Washington University's Italian Program has begun their Tavola Italiana this year. If you are a Washington University student, you are welcome to join Prof. Paolo Scartoni every Friday from 4pm to 5pm in Room 300 at Ridgley Hall.

Join us on New Year's Eve 2024 as we ring in the New Year 2025 at the Valentino's! Dinner begins at 7pm! All are invited to bring a beverage or dish to share with all. RSVP: [email protected]

The Italian Community of St Louis invites you to its annual Festa di Natale. Join us for fun, gift-giving, yummy treats, games, holiday music, and pictures with Babbo Natale (Italian Santa Claus) on Saturday, December 14, 2024 beginning at 5pm. Holiday dishes are being prepared by Chef Alessandro Valentino. Dinner will commence at 6pm. All are welcome!

TICKETS

$15 per adult
Free Admission for children 12 and under

Additional Activities
$5 - Photo Op and Gift from Babbo Natale
$5 - Tombola ($350 worth of prizes)

RSVP to Giovanna Leopardi (314) 566-3873 or email [email protected]. You can also purchase your tickets through Venmo @Giovanna-Leopardi. Tickets can also be purchased directly at the door.

​About the location: We are excited to have at our disposal Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Jost's private banquet hall with a 2,500 sq. ft. professional ballroom dance floor located at 8195 Lackland Rd, St Louis, Mo. 63114. The Jost family is a major sponsor of the Italian community, and we thank them for their generosity.

Please bring a dish or drink to share. Appetizers and desserts are welcome!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sabato 14 dicembre dalle 17,00 alle 22,00 si fa festa con Babbo Natale (direttamente dal polo nord con la sua slitta). Tanti giochi con Babbo e per finire regalino a tutti! Tutte le famiglie sono invitate, i più piccini potranno approfittarne per consegnare al celebre barbuto vestito di rosso le proprie letterine!

BIGLIETTI
$15 - Adulti
Partecipazione gratuita per bambini al di sotto di 12 anni

Attività aggiuntive
$5 - Foto con Babbo Natale e regalo
$5 - Tombola
​
Biglietti in vendita attraverso Venmo @Giovanna-Leopardi o chiamando Giovanna Leopardi: (314) 566-3873. Inoltre, potete pagare alla porta.

Location: La sala ricevimenti privata di Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Jost, con area di 2,500 sq. ft. e una pista da ballo professionale, è stata generosamente messa a disposizione per l'evento. L'indirizzo è 8195 Lackland Rd, St Louis, Mo. 63114. Si ringrazia la famiglia Jost, tra i maggiori benefattori della Comunità Italiana, per l'ospitalità.

Per maggiori informazioni, non esitate a rivolgervi a Giovanna Leopardi: [email protected]

The St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities proudly invites you to its

6th Annual Italian Christmas Concert
​Benedetta Orsi & Friends
​on
​Friday, December 13, 2024 at 7:30 PM.

The concert will be held at the magnificent 
Basilica of St Louis, King of France (The Old Cathedral)
​in Downtown St Louis near The Gateway Arch
Free and secured parking available on site.

Listen to the magnificent repertoire of Christmas and Holiday classics with internationally renowned mezzo-soprano and Bologna native

​BENEDETTA ORSI

and our special guest and Grammy Award-winning American soprano

​CHRISTINE BREWER

Featuring:

IMI CHAMBER PLAYERS
CRESCENDO YOUTH CHOIRS
& ALLA VOSKOBOYNIKOVA, piano

Adult Tickets: $25
Discount Tickets: $20 *
Student Tickets: $15
Ages 10 and younger: FREE

* Discount for members of St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities, Italian Community of St Louis, St Louis Italian Language Program, Club Italiano Per Piacere, Young Italian Professionals in St Louis, Italia-America Bocce Club, and Italian Business Association of St Louis. For the code, please email [email protected]

Tickets available on EVENTBRITE
Click **HERE** to purchase your ticket. 

Online ticket sales will end at 1pm on December 13th. After that time, concert tickets will be available at the door of the Old Cathedral. All sales are final.

