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 MILAN — Teatro alla Scala raised eyebrows in December when it opened its season with “Lohengrin” in observance of Wagner’s bicentennial rather than an opera by Verdi, who was also born in 1813. In the months since, however, the theater has redressed the balance with new productions of four Verdi operas, most recently his very first opera, “Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio.” 

 To mangle a familiar quotation from Tolstoy, all regions of Italy are different, but each is Italian in its own particular way.

Suppose the Italian regions were women (humor me here). Lombardia would be a glamorous but unapproachable Milan model. I see Emiglia-Romagna as a wealthy, slightly dowdy widow. Umbria would be the wholesome, friendly girl next door. Unlike the American girl next door where I live, however, this one is a terrific cook.

Italy’s new Foreign Minister Emma Bonino is part of the small Radical Party, a group considered mostly leftist, although it could be associated with issues considered mostly libertarian in the U.S. One of its signature positions is staunch support of Israel, something that's far from being in the majority among Western Europe's liberal elite. And one of the things Bonino has been closely associated with is a campaign launched in 2001 to admit Israel to the European Union.

 Residents know that summer has arrived in Roselle Park, when the Church of the Assumption presents its annual St. Anthony Italian Family Feast. Once again this year it will be four days of faith, fun, family and friends, packed full of delicious homemade cooking, an Italian-style Café, food venders, non-stop entertainment and music (more performers than 2012!), amusements, and games.