On May 22, In Sanguine Foedus. Nuovo Mondo was inaugurated at the port of Naples . This monumental mural commemorates Italian emigration to the United States, created in the very place from which millions of Italians left in search of hope, work, and a future.
The work was born from an idea by promoters Francesco Andoli and Germana Valentini and was created by Neapolitan artist Vittorio Valiante, in collaboration with INWARD National Observatory on Urban Creativity, thanks to the hospitality and support of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority and with the patronage of the Consulate General of the United States of America in Naples , the MEI – National Museum of Italian Emigration , the Deputation of the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro and the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro . The mural was made possible thanks to the contributions of the Banco di Napoli Foundation, NIAF National Italian American Foundation, L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele in the world, Mulino Caputo, Sorì Italia, La Reggia Designer Outlet and Horecapp.
The presentation press conference was moderated by the writer Luca Delgado with speeches by Eliseo Cuccaro , president of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority, the promoters Francesco Andoli and Germana Valentini and Luca Borriello , director of INWARD.
Among the institutional guests, Terrence Flynn , Consul General of the United States of America in Naples, Paolo Masini , president of the MEI – National Museum of Italian Emigration, Joseph Gulino for NIAF and representatives of all the sponsors who supported the production.
The mural of Naples
In Sanguine Foedus. New World is more than just a mural. It's a vast visual narrative constructed from memory, identity, and belonging. A collective tale that spans oceans and generations, restoring a face and dignity to the Italian emigrants who left Naples for America between the late 19th and 20th centuries. The work, inaugurated today, stands opposite the Molo San Vincenzo, the place from which thousands of Italian emigrants departed. The surface, courtesy of the Port Authority, features the true faces of real men, women, and children, reconstructed through historical photographs and family memories. Each figure tells a real story, accessible via a QR code that allows the public to explore biographies, testimonies, and migratory journeys. Running through the entire composition is a red thread, a universal symbol of the bond between those who left and those who remained. It's a reference to the threads that many families clutched in their hands on the day of farewell, preserving them as a living reminder of love and their roots. A red thread, symbolizing the blood of San Gennaro, patron saint of Naples and migrants, uniting the old and new worlds. That red thread continues to cross the ocean and leads to America to continue the project.
The New York Mural
A second mural—" In Sanguine Foedus. The Saint "—will be created in New York, in the heart of Little Italy, on Mulberry Street, and will depict a San Gennaro reinterpreted in a contemporary yet profoundly popular style. The common thread originating in Naples will unite the two works as scenes in a single visual narrative spanning time, space, and generations, ultimately finding its way into the mural on the other side of the Atlantic.
The works are conceived by Neapolitan artist Vittorio Valiante, born in 1991, who trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples and was influenced by both classical painting and the Neapolitan figurative tradition. His artistic language combines pictorial delicacy and emotional strength, transforming walls into large narrative surfaces capable of expressing memory, humanity, and belonging.
The statue and the documentary
The broader In Sanguine Foedus project also includes the creation of a bronze replica of the historic statue of San Gennaro on the San Vincenzo pier. The work, created by artist Dante Mortet, will be placed in Manhattan's Little Italy as a permanent symbol of the bond between Naples and New York and as a memorial to the last image that millions of emigrants took with them when leaving the city's port. Particularly significant will be the detail of the Saint's hands, modeled from the casts of two Italian-Americans who were symbols of the Little Italy community.
The project will be completed with a documentary dedicated to the creation of the works and personal stories of the Italian-American emigrants and families involved, transforming In Sanguine Foedus into an emotional and collective archive of Italian migratory memory.
The official photos of the project are by Sergio Siano.
THE STATEMENTS
Germana Valentini and Francesco Andoli – creators and promoters of the project
Germana Valentini
Seeing this project become a reality today is a thrill for me that's difficult to put into words. For years, through books, stories, and television programs, I've tried to give voice to the stories of Italian emigrants, and each time I feel like I'm entering an extraordinary human universe, made of courage, nostalgia, sacrifice, and love. Behind every departure lies a unique story. Faces forgotten by time, yet they live on in the memories of families, in letters kept in drawers, in surnames scattered overseas, and in the invisible bonds that still unite Italy to the world. Recounting these lives has changed me profoundly, because in those stories I discovered not only the past of our country, but also a part of our most authentic identity. I hope this work can be just the first step on a larger journey: a collective invitation to rediscover our roots, the history of our emigration, and the extraordinary popular culture that Italians brought to the world along with their hopes. Because knowing these stories ultimately means knowing ourselves better.
