It would seem, according to the invitation for the Friends of the Italian Cultural Institute of New York’s La Notte gala dinner held Wednesday night at Industria Superstudio, that 2013 will be a particularly good year to be Italian. The invite touted 2013 as “the year of Italian culture in the U.S.” and, judging by the turnout, it looked to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 The traditional Nativity scene, located at the heart of St. Peter's Square, traveled more than 180 miles from its starting point, the region of Basilicata in southern Italy. A gift from the region's people, it stands out because of its somber and simple style.

 The anarchic comedian and blogger who leads one of Italy's most rapidly-growing political parties has told CNBC that Prime Minister Mario Monti is a mere "bankruptcy curator" who "needs to disappear."

 Fox International Channels Italy is producing a local version of Gordon Ramsay’s culinary format Kitchen Nightmares.The 10 x 60-minutes series is being produced by Endemol Italia and will air on the female-skewing entertainment channel Fox Life in April under the title Cucine da incubo Italia.Italian chef Antonio Cannavacciuolo will star as the troubleshooting host who visits troubled restaurants and attempts to turn around the business in a week’s time.  

 Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti faced increasing pressure on Thursday to stand as a candidate in next year's election after Silvio Berlusconi's surprise offer to drop his bid for a fifth term as premier.

Dr. Fabrizio Michelassi, the Lewis Atterbury Stimson Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, and surgeon-in-chief of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, has received the Grand Award of Merit from the American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit (ASILM), the Society's highest honor. The Grand Award of Merit recognizes Dr. Michelassi for his world-renowned excellence in the fields of surgery and medicine and his accomplishments, dedication and leadership to improving the lives of numerous Americans, Italians and Italian Americans.

Sean Stellato will be inducted into the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame, one of three athletes selected from New England. The ceremony will take place in Quincy on March 9, 2013.For the former football and basketball star at Salem High, this honor is important not only for him but his entire family.

Earlier this year, I spent an evening with Silvio Berlusconi at his apartment in Rome. The former prime minister of Italy was wearing a navy-blue cashmere jogging suit and stacked shoes, and he was on sprightly form, jocular and seemingly at ease with retirement.

ROME — Italy successfully sold €6.5 billion ($8.45 billion) in bonds the country’s first debt auction since the country’s Prime Minister Mario Monti announced his decision to resign. The Italian Treasury reported that the interest rate on the bonds was 1.46 percent, down from the 1.76 percent paid in the last such offer in November. Demand was nearly double the amount on offer.