Local banker Peter Volpe speaks at a recent real estate panel hosted by CIAP.
Most every month you can find members of the Chicagoland Italian American Professionals getting together for what they call “Italian-Style Networking.”
As a recent example, in September they met at the Zen Conference Room in Logan Square to mingle while enjoying delicious arancini, gelato with Italian Amarena cherry syrup and a presentation about Sicily given by CIAP’s founder and president, Salvatore J. Sciacca.
“We have a lot of events, some in the suburbs, some in the city, some at people’s homes around the dinner table,” Sciacca says. “But we are always having great food, great Italian food.”
Salvatore Sciacca
Sciacca says they’ve had events featuring talks from Italian winemakers and some led by chefs from well-known Chicago-area Italian restaurants. Members sometimes even get their hands messy: CIAP has held meatball-making meetups and events dedicated to traditional Italian Christmas cookies.
“We are keeping traditions alive,” Sciacca says. “We have done all kinds of food events. Last fall we had a tomato sauce jarring event.”
Sciacca says most members are Italian Americans but there are also Italian ex-pats as well as non-Italians who share the group’s passion for all things Italian.
CIAP’s first iteration was a virtual group Sciacca created on LinkedIn in 2013. After the group had grown to a few hundred members, he decided to organize their first in-person event at the late, great La Luce restaurant in the West Loop.
But as bad luck would have it, the group’s first event coincided with a terrible “polar vortex” winter storm in early 2014.
“There was like a minus-40 windchill and I thought ‘Oh Lord, no one is going to show up,’” Sciacca says.
But to his great relief, more than 20 members braved the weather and made that first event a success. CIAP has grown steadily ever since to the point where there are now around 1,500 people on its main email list.
“We just had our best year yet in terms of growth,” Sciacca says. “We lowered our membership fees recently because I don’t want that to be an impediment to someone joining.”
Membership dues start at $100 for an individual member. There are also rates for businesses which range from $250 for companies with two to five employees on the low end and $750 for companies with 25 or more employees on the high end.
CIAP is governed by an eight-member board of directors, with Sciacca serving as president, Antonette Favia as treasurer, and Mark Muzzio as the secretary. The members-at-large are Annalisa Musacchio, Giancarlo Iannotta, Linnea McHugh, Lisa Matuszak and Orlando Pastore.
“The group is all about creating an atmosphere that helps promote Italian American businesses in the Chicago area,” Sciacca says. “It’s like a chamber of commerce, but not for a particular town, it’s more for the whole Chicagoland Italian community.”
Besides the monthly networking events, the group also hosts panel discussions on different business topics. The most popular panel is on Chicago-area real estate and features a moderator and up to eight experts. Sciacca says the real estate panel will return for its fourth edition in March or April 2026.
CIAP will host a business panel moderated by board member Orlando Pastore from 6-9 p.m. on Nov. 19 at Pompeii Bakery on Taylor Street. (chicagolanditalians.com)
Sciacca founded Chicago Property Services Inc. in 2001. His company provides professional offsite management services for condo and townhome community associations. He was raised in the Chicago area, and resides in Oak Park, but throughout his childhood he was immersed in the culture of Sicily. His parents, Joseph and Mary, were born in the Sicilian town of Ciminna, and the family spent six weeks each summer there.
As he matured, Sciacca broadened his scope, signing up for four years of Italian language classes in college, taking trips every few years to Italy and joining several local groups for young Italian American adults. But over the years those groups disbanded, and Sciacca found himself still wanting that sense of community, which is one reason he created Chicagoland Italian American Professionals.
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Dining and Cooking