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Monday, November 13, 2006
The Boston Herald
The movie set of historic Hanover Street, with its buzzing medley of family cafes, fancy pastry shops, and impassioned curbside chatter, lost a leading man this week.
Local artist and all-round gentleman Vincent Battaglia, one of the North End’s most popular and distinguished residents, died suddenly at 81.
His dapper figure was for years a characteristic sight in the neighborhood, where he could often be seen, dressed to the nines, puffing on his pipe, chatting with friends and warmly greeting neighbors.
Vincent’s remarkable life included decorated service in the Second World War and decades as a successful business executive, graphic designer and artist.
His pictures still hang, among many other places, in the stately halls of the Boston Stock Exchange.
He could recall, with humor, the days when Italian-Americans left the North End at their peril. And when, as a young man, he was rebuked by the local dons for bringing a black friend to a festival.
“The secret to a long and happy life,” he used to say, “is to be optimistic.”
I predict a busy week of macchiato sales on Hanover Street as the locals toast his memory.
- Brett Arends, 11/16/06
