Fra Noi Embrace Your Inner Italian
by Joanne Spata
Come rediscover Casa Italia and all that it has to offer. Here, we have a center for the preservation and promotion of our community and culture. Here, we have an oasis, just minutes from O’Hare Airport, in which you can immerse yourself in the vibrancy and richness of our Italian heritage. Surrounded by 17 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, you can indulge your senses in a feast for your mind, body and soul.
We invite you to tour our Cultural Center Museum and relive the Italian-American immigrant experience. You are welcome to stroll through our art galleries, overflowing with original works, or peruse our extensive library, a leading repository of Italian-American literature in the Midwest.
The Italian American Veterans Museum is also on our grounds, and is not to be missed for colorful and informative celebration of Italian-American bravery from the Revolutionary War to the present. And yet, you have just begun to touch upon the riches of the Casa Italia experience!
Our lush grounds are home to a life-size marble-embellished Holy Hill of Calvary, a Stations of the Cross Garden and a lovely Chapel, open for contemplation, Sunday Mass at Noon, or significant religious events in your life.
The Community Center comfortably seats 200, and may be reserved for private functions or enjoyed during our many film festivals, lectures and musical performances.
Our professionally staffed Banquet Center is available for booking private parties, or for attending any of the many delicious dinners offered throughout the year. Dubbed Nonna Graziella’s Cucina Italiana, the gorgeously appointed full-service restaurant is open to the public for lunch, dinner, or a snack, Tuesday through Sunday. They feature the best of Italian cuisine. Stop in for a meal, authentic pizza, or espresso and dolce. Of course Italian beer and wine are available, too.
Our Festival Center, boasting an open-air pavillion complete with elevated stage and attached kitchen, can accommodate 750 people and may be rented for any number of events or visited for our many concerts and festivals. Add the surrounding grounds, complete with picnic tables, bocce courts and wide-open spaces for soccer or other games, and you have the best of both worlds for picnics, reunions and large-scale outdoor events.
Whether you wish to refresh your linguistic skills, or long to study the language of your heritage for the first time, Italian language classes are available for both adults and children. And our annual Italian Language Immersion Weekend for adults and Italian Summer Camp for children are perennial favorites.
Our Office Center is home to some of the most prominent Italian-American organizations in Chicagoland, and nearly four dozen beds are available for retreats that last a day or a week.
Make a reservation today to attend a class, tour our facilities or make arrangements for your next special event. Call 708-345-5933 or visit our website at www.casaitaliachicago.net for details.
