The Cleveland Italian American Heritage Committee is proud to announce the 2025 Honorees for Italian American Heritage Month.  They will be recognized at the Opening Ceremony for Italian American Heritage Month which will take place at Cleveland City Hall on Monday October 6, 2025, 6:00-8:00p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Following the ceremony all attendees will enjoy an Italian buffet dinner sponsored by the Italian Sons& Daughters of America.

Arts & Culture – 
Anthony J. Constantine, CPA
Anthony Constantine is Partner-in-Charge of the Tax Department at Ciuni & Panichi CPA’s and Business Advisors, with extensive experience in individual, corporate, and partnership taxation. He advises clients across industries including real estate, construction, manufacturing, and professional services, and is highly skilled in maximizing credits and incentives such as the research activities credit, work opportunity tax credit, and other statutory and discretionary programs.
In addition to compliance and planning, Anthony supports clients with deal structuring, due diligence, and retirement and succession planning. A frequent speaker, he presents on tax strategies such as depreciation and cost segregation, and his articles have appeared in The Tax Advisor and Properties Magazine. In 2017, he was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of the “Top Five to Watch in Finance.”
Anthony also holds significant leadership roles, serving as Chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital Leadership Council and as Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of the Western Reserve Historical Society. His civic involvement includes the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Finance Committee, the Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation Grants Committee, and the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club, where he was a founding member and past board member. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and a graduate of Leadership Cleveland, Class of 2023.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University. Mr. Constantine and his wife, Beth, reside in University Heights, Ohio, with their two children.

Corporate –
 Joseph Sidari, Sidari’s Italian Foods
Joseph Sidari serves as Division President at Sidari’s Italian Foods, a family-run, Cleveland-based food company rooted in Little Italy. The operation, known as Sidari’s Italian Foods or Sidari Foods, is known for importing, manufacturing, and distributing a broad range of specialty Italian ingredients and products.  
The family’s business legacy began in 1966 with a small storefront in Cleveland’s Little Italy, reflecting deep ties to the local community and Italian American culinary culture. Sidari’s Italian Foods specializes in serving the food service market and boasts a catalog of over 15,000 international food items. In addition, the brand is known for supplying authentic Italian staples, such as pastas, buffalo mozzarella, canned tomatoes, and desserts, some imported directly from Italy, while items such as cavatelli, ravioli, and gnocchi are produced locally in Cleveland by the Sidari family.  
Joseph lives in Little Italy in Cleveland, Ohio, and is an alumnus of Cathedral Latin High School.  

Individual – Phil Bova
Phil Bova is a respected figure in college basketball officiating, sports education, and youth development, distinguished by over four decades of service on and off the court.
Phil was a three-sport standout athlete at Cleveland West High School, where he captained the baseball, basketball, and football teams in his senior year. He earned All-Ohio honors as a shortstop in 1964 and went on to play several years with the Cleveland Indians and California Angels. Afterward, his future in sports took a sharp turn, transforming him into perhaps the most successful college basketball referee ever to come out of Greater Cleveland. He donned his first striped shirt in Division I basketball at the young age of 28.
In 1976 he began his career in the Big Ten Conference, which lasted three decades and included nearly 1,000 games. He officiated 20 consecutive NCAA March Madness Tournaments, as well as the National Invitational Tournament and numerous championship games at Madison Square Garden. He also served as president of the Big Ten Officials Association for eight years.
Beyond officiating, Bova was an educator and coach. For 35 years he taught and directed the Occupational Work Experience Program at Buckeye High School in Medina, Ohio, where his program was awarded the State’s Program of the Year. He also founded and directed two major sports camps: the nationally acclaimed Phil Bova Basketball and Baseball Training Schools.
Bova authored Throwing Back the Chair, a memoir that highlights his career and the infamous moment he officiated—the 1985 Bobby Knight “chair-throwing game,” one of the most iconic events in basketball history.
Phil has been honored with inductions into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame, the Cleveland Educators and Alumni Achievers Hall of Fame, the Medina County Sports Hall of Fame, and the Buckeye High School Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Donna, were married at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Cleveland nearly 59 years ago.

Public Servant – Mayor Matthew J. Castelli
Since taking office in January 2019, Mayor Matthew J. Castelli has led with an ambitious vision to enhance the quality of life for residents of Middleburg Heights. With more than 25 years of public service, he has served the community in multiple leadership roles, including 15 years as a City Council member, four years as President of Council, and the past seven years as Mayor.
A lifelong resident of Middleburg Heights, Mayor Castelli is deeply committed to his hometown.  He is a graduate of Midpark High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University, graduating summa cum laude. In addition to his extensive public service, he brings 20 years of private-sector experience in leadership, business development, and organizational management. Before becoming Mayor, he served as Vice President of Retail and Human Resources for a $5 billion national retail organization employing 50,000 people.
Mayor Castelli’s commitment extends beyond his city. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Aerozone Alliance and the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). He is also a proud member of the Italian American community and the North Italian Club.
Mayor Castelli resides in Middleburg Heights with his family, where his lifelong dedication to the community continues to shape the city’s progress and growth.

Small Business – Matteo Silvaggio, 
Little Italy Wines
Matteo Silvaggio was born the fourth of eight children of Francis and Evelyn Silvaggio. He attended Murray Hill School, Audubon Junior High, and graduated as Salutatorian in 1971 from Max S. Hayes High School.  In 1975, he married Valerie Hamilton. They recently celebrated 50 years of marriage and take great pride in their three children, Serena, Gina, and Shana.
As a boy, Matteo worked in several Little Italy neighborhood restaurants, including five years at Presti’s Bakery under Charlie Presti, where he developed a deep love for the food business. That passion led him to a 29-year career with Stouffer Foods as a Product Development Technician. In his final years there, he focused on the Buitoni Italian brand, creating sauces, fillings, and pastas. His work also introduced him to the world of wine, as he collaborated with California wineries to design culinary programs for pairing food and wine. He retired in 2007.
In 2004, seeing an opportunity to bring something new to his community, Matteo co-founded Little Italy Wines with Peter Apicella, the neighborhood’s first wine shop. The store opened on Mayfield Road and, in 2009, expanded to its current location with his brother Jeff as partner. For more than 21 years, Little Italy Wines has specialized in Italian vintages while offering selections from around the world.
Matteo has also been dedicated to community service. He helped create the “Taste of Little Italy” fundraiser for the Montessori School at Holy Rosary, which evolved into today’s “Meatball Crawl.” He has supported the Italian Cultural Gardens and Italian Film Festival by providing wine tastings at Opera in the Gardens and other events.
Through it all, Matteo credits the unwavering support of family and friends, whose encouragement made each milestone possible.

• Anthony Constantine Anthony Constantine
• Mayor Matthew J.... Mayor Matthew J....
• Joseph Sidari Joseph Sidari
• Phil Bova Phil Bova
• Matteo Silvaggio Matteo Silvaggio
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