The concert is brought to you by the following generous sponsors and individual donors

Presenting Sponsor
World Trade Center-St. Louis

Major Concert Sponsors
Dr. Richard & Mary Ann Shaw
Dr. Marco & Beth Castañeda
Mr. Piero Scapini with Nooter/Eriksen
Mr. Giorgio Bucci with Arteco Global
Dr. Mitchell B. Rotman with Ortho Missouri

Individual Donors
Cav. Franco & Nerina Giannotti
Dr. Kenneth & Marjorie Smith
Mr. Wilhelm & Ingrid Neuefeind
Mr. Timothy Keeley

Supporting Sponsors
Jackson Pianos
Onyx Printing

Concert Partners
Italian Community of St Louis
St Louis Italian Language Program
Italian Business Association of St Louis
Club Italiano Per Piacere
Young Italian Professionals in St Louis
Italia - America Bocce Club

Media Partners
The Radio Arts Foundation - 107.3 FM
Saint Louis Magazine
FOX 2 St Louis
The Ladue News
​St Louis Review

St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities Board of Directors

Michael Cross - President
Elizabeth Bernhardt - Vice-President
Giovanna Leopardi - Secretary
Kristine Galati - Treasurer
Franco Giannotti - Director
Benedetta Orsi - Director
Concetta Gabriele - Director

The Chamber Music Society of St Louis presents: Musica Italiana, the Works of Italian Composers in partnership with the St Louis-Bologna Sister Cities.

The Di Martini Family, Concert Sponsors

with Benedetta Orsi, Mezzo-Soprano
native of Bologna, Italy
​
Nino Rota "Quintet for Flute, Oboe, Viola, Violoncello and Harp"
Respighi "Il tramonto"
Ennio Morricone "Gabriel’s Oboe"
Vivaldi "Concerto Rustica in G Major RV 151"
Salieri "La Fuga for String Quartet"
Puccini "Three Minuets"
Rossini "Flute Quartet # 3 B flat Major"

Concert Date:
Monday, Oct 14, 2024
Time: 07:30 pm

Artists:
Jennifer Nitchman, Philip Ross, Megan Stout
Jessie Chen, Kyle Lombard, Andrew François
Susan Gordon, Alvin McCall, Yin Xiong

Venue Location:
Washington University's Pillsbury Theatre
560 Music Center, 560 Trinity Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63130 USA

Cash Bar with Italian Cocktails by STL Barkeep
Appetizers by Volpi Foods

Cabaret Style Seating
Click HERE to purchase tickets

​Traveling to Italy soon? Want to brush up on your Italian conversation skills? Michael Cross, Adjunct Professor of Italian at St Louis Community College is offering two classes for the Fall Semester 2024 that you don't want to miss: Italian for Travelers class and Italian Conversation class.

Italian for Travelers teaches the basics of the Italian language including pronunciation, greetings, numbers, and useful key phrases that allow you to handle most typical travel situations with confidence. The focus is on valuable travel tips and practical information. Travelers learn important Italian culture, history, art and customs to enrich the travel experience. This is a must-have course if you're planning to visit Italy. 

The Italian Conversation class is geared towards those who want to increase their conversational abilities. This is an intermediate level course (B1). Students should have already taken Beginning Italian 1 & 2 to attend this class and have a basic knowledge of Italian grammar and vocabulary. The instructor provides students with an opportunity to markedly improve their speaking and listening skills. This class gives you a chance to listen more to the Italian language and practice speaking it. Students read beginner stories and dialogues and converse about relevant topics. 

These classes are part of the St Louis Italian Language Program. Students are welcome to bring a bottle of wine, snacks, or a beverage. For more information or to enroll in one of the classes, send an email to: [email protected] or [email protected]

​​On Saturday, August 10, 2024, the Italian Community of St Louis is excited to host the 7TH ANNUAL FERRAGOSTO from 5pm to 11PM.

TICKETS: 
$10 PER ADULT
Children 12 and under are FREE

How to pay: You can pay in cash at the event or send payment via Venmo to Giovanna Leopardi, Treasurer of the Italian Community: @Giovanna-Leopardi or call: (314) 566-3873

Besides music and entertainment, Italian wines, and beer will be provided as well as traditional pastas and meats made by Chef Alessandro Valentino. Our DJ has a wonderful array of classical Italian and modern music.

Our venue, the Grand Enterprise Pavilion at Shaw Park is located at: 27 S Brentwood Blvd, Clayton, Missouri 63105.

​Ferragosto is an ancient tradition going back over 2,000 years. It is the largest Italian summer festival of the year. Today, we invite you to taste and experience contemporary Italian cuisine and culture.

Make sure to stay for Italian style karaoke later in the evening so prepare yourself with a few of your favorite songs. Sarebbe meglio se potete cantare in italiano!

We ask that everyone bring a dish and/or beverage of their choice to share. The nearby sand volleyball courts and playgrounds are available for our use. Siete tutti invitati a portare e condividere un piatto a vostra scelta o bevande alternative; portate quello che volete e quello che vi viene meglio.
​
If you are interested in sponsoring the event, or for additional information, please reply to: [email protected]

Special thanks to our volunteers: 

Food: Alessandro Valentino, Scott Hoff, Umberto Gradinetti 
Decor & Setup: Giovanna Leopardi, Helga Komen, Tiziana Orsini, Vito Alu
Marketing: Michael Cross, Adriana Hermida, Carlo Pietro Sanfilippo

We thank our major sponsors for the event.

