Profiles

  Italian Americans have many reasons to celebrate the enclaves that nurtured immigrants and changed families: Taylor Street, 24th & Oakley, Little Sicily on the Near North Side and Melrose Park are just a few that come to mind. On the Far South Side, Roseland became a bustling center for Italian life and culture. One man has taken on the laudable task of keeping Roseland’s memories and magnificence alive: C.J. Martello. Arguably, Martello knows Roseland and the adjoining Pullman and Kensington neighborhoods better than anyone. He was married at St. Anthony Italian Catholic Church in 1972, and has steeped himself …

Earlier this year, Metra announced the appointment of John A. Milano as the agency’s Deputy Executive Director for Administration effective February 1. Metra, of course, is the Northeast Illinois Regional Railroad Corporation, Commuter Rail Division of the Regional Transportation Authority. Milano, 50, who was Metra’s Deputy General Counsel, will serve as the top administrative officer for the Chicago area commuter rail agency under Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. He was selected from a field of 10 candidates after a nationwide search. “John brings the perfect combination of extensive experience and solid expertise to this role,” Orseno said. “I am confident that …

  Growing up in the dawn” of the variety show concept, one of my favorites had to be The Sonny & Cher Show. Each week, watching the little Italian guy get picked on by the tall beauty, well, really hit home for me for obvious reasons. When the show went on summer hiatus in 1974, its replacement starred a guy who I was excited to see, mainly because he was another Italian American with a great voice. Tony Orlando was actually Greek and Puerto Rican, but he still looked like one of my cousins with the big bushy moustache and …

You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted true Mozzarella di Bufala. Just ask Lara Postiglione. “This isn’t your garden variety mozzarella,” she asserts. “It’s a protected trade name in Italy that applies only to cheese made from the milk of water buffaloes raised in the Campania and Lazio regions of Italy and produced to very exacting standards.” Lara first experienced this sublime dairy product while teaching English as a second language in the Port of Naples. It was a life-changing experience. “It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted,” she recalls with unabated delight. “I was absolutely crazy about …

Gino Bartucci is no stranger to the food industry. His father, Gino, ran the legendary Gino’s Italian Imports in the family owned Piazza Italia on Harlem Avenue for many years, and his uncle, Tony, has run Pasta Fresh in the same cluster of shops for decades. Bartucci grew up in both businesses, so it should come as no surprise that he has made a name for himself, not only as the food and beverage director for the Dana Hotel & Spa, but as the new proprietor of BarTucci, which he opened late last year in Piazza Italia with his business …

Since the turn of the 20th century, Italian Americans have had a significant impact on the Illinois legal community, mostly through participation in the Justinian Society of Lawyers, and by community participation by individual achievements. There has been no greater impact than from the contributions of the very successful and highly respected Salvi family. They are not just attorneys who have passed the bar exam, but have been leaders in the community as well as, especially, the legal profession. From extremely successful trial lawyers in the catastrophic injury field, to bar leadership and community leaders, this outstanding family is well …

How many toddlers, in a play world of plastic hammers, would rather have the real deal? Growing up in Turin, Corrado Cavalli asked his mother to buy him an electric saw — at age 2. It was a non-starter, of course, but it also presaged his career as a young handyman. Then came a fortuitous visit to a local church, which called Cavalli to use his hands in a different way. “At age 13 a new organ was being installed in my church, so I wanted to observe and understand the physical installation,” recalls Cavalli, now 37. “I was interested …

In business, when time-honored traditions blend with new technologies, innovative products and fresh ideas, consumers win and companies thrive. That’s the secret behind the success of Volpi Foods Inc., which has dramatically modernized its processes and diversified its offerings while staying true to the values that have sustained it for more than a century. Established in St. Louis in 1902, Volpi is now headed by Lorenza Pasetti, great-niece of company founder Giovanni Volpi and the third generation of her family to produce authentic Italian meat products from distinctive Old World recipes. “Like my father and great uncles before me, I …

  Italian Consul General Adriano Monti presented Umberto “Tony” Turano with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Stella d’Italia at the consulate’s Festa della Repubblica celebration on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Tony in honor of his contributions on the business and cultural fronts to promote Calabrian and Italian culture in America. “It was a tremendous honor to have my work in the community acknowledged in this way,” Tony says. “But my greatest honor has been to work with my brothers for the …

  Italian Consul General Adriano Monti presented Josette Mentesana Weber with the Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana at the consulate’s Festa della Repubblica celebration on June 2 at the Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago. The award was bestowed by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano upon Josette in honor of her contributions to the preservation of the Italian language and culture in the Chicago area. “This honor would have made my parents very happy and proud,” Josette said. “To me, it is both an exhortation and a responsibility to do more for our community, especially for the …