By Ken MammarellaMany different students – paesani and not – benefit from their minors in Italian at Widener University, associate professor Thomas K. Benedetti has found. Engineering students – the […]
Friends – If your family came from Abruzzo they probably spoke some form of Abruzzese. When I came as a 10 year old I spoke Abruzzese, not Italian. Most of […]
By Ken MammarellaAl DeGennaro appreciates, exemplifies and perpetuates the goal of his grandparents, who emigrated from Italy to America “to provide better lives for themselves and opportunities for their children.” […]
By Ben ResiniPHILADELPHIA – More than a dozen national and regional medical pioneers of Italian descent, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who became a household name during the global COVID pandemic, […]
By Ken Mammarella Scuola Marco Polo is open to all children who want to discover Italian and Italy. “Italians from Italy,” said the school’s president, Agnese Abate. “Italian descendants. Italian […]
The Honorable Cristiana Mele Italian-American HeraldPHILADELPHIA – The Honorable Cristiana Mele has been appointed as the Consul General of Italy in Philadelphia. Mele is a career diplomat, with more than […]
In the golden age of baseball, Italian Americans led the way By Frank CipparoneGrowing up in postwar America, October delivered three certainties – homework, Halloween candy, the Yankees in the […]
By Pete Kennedy Bernadette Barbone Wesler grew up in an Italian family and is a lodge president with the Sons and Daughters of Italy – but she has never traveled […]
By Pete Kennedy When Dr. Margaret Laird tells people she’s an archaeologist, she often hears the same response:“People will say, ‘That’s great! I love dinosaurs!’” Laird said. But Laird – […]
By Pete Kennedy Andrew Cottone nearly failed high school chemistry. “Go do something else,” his teacher said. “You’re not cut out for chemistry.” He didn’t listen. Instead, he got a […]
By Pete Kennedy Barbara Capozzi listens to audiobooks when she goes for walks in her South Philadelphia neighborhood. As the president of Packer Park Civic Association, she also takes notes […]
By Riccardo Longo On February 7th, 2020 United States Congressman Lou Barletta & Italian Parliament Member Amato Berardi held a press conference at Gran Caffe L’Aquila in Philadelphia with the […]
Nick DeBenedictis By Pete Kennedy When Three Mile Island had a partial meltdown in March of 1979, Nicholas DeBenedictis got a call from Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh’s office. They needed […]
Amato Berardi, founder of insurance firm Berardi & Associates. By Pete KennedyDuring the five years that he served as a member of Italian Parliament, Amato Berardi had a 96 percent […]
Leigh Altadonna By Pete KennedyLeigh Altadonna has been fascinated by birds since he was a kid. “Think about how fantastic these small creatures are, traveling many thousands of miles each […]
By Charlie Sacchetti Oct. 3, 1988, was a very long day for my mother, Catherine, and me. We had arrived at Fitzgerald Mercy Hospital in Darby, Pennsylvania, at 6 […]
By Charlie Sacchetti I’ll never forget what happened to me on my 50th birthday. I say this not because of a big surprise party or other event marking what many feel to […]
Charles Messina stands with heavyweight Henry Milligan, whom he trained and who won the U.S.A. Amateur Boxing Federation Championship in 1983.
Cassius Clay and his trainer Joe E. Martin By Pete Kennedy From a young age, George Bochetto was interested in the law and in boxing. He saw a legal career […]
By Pete Kennedy When Nancy Matteo was growing up in northeast Philadelphia, her neighborhood was growing too. Homes were still being constructed in her development, and she would venture into […]
Cheryl Colleluori and son, Nick Colleluori. By Pete Kennedy On a February day in 2006, Cheryl Colleluori was at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, waiting outside an […]
Theresa Agostinelli By Pete Kennedy Theresa Agostinelli has a morning routine. “As soon as the alarm goes off at 6:45, I tell myself five things that will be great about […]
Vince Iannone By Pete Kennedy In the early 1960s, after he graduated from eighth grade, Vince Iannone went to audition for the band at Bishop Neumann High School in […]
John Padova Jr. By Pete Kennedy Before he went to law school, John Padova Jr. was an All-American powerlifter as an undergrad at Villanova. In 1985, he set a collegiate […]
Mike Cerruti By Pete Kennedy Sept. 11, 1989, was an important day for Mike Cerruti. It was his first day at the police academy — the start of a […]