Students at Pine Elementary School in Omaha’s Little Italy area react to hearing they will be in the news for artwork they made as part of a cultural exchange program with Carlentini, Italy, a sister city of Omaha. Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. Some of the art will be added to murals at schools in Carlentini. (Anna Reed, Omaha Public Schools)
OMAHA — A local artist key to the creation of Omaha’s popular Little Italy mural has launched another art project to strengthen the bridge between Nebraska’s biggest city and a small Sicilian town from where many of the state’s early Italians emigrated.
This latest venture will be told through the eyes of children.
Called “Little Hearts — Big Roots,” the binational initiative centers on students at Pine Elementary in Omaha’s Little Italy neighborhood and partner schools in Carlentini, one of Omaha’s official sister cities…