Focus::Daily News
NEWSLINE
GOTHAMIST. Sara Jenkins has created her own miniature Italian empire in the East Village. After opening her tiny, pork-heavy storefront Porchetta on East 7th St in 2008, the American-born, Italy-raised chef (her father is a foreign correspondent, her mother a cookbook author) expanded with pasta-centric Porsena on the same street. (Read the article)
THE FREE LANCE-STAR. There is a lingering mystery about what happened to the people who inhabited what is now Tuscany, Italy, before the Roman Empire. Some of what remains is portrayed in "The Etruscans: An Ancient Italian Civilization," at the National Geographic Museum. (Read the article)
THE JERSEY JOURNAL. Starting on Thursday, Sept. 8 in Sinatra Park, festivalgoers can enjoy a delicious variety of Italian delicacies, live music and entertainment, eating contests, a grape stomping competition, rides and a spectacular fireworks display. (Read the article)
THE EXAMINER. This trial has lasted for too long. Four years have passed since the murder of Meredith Kercher and despite the prosecutor's investigation ended in June 2008, the prosecutor's theory and conclusions never achieved the goal of going beyond the soil of the reasonable doubt. (Read the article)
POP MATTERS. The pizzica tarantata, a folk music born in the Salento peninsula of Italy’s deep south, way down in the heel of the boot, certainly has a great back-story. This intensely rhythmic idiom, which has been likened to the blues and zydeco, originally was the music played in the spiritual healing rituals of impoverished peasants and laborers. (Read the article)
ANSA. Oil is not about to run out, at least for another 130 years, experts in Italy have said. Furthermore, new exploration and drilling methods being developed by scientists around the world will make it easier to find and exploit oil-fields, they said. The National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics thinks oil science will remain relevant for a while yet. (Read the article)
SKY NEWS. Mussolini was married for 30 years to his wife, Rachele, and had five children with her but he also had a string of affairs with women attracted by his power and aura. News that Maria Jose di Savoia was his lover emerged in a 40-year-old letter published by Italian weekly magazine Oggi. (Read the article)
THE DRINKS BUSINESS. Producers in Rosso di Montalcino will vote on allowing the introduction of varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah to the traditionally Sangiovese-based wine. Rosso di Montalcino is supposed to be 100% Sangiovese, but in the case of a “yes” vote, a small proportion of these other varieties will be allowed to be added. (Read the article)
ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Twenty years ago, pesto was relegated to gourmet aisles and Italian eateries.Today, it's everywhere, multitasking in pastas, pizzas, fish, fowl, breads, soups, stews, sandwiches, mayonnaise, salad dressings and dips. (Read the article)
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Neophytes who have seen the extensive preparation that typically precedes a horse race often wonder why there is all that fuss for 90 seconds of action. When Robert Rodi, an American writer of Italian heritage, visited the Tuscan city of Siena, he became smitten by the ancient traditions of the medieval town, especially the Palio di Siena. (Read the article)