This week’s guest, John Vecchio, is Executive Director Emeritus of the Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo. He starts by telling us about this center and what it took to create it during Covid. In the show’s second half, Vecchio tells the origin story of Columbus Day and the irony of President Harrison’s attempt to use it to apologize to Italian-A...
READ MOREDear friends, What a month! So many things, so many friends, so many events! It always happens in October, but this year has been extraordinary! It actually started at the end of September, when in Florence I had the honor of representing We the Italians and the Italian American community at the Made in Italy event organized by Maurizio Mancianti,...
READ MOREThe Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day Parade and Italian Heritage Committee was recently honored for its contributions to the community as part of an annual Italian Heritage Month celebration. The Essex County Board of County Commissioners also paid tribute to another local resident at their 2023 celebration: the Rev. Thomas Nicastro, pastor at St. Ma...
READ MOREWe resume our trip to the United States: today we are in San Diego, in the southern part of California. One of the most important Italian American personalities in the city is Tom Cesarini. Tom perfectly embodies the Italian American spirit proud of Italian roots, and the commitment to celebrating these roots and our country. We thank him for joini...
READ MOREOn Columbus Day, Dr. Jill Biden invited approximately 250 Italian-American and Italian Leaders to the White House for a reception to honor contributions of Italian-Americans to America and Italy’s NATO and G-7 Partnerships to America. Attending from New Orleans were Charles Geno Marsala, President of the American-Italian Federation of the Southeast...
READ MOREPlainfield's Chapter of UNICO celebrated Italian Heritage Day & Columbus Day on Monday, October 9th. Thank you to all who came out to attend this event, which was held on the corner of Belmont Ave & Hamilton Boulevard. Thank you to Bob & April Bengivenga for sharing your property for this event. Thank you to Congressman Pallone for joining us (alon...
READ MOREThe Amerigo Vespucci Society (AVS) of Long Branch, New Jersey once again celebrated Italian American Heritage and Culture month in as many ways as they could. Their current President, Joseph Mossa, stated, "as the nation's oldest Italian American Mutual Aid Society, the AVS wanted to make sure it did all it could in October to celebrate and acknowl...
READ MOREThe Italian Civic League hosted its 82nd annual Columbus Day luncheon Monday. It was held at the Italian American Community Center in Gates. Quintino DiCesare, the civic league’s president and an Italian immigrant, says while the federal holiday started as a celebration of Christopher Columbus coming to America, it has since become a celebration of...
READ MOREIt was a weekend of celebration for the Township of East Hanover (NJ) which began with a packed Columbus Day Dinner Dance on Friday night and culminated with the 17th Annual Columbus Day Parade along Ridgedale Avenue on Sunday. The dinner dance was held at the Hanover Manor and had over 400 people dining, mingling and dancing to a fabulous Italian...
READ MOREThe unveiling of the Christopher Columbus statue at its new home in Johnston drew mixed reactions on Monday morning. People in favor take pride in the statue, saying Columbus is a symbolic figure of Italian heritage. “Our heritage is still here. Most of the people that live here are Italians… the old Italians, they live here,” said Lucy DaLessio of...
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