New Owners to Revamp, Reopen Nonantum Italian Restaurant

You may have noticed that Newton's Ristorante Maria di Napoli has closed -- but new owners are planning to reopen the space after a few renovations.

If you've been down Watertown Street recently, you may have noticed things have gone dark at #344, Ristorante Maria di Napoli. But local fans need not worry -- the space shouldn't be quiet for long.  After more than a decade in Newton, the restaurant's owners have decided to pass the torch on to someone new, according to a letter posted on the restaurant's door. New owner Arthur Andronic plans to "develop the restaurant into something bigger and better, while keeping the same family atmosphere and name," according to the letter from the new management team. A photo of the letter is posted in the .pdf section to the right. Alongside the information on the "new" restaurant, the former owners posted a letter thanking their loyal customers: …

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PHOTOS: Turning on the Holiday Spirit in Newton's Villages

The villages of Nonantum and Waban held their tree lighting events on Sunday, Dec. 2. Share your photos from the festivities by clicking the "upload photo and video" button below.

Waban Square and Coletti-Magni Park were packed Sunday evening as community members gathered to kick off the holiday season in Newton's villages.  The festivities started in Waban with the annual tree lighting and community sing-a-long. The huge tree in Waban Square (corner of Woodward Street and Beacon Street) is now adorned with bright blue and gold lights. Later Sunday evening, the Nonantum Children's Christmas Party Association kicked off its annual holiday event in Coletti-Magni Park. The block around the park was packed with hundreds of people as Santa made his way down Watertown Street, escorted by a truck from the Newton Fire Department.  After Santa made it into the park, the countdown began. As the crowd shouted, "3...2...1" the …

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Hundreds Turn Out for St. Mary of Carmen Procession

Annual event draws a crowd in Nonantum.

Italian-American pride was in full force Sunday afternoon as hundreds of people participated in the 77th annual procession of St. Mary of Carmen through the streets of Nonantum.

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Newton in the Kitchen

Chef Stays True to Roma at Nonantum Ristorante

Chef "Ben" Cerasani and his wife Anna, owners of Vecchia Roma, talk about their commitment to real Italian food, the special events their restaurant hosts and why you might have to wait a little longer for your meal- but it's worth it.

As Nonantum celebrates the St. Mary of Carmen Society Festival this week, Italian pride is displayed prominently in the streets, from the national flags waving from every light pole to the red, white and green divider lines that now guide traffic on the roads. But it is also apparent inside Ristorante Vecchia Roma, the rustic Italian restaurant that Anna and Benedetto “Ben” Cerasani have owned and operated for the past six years. “I try to stay very close to the recipes that come from Roma,” explains Cerasani. “The restaurant is Vecchia Roma- ‘Old City Rome.’ I try to stay really close to the real Italian food, not mix it up. In Italy, we never hear of ‘chicken parm,’ you know?” With his extensive training, it’s no wonder Cerasani feels so…

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Newton's 2012 St. Mary of Carmen Festival Kicks off Wednesday

The 77th annual event will take place in the village of Nonantum from July 11-15, 2012.

It's that time of year -- the streets of Nonantum and Pellgrini Park will soon be filled with rides, games, food and music for the 77th Annual St. Mary of Carmen Festival.  The festival kicks off tomorrow, July 11, and runs through Sun., July 15. Each day of the festival will include a carnival and entertainment in the evening, with a different band/act playing each night.  A Holy Triduum Mass will also be celebrated Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Our Lady's Help of Christian Parish on Washington Street. The festivities culminate on Sunday, the Feast Day, with an 8 a.m. St. Mary of Carmen Mass (at Our Lady's) followed by a procession through the streets of Nonantum with the North End Marching Band at 2 p.m. Check out photos from last …

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Newton Native Lends Knowledge of Lake Lingo for New Play

Born and raised in Nonantum, Alan Flynn helped show a playwright and director a thing or two about The Lake, the setting for the new play "The Prince of Atlantis."

When one stops and thinks about the city of Newton, one doesn't often consider that a translator may be needed to walk through its village streets.  But when former Oak Hill resident and playwright Steven Drukman decided to base his newest play in Nonantum, he needed some help with the local dialect.  Enter: Alan Flynn.  "I went through [the play] and corrected some words, added some words...I took them down to The Lake and we drove around, I showed them the sights," says Flynn. "That's where I grew up." Flynn, the city's supervisor of custodians, recently acted as a consultant for Drukman's new play The Prince of Atlantis, which will premiere this spring in California. The play takes place in The Lake (or Nonantum to the non-locals) and …

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Photo Gallery: Italian-American Tradition Lives on in Annual Festival

Members of the St. Mary of Carmen Society process through the streets of Nonantum with the North End Marching Band.

Every year, since 1935, the St. Mary of Carmen Society has organized an Italian-American festival in Newton. The festival lasts for five days and on the final day, members of the society, accompanied by the North End Marching Band process through the streets of Nonantum with a statue of St. Mary of Carmen. The procession route takes well over two hours to complete and there are many stops along the way for food, drink, fireworks and other festivities. Residents turn out to watch the procession and offer donations to the society which are then pinned onto the St. Mary of Carmen statue as it is wheeled through the streets.

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