April 2016 Issue In This Issue New Initiatives New Member New Life in Riace Philadelphia International Cycling Classic New initiatives Regional Dinner Series - featuring the Region of Toscana @ Teca Newtown Square, PA - Jun 30, 2016 Read more... Restaurant Girasole We welcome our newest Corporate Member, the Ristorante Girasole on 1410 Pine Street, a traditional Italian restaurant in the heart of Philadelphia. Here you can enjoy typical Mediterranean food in a modern flair setting. Girasole offers a bar with a large cocktail and wine selection, but it also offers a BYOB option. Some of their dishes include seared yellowfin tuna, diced tomatoes, avocado and peperoncino; bowtie pasta, smoked salmon, light tomato sauce and touch of cream and gnocchi with stracchino cheese and crushed plum tomato. They also have another location in Atlantic City,New Jersey at 3108 Pacific Ave. In both restaurants you will find a typical Neapolitan hospitality, which will make your experience even better. Click here to learn more...
New Life in Riace Italy-America Business Council & Network 200 South Broad Street, Suite 910A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102 info@iabcn.it 215-625-3535 Riace, Calabria two decades ago was a small town of 2,000 people; and becoming emptier every year because of emigration. Then, in 1998, a schoolteacher by the name of Domenico Lucano saw an opportunity to revitalize the city; a boatload of Kurdish refugees had reached the shores of Riace looking for a new life. Lucano offered them abandoned apartments and job training and in return they learned Italian and began to work to renovate buildings and make handicrafts in order to contribute to the new economy that Lucano aimed to grow. Lucano then created an association called "Citta' Futura," become mayor in 2004, and was re-elected in 2009. Before welcoming the immigrants that came to their shores, Riace lacked shops, restaurants and businesses and the school was close to being shut down. In addition, there weren't enough students to keep the school open. Now, there are many immigrant children who go to school and are learning Italian at a very fast pace. Lucano has been and will continue to be praised for saving his town. He has created a winwin situation for both the residents of the city and the immigrants arriving there. Lucano came second in the 2010 World Mayor competition for his success in Riace. Lucano's approach to the European Immigration Crisis has been an extremely innovative method to help both Italy and immigrants. Rather than being shunned, immigrants are encouraged to come to live and work in Riace. More than 400 refugees have settled there along with the 2,800 residents. Other Italians are even seeking Lucano's help to save their towns and villages from becoming ghost towns. Lucano states, "This was a ghost town before the boat arrived...there was the perception our destiny had already been written." Lucano succeed in rewriting the town's destiny; the small, crumbling town has become a thriving economy with immigrants from more than 20 nations living and working there. Even though his tactics have upset some Italians from surrounding towns and the mafia that holds a strong presence in the region, Lucano has fearlessly and successfully fought to continue his plan for the rejuvenation Riace. Read on...
Philadelphia International Cycling Classic As announced by Mayor Kenny, the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic (PICC) will be held on Sunday, June 5th 2016. Men and women will race each other 9 times around a 12.5 mile circuit starting at 8 am, for a total of over 110 miles, through Philadelphia's most beautiful scenarios till the ending spot at the renowned Manayunk Wall. The PICC is a very famous cycling event and it will attract cyclist from all over the globe, in fact some of the top cycling teams in the world are already registered to compete. This will be a great opportunity for the growing city of Philadelphia because the event will not only include the race, bu there will also be a food truck festival on Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park, as well as many other festivities in the nearby borough of East Falls, Manayunk and Roxborough. Overall there will be a great family friendly atmosphere and this day will be a great day to spend in the city.
Prato is one of the Tuscan provinces, the second largest city of the region and the third largest of Central Italy after Rome and Florence. This city is mainly known for its textile industry which saw a significant boost between the 1800s and 1900s, but it had its peak occurred in the 1970s. Due to this flourishing economic sector, Prato has always been an attraction for immigrants for Southern Italy, but this has also drawn many people from foreign countries. Particularly there has been a wave of Chinese immigrant in the late 1980s which then grew to be the largest Chinese population in all of Italy. Although there are still many textile companies in the city, like Manteco S.P.A., Cafissi S.P.A., Alma S.P.A., and Menchi Tessuti S.P.A., there are also many historical attractions considering that the city has had historical importance in both the Roman times and the Middle Ages. Like most Italian cities, the "Centro Storico" is where you can find ruins or, the main church of the ton, or in this case, the castel of Prato called "Castello dell'imperatore". This is an example of Swabian architecture in Italy, and this specific caste is one of seven main sites that were specifically built for the Emperor Frederick II around the mid 1200s.
Food is another very important aspect in the city of Prato. Other than typical Tuscan foods like pasta e fagioli and ribollita, Prato's specialty is the Sedano alla Pratese. Celery is filled with chicken livers, veal meatballs, egg yolks and spices, then fried and finally dipped in tomato sauce.