embark on its most challenging and important project in recent history: the creation of a National Museum of Italian American History on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Italian Americans have made tremendous sacrifices while making monumental contributions to our country. A national museum would serve to memorialize our exceptional history and preserve it for the benefit of future generations. This initiative began last year when the Museum and Cultural Affairs Committee of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations recommended to me that we begin to explore the prospect of creating …

by Judge Megan Goldish and Michael Cabonargi While so many towns in other European nations were sending their Jewish neighbors to the Nazi death camps, the residents of Pitigliano sheltered all of theirs from harm. Perhaps, as you’ve strolled through the streets of Rome, eating gelato and trying to navigate cobblestones, you may have noticed small, polished brass plaques embedded in the sidewalks in front of doorways. These “stolpersteine,” or “stumbling stones,” contain inscriptions: They are intimate memorials commemorating individual victims of the Holocaust at their last place of residence before they were deported or killed by the Nazis. Each …