Arteco Global, provider of Video Management Software, headquartered in Faenza, Italy and with its North American headquarters in St Louis. Arteco’s CEO is Italian entrepreneur Giorgio Bucci, who lives in Town & Country with his family and has been a major donor of the Italian Community for the past seven years.

Nooter/Eriksen, a thermal engineering company and the world's leading specialist in Sustainable Energy Management with offices in Milan, Italy and headquartered in St Louis. The company’s CEO, Piero Scapini is a major donor of the Italian Community of St Louis.

Renewal by Andersen of St. Louis is an independently owned and operated Renewal by Andersen retailer specializing in top quality replacement windows and patio doors. Owner Paul Birner is an avid supporter of small non-profits in St Louis and his company is proud to be a new donor of the Italian community.

We also thank our partners and all those who supported us with in-kind donations. 

​Enjoy an Italian apericena and visit with Michael Cross, CEO of Vacanze Italiane - Italian Holidays, LLC at Vicini Pastaria in Lafayette Square, St Louis

​You are welcome to a typical Italian apericena at Vicini Pastaria in Lafayette Square on Wednesday, July 10 at 7pm.

$30/person (+ tax & gratuity)
​
Includes: 2-hour antipasti buffet (includes a bountiful spread of assorted local and imported Italian cured meats and cheeses and "fantasia della chef" - small bites from the chef's imagination) Sparkling and still water will be provided/included. Additional alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase during the event.

Guests will enjoy a 10% discount off purchases made the night of the event, excluding beverages consumed on-site. Discount will apply to retail bottles of wine to take home and all purchases from the pastaria, Italian/local specialty food market, and home decor shop.

There is a 20-person maximum for this event. Advance tickets are required. We cannot accept walk-ins. RSVP as soon as possible by clicking this LINK

Vicini Pastaria has been named best new Italian restaurant in St Louis by Sauce Magazine. Thanks Chef Dawn Wilson for making this authentic Italian experience possible!
​
Vicini Pastaria
1916 Park Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63104

Join the Missouri History Museum and Italian Community of St. Louis for Italian American STL. The event takes place Wednesday, June 12, 2024 from 10am-1pm and is geared towards families and children 12 and under. ​It is free and open to the public.

Activities include Italian Storytime with Italian teachers Giovanna Leopardi and Cettina Gabriele of the St Louis Italian Language Program, touch table items invented by Italians and Italian-Americans, an arts and crafts table, a pretend Italian restaurant, opportunities for children to make pasta and pizza (with playdough), as well as a St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities table headed by Elizabeth Bernhardt, a professor of Italian at Washington University who has lived in Bologna for 20 years. 

The Hill neighborhood will be represented by the Italia-America Bocce Club, which will be present at the event with volunteer members teaching children how to play this historic game which has its origins in Northern Italy. 

Kids will be able to meet and play soccer with Simone Valentino, star forward for the Truman State Bulldogs. Simone is the son of Alessandro & Tiziana Valentino, longtime residents of St Louis who came from Italy in the early 2000s. The Valentino family has been very active in the Italian community since it was founded in 2017.

The event has Italian moms and dads from the St Louis area volunteering to help organize the event. Thanks to the following volunteers:

Federica Bertolini                              Francesca Fontana                                   Carlo Sanfilippo
Giovanna Leopardi                      Paolo & Concetta Gabriele                   Elizabeth Bernhardt
Maria Clea Annecchiarico                Michael Cross                                        Adriana Hermida 
Dan Drago                                                  Tom Bottini                                            Simone Valentino

For more information on the event or to assist in volunteering, please send an inquiry to Michael Cross: [email protected]

Join the St Louis Italian Language Program on Wednesday, June 12 at 10:30am for an Italian/English language Storytime for Kids at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. The Italian Community of St Louis has partnered with the museum for an event entitled Italian American STL. There will be games of soccer and bocce provided by the Italia America Bocce Club, a pretend Italian restaurant, and much more!

Italian instructors Giovanna Leopardi and Concetta Gabriele will read and act out Italian children's books in both Italian and English. Kids aged 12 and under are welcome to attend with their families. The event is FREE and open to the public and is part of the Missouri History Museum's Family Fun Event Series. For more information on this event, please contact Giovanna at: [email protected]