Columbus Day Parade in NYC Celebrating Italian Heritage in America Reaches its 80th Year

For the past 80 years on Columbus Day in New York City there is a celebration of the presence of Italian culture within the United States. The day includes a wide range of events, including a large breakfast and parade, attended by many individuals of Italian-American heritage. Events are organized by the Italian American Action Committee and the Italian American Museum. The parade itself is put together by the Columbus Citizens Foundation, who made the decision to have the 80th year gala awardees lead the procession. These awardees include Italian-American citizens who have been immensely successful in their respective fields. The awardees for this year are Michael T. Strianese, who has been named grand Marshall, Vivian Cardia,  and Carmine Di Sabio. In addition to the gala awardees, other attendees of this event include the Consul General of Italy in New York, Frabrizio di Michele, and Mariangela Zappia, Italy’s ambassador to the United States. Other prominent Italian-American and American citizens belonging to the New York political landscape, such as governor Kathy Hocul, attend as well.

A noteworthy aspect of the celebration this year is the project ITALEA, that is partially a product of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that unifies the regions of Italy to encourage individuals to travel and explore their cultural origins. This project will have its own latitude during the celebration, alongside new floats this year such as one celebrating Italian language as well as one recognizing the discovery of New York by Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano. 

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La storica Parata del Columbus Day da 80 anni celebra la cultura italiana

 

-Samantha Wolfe