Italy Early and Late: Paintings by Peter Ruta

An exhibition of paintings by Peter Ruta.
On view through February 27, 2015
Mon-Fri 10-5

Restoration in Time for Rome’s Birthday Commemoration

Just in time for the celebration of Rome’s birthday, April 21, the Temple of Peace (also known as the Forum of Peace) will be restored. Though it is one of Rome’s lesser-known historical structures, hopefully this restoration, unearthing parts of this structure from underground, will draw attention to this part of the Imperial Fora.

Povera Barcaccia!

Feyenoord fans rampaged the historic center of Rome and the newly restored, 400-year-old Bernini Fountain of Barcaccia. The oval basin of the fountain is now filled with broken glass and marble.

Mattarella to Open Presidential Palace Doors Daily

With a newly elected president, changes are being made to the visiting hours of the historic, 16th-century Palazzo del Quirinale. Soon the Presidential Palace will be open for daily visitors, far longer than it has been opened to the public in the past.

iawa-West presents Amy Barone and Al Taconelli on Saturday, March 14 2015 at Cornelia St. Cafe

The Italian American Writers Association (iawa) presents Philadelphia-bred authors Amy Barone and poet and artist, Al Taconelli on Saturday, March 14 at Cornelia St. Café, 29 Cornelia St. in New York City’s Greenwich Village, www.corneliastreetcafe.com; or 212-989-9319. Readings begin with an Open Mic followed by featured readers and book sales.

The Other 0.1 Per Cent

I’ve seen this claim made—verbatim, repeatedly—over the years, whenever Italian-American defamation is being denounced: the pseudo-statistic that 99.9 percent of us are law-abiding citizens with no involvement or tolerance for organized criminal activities. In other words, we’re 99.9 percent pure, just like Ivory Soap, and just as legit as any other nationality, and any suggestion to the contrary is the worst kind of bigotry......

Today, I believe it is time to say this: Once, we were all gangsters.

Terror Hides Among the Migrants?

“The jihadists hope to flood Libya with Isil militiamen posing as migrants on people-trafficking vessels to Europe,” went the headline. Although this may eventually be true, to date terrorist attacks in Europe have been perpetrated by those living in Europe, not by newcomers. Still, the hordes fleeing war in Syria, Iraq and Sub-Saharan Africa to land on Italian shores represent an ever more intractable problem with serious political repercussions.

Thank You Michele Ferrero

“Siamo fieri di te. Grazie Michele." “We are proud of you. Thank you Michele." With these words, Ferrero, Italy's biggest chocolate manufacturer and maker of other delicious confectionery products, pays homage, on its web site, to Michele Ferrero, often described as a real-life Italian Willy Wonka. The octogenarian entrepreneur died at his home in Monte Carlo on Valentine's day

Race, Racism, and Italianità

Historian Peter Vellon's new book documents how the Italian immigrant press "constructed" Italian Americans