La Bella Vita! October is Italian-American Heritage Month.
Italians started immigrating to America, in pursuit of the “American Dream” as early as the 1870’s. There was a big surge in 1920, which brought more than four million Italians to America. Of these Italian immigrants, 84% were from Southern Italy and Sicily. When Italians were immigrating, they were seeking a better future for their families. Many of them were farmers and blue collar workers and faced severe discrimination when they arrived. It’s unbeknownst to a lot of people now, but there are many stereotypes that Italian-Americans still have to this day that are not accurate. By 1990, more than 65% of Italian-Americans were managerial, professional, or white-collar workers. The Italian-American communities have often been characterized by strong ties with family, the Catholic Church, professional organizations and political parties. Today, over 17 million Americans claim Italian ancestry.
Italian-American Heritage Month is a celebration of the achievements of Italian-Americans here in the United States. Italians are well known for having the best cuisine (examples: pasta, pizza, gelato, spumoni, cheese, sausage, etc.), homemade wines, lovely music and songs, architecture, literature, fabulous fashion taste and most importantly – solid family roots. Some very famous Italian-Americans, who have contributed greatly to society, are: Singers Dino Martin and Frank Sinatra, baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, filmmaker Martin Scorsese, restaurateur Mario