Profiles

Since the start of 2025, Casa Italia has undergone a dramatic transformation after switching landlords for the first time in its history. To lead the group through this rinascimento, Casa Italia’s board chose a man with a lifetime of experience in banking and finance. “They wanted my guidance and I was honored,” says Peter Volpe, whose term as Casa’s Chairman runs the rest of the year. Casa Italia has been a “home away from home” for the Chicago-area Italian-American community for more than a quarter of a century, according to Volpe. For most of that time, the Casa leased the …

When asked where her passion for singing opera comes from, Rose Guccione answers with one word: grief. She is referring to the untimely death of her father when she was 24, a tragedy that prompted her to question what she wanted to do with her life, she explains. “The answer was an immediate question,” Guccione recalls. “Could I make a living from music? I made a pact with myself to work hard on developing my voice in order to audition for Chicago’s classical music venues for the six years that followed. I lived as a musical monk. I would practice …

The Grand Chamber by O’Hare presented Gabe Caporale Sr. with the Walter G. Bassi and Randall J. Braglia Chamber Pillar Award at its annual installation dinner at Casa Italia in Stone Park on Nov. 15. “This award means a lot to me,” Caporale told Neighbors Magazine. “I put my heart and soul into everything I do.” Caporale is the founder and managing broker of Caporale Realty Group in Elmwood Park. He began his real estate career at the age of 21, opening the doors to his own firm in 1983. The secret to his longevity? “I take pride in simplifying …

As part of a mortar platoon supporting a recon unit in Vietnam, Enrico Ugolini set up and broke down 15 times or more on the way to the battlefield hotspot. Enrico Ugolini and his twin sister, Pierina, were born in 1946 to Angelo and Annunziatina Renucci Ugolini. The family home, situated on 14 acres of land in Sant’Anna Pelago, was divided into three units and shared by three families. Ugolini’s mother’s family lived in Barga. Ugolini lived with his immediate family, paternal grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins all under the same roof and benefited from many good cooks. He especially …

The Chicago 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park recently honored two of the sports most dedicated local legends: Frank and Tom Lentine. Among the artifacts on display at the Chicago 16 Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park is a photo of a local team called the Dr. Carlucci BobCats, taken just after they won the 1969 National Championship. To the right of the big trophy, the viewer can see BobCats star player Frank Lentine holding his then 3-year-old son, Tom. The photo captures one of countless great moments Frank and Tom have shared through the …

A retired university professor, Silvio Laccetti created a foundation to support educational and cultural initiatives, and to inspire others to do the same. The nonprofit Silvio Laccetti Foundation recognizes individuals and schools in a variety of academic areas and gives out unique donations like public statues. One of its awards, named after Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, honors high school seniors who have excelled in promoting the Italian-American legacy. There are also awards in classical studies, STEM, sportsmanship and leadership. The man behind the enterprise, Silvio Laccetti, taught history and social sciences at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, …

Stories can change the world. That’s the message that Sara Serritella, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist turned professor who co-built the science communication program at the University of Chicago, shares in her 2024 TEDx Talk. So, what is science communication? “It’s the art and science of distilling complex medical and research information to resonate with a non-expert audience, so that the general public can use the information to access care and live their best, healthiest, happiest lives,” Serritella explains. “Breakthroughs cannot help people if they don’t know they exist or how to apply health discoveries to their worlds.” A native of …

Rose Mary Ranallo, president of the Women’s Division of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans since 2008, has a deep connection to the organization and has no plans to walk away anytime soon. Her mother, Gina Acino Sclafani, has been a Women’s Division member since 1980, including a stint as president. Ranallo says her mother always encouraged her to get involved and she finally relented in the early 2000s. “I finally came to a meeting and got hooked in with the lovely ladies,” Ranallo says. “I love the camaraderie with them and what the cause is, especially the scholarship …

Now in his fourth year as an Italian teacher at Resurrection College Prep in Chicago, Francesco Campobasso credits a conversation with his cousins in Italy for steering him toward his true passion. After earning a bachelor’s degree of commerce in finance from DePaul University in Chicago, Campobasso worked for various banks for 15 years despite having always wanted to be a teacher. Then, during a visit to Italy in October 2019, he found himself having honest conversations with family about what he really wanted to do. On his final night there, his cousins gifted him a bracelet inscribed with a …

Blind since the age of 12, Andrea Bocelli has shed a joyous musical light throughout the world in the course of a three-decade career that has skyrocketed him into the popera firmament. It’s been 31 years since Andrea Bocelli won the newcomers’ section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival with his performance of “Il mare calmo della sera.” Almost 100 million albums and countless awards and recognitions later, he remains one of the world’s greatest living tenors. Andrea was born in a small Tuscan town in 1958, where his family had a farm and made wine. He was diagnosed in …