Why is there a Christopher Columbus statue by Byrd Park? Who crafted the elaborate plaster and stonework in Richmond’s early-20th-century theaters and public buildings? The answers to those questions point to the early and long-lasting cultural influence of Italians.   

When Thomas Jefferson sought to better cultivate grapes for winemaking, he imported Italians to assist in the undertaking. Through no fault of theirs, the grapes didn’t flourish, but, as researcher Brenda Giannotti Stankus writes, the Gianni family that settled in Albemarle County was fruitful and multiplied.