Francesco Andoli
The artistic project In Sanguine Foedus, which encompasses Naples and New York, was born as an extraordinary tribute to our emigrants scattered throughout the world. The red woolen thread that passes through those bodies was actually used as the very last link between those who left and those who remained; it is a metaphor for a red line of blood, a symbol and a coagulant of identity, culture, and belonging: the blood of San Gennaro. He is the patron saint of emigrants, with approximately 15 million followers worldwide. He, Gennaro, depicted in a statue atop the San Vincenzo pier with his hand raised in the act of stopping the devastating fury of Vesuvius, seemed to be there to bid farewell to that immense hemorrhage of human lives on their way to the so-called New World. The last image that our fellow countrymen imprinted in their eyes and which, once they reached their destination, generated an intergenerational devotion towards the Patron Saint of Naples that is still alive today. The imaginary journey of the red thread that we have now launched overseas along the 41st parallel – and which we intend to continue further – reconnects in blood the lives and destinies of our immense and courageous population of migrants"
Eliseo Cuccaro – President of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System Authority
This mural represents much more than a work of urban art: it is a symbol of memory, identity, and the profound bond that unites Naples and the United States. Thousands of men and women departed from this port in search of a future, helping to build an extraordinary Italian-American community that still maintains a strong connection with its Neapolitan roots. With this initiative, the Port Authority of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea wants to pay homage to that story of migration, sacrifice, and hope, but also to reaffirm a feeling of closeness that has never faded. There is a common thread that continues to unite Naples and the United States: a human, cultural, and social bond that must be preserved, nurtured, and passed down to future generations.
Luca Borriello – Director of INWARD National Observatory on Urban Creativity
We've been studying and producing urban creativity since the 1990s, cultivating, from our teens here in Italy, and in Naples in particular, the myth of a phenomenon largely born or at least developed in the Americas, specifically New York. Then the forms, techniques, and styles evolved, and the production of large-scale murals, now so prevalent everywhere, was rediscovered. Yet, not everywhere and in just anyone's hands is a true masterpiece created: a work that expresses intensity and immerses us in its depth, a work that connects themes and context, figures and memories, passion and painting, a work that challenges organizational obstacles and brings together institutions and companies, artistic talent and social cohesion, with the breeze on the faces of those who disembark and observe. On the docks of the port of Naples, with New York already in sight, the miracle happened.
SPONSORS
Terrence Flynn – Consul General of the United States of America in Naples
This work is a reminder of the deep and enduring ties between Italy and the United States, founded on a historic alliance, but also on family and personal relationships that have united our peoples for generations. Nearly twenty million Americans proudly claim their Italian ancestry, including me. This year, the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a significant occasion to reflect on our history and those who helped build our country. The U.S. Consulate in Naples is honored to have granted its patronage to this project.
Paolo Masini – President of the National Museum of Italian Emigration Foundation
Naples represents one of the most iconic places in the history of our emigration. This mural is a tribute to the many women and men who departed from here. I would like to thank the Port Authority for paying homage to what we like to call our country's greatest popular and collective narrative. This work will be included in the map of artistic testimonies that celebrate our emigration around the world.
Riccardo Carafa – Vice President of the Most Excellent Deputation of the Royal Chapel of the Treasure of San Gennaro
"San Genna' si grande" (Saint Genna's greatness) was the phrase uttered aloud by some of the faithful as I, then a young man, waved my handkerchief for the first time from the altar of the Treasury Chapel, announcing the miracle of the Patron Saint's blood. That phrase has remained etched in my memory, and I believe I will never forget it.
Three words that are dear to the hearts of many Neapolitan devotees, not only those living in our city but also those living far from it. San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, has always been close to our fellow citizens, especially those who crossed the ocean in search of the American dream, giving them strength and courage during the most difficult moments of their arduous transition into the new world. Today, having overcome the initial difficulties and perfectly integrated into their new environment, they have not forgotten their devotion, which has never waned.
Over the centuries, San Gennaro has inspired the greatest artists of all time, who have depicted him in masterpieces of painting and sculpture. Today, with the evolution of art, just as many master mural artists depict the Saint in symbolic places such as the Port of Naples, where the moving separation from his native land and the arrival in that land then full of unknowns and hopes took place, always with the protection of the Patron Saint […]”
Francesca Ummarino – Director of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro
This mural restores to Naples the memory of millions of emigrants who, departing from the port, entrusted their fears, hopes, and desires for the future to San Gennaro. In Sanguine Foedus, she transforms this story into a contemporary language, creating a bridge between Naples and New York, between those who left and those who remained. As director of the Museum of the Treasure of San Gennaro, I find it significant that San Gennaro becomes a universal symbol of resilience and belonging. This invisible thread of memory and identity continues to unite communities and generations around the world today.
SUPPORT ENTITIES
Bank of Naples Foundation
Prof. Orazio Abbamonte – president
The Banco Napoli Foundation wholeheartedly supports this social project, which represents an important tool for memory, belonging, and collective identity. Through the creation of a mural dedicated to Italian emigrants, we intend to pay homage to the stories, sacrifices, and values of entire generations who have brought our country's culture, work, and dignity to the world. We believe that public art can become a bridge between past and future, between memory and participation, helping to strengthen social dialogue and the sense of belonging that unites Italians, wherever they are.
NIAF
Joseph Gulino - vice chair international
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is pleased to support this project at the port of Naples, a historic point of departure for millions of Italians whose descendants now number over 17 million in America alone, and to promote the establishment of an Immigration Museum. The representation of departure presented here recalls the exhibit at the Ellis Island museum, a historic point of arrival in the United States. NIAF has always made a fundamental contribution to projects aimed at enhancing the centuries-old and enduring relationship between the two countries. In this context, the memory and values of historic Italian emigration are revived through these figures, the ancestors of millions of American citizens of Italian and Neapolitan descent.
Antica Pizzeria da Michele in the world
Alessandro Condurro and Francesco De Luca – administrators of L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele in the world
We are very proud to support a project like this for the cultural value it conveys, both locally and internationally. It is precisely in initiatives like this that a brand like Michele in the World must invest to restore the universal dimension of culture, of values to be exported, and, above all, of a past that must not be forgotten, but always protected and preserved through the daily actions we carry out both personally and corporately. We hope that the importance and universal reach of this work will become clearly visible to everyone, as they were to us from the first moments it was described to us.
Caputo Mill
Antimo Caputo – CEO Mulino Caputo
Through this project, we support art that recounts the journey of generations of women and men from Southern Italy. We have a special bond with these travelers, because our great-grandparents returned to Italy from the United States over a hundred years ago to found our mill, a story of reverse emigration. This work represents for Naples, for those who left it, and for Mulino Caputo, the link between past, present, and future, and underscores the importance of the internationality of our soul and our work.
Sorì Italy
Antonello Sorrentino – CEO Sorì Italia
Participating in the 'In Sanguine Foedus' project was deeply emotional and deeply rooted in our identity. Although our production site is now immersed in the extraordinary nature of the Roccamonfina Regional Park, our roots are deeply rooted in the history and soul of Naples. This is why the reference to San Gennaro is not merely a cultural or religious symbol: it is a sentiment rooted in our memory, our family history, and our very essence. In this work, we recognized the value of memory, the courage of those who have departed, and the invisible yet eternal bond that continues to unite Naples to the world. For us, supporting this initiative means preserving and recounting a sense of belonging that we still feel alive, like a blood that continues to flow within us.
La Reggia Designer Outlet
Federica Faggi – Director of La Reggia Designer Outlet
We believe that urban creativity is an extraordinary tool for enhancing and connecting with the local area, capable of generating identity, belonging, and new forms of dialogue with communities. This is why La Reggia Designer Outlet consistently supports projects that, through art, restore value to urban spaces and help convey the authentic soul of Naples and Campania. For us, supporting this deeply identifying project means confirming our concrete commitment to cultural initiatives that leave a positive and lasting impact on the region.
Horecapp
Carmela Canisto – Horecapp Administrator
We chose to support this project at the Port of Naples because we believe in the value of projects that leave a tangible legacy for the city and its people. The port is a symbolic place in the history of Naples and Italian emigration. Telling this story through a project like this means keeping alive a collective memory that is part of our region and our identity. Horecapp works every day alongside those who carry out activities, projects, and businesses in the Campania region. This is why we feel a duty to support initiatives that enhance Naples not only culturally, but also on a human and social level.
For information: Germana Valentini: +39 348.9379929
To stay updated: www.insanguinefoedus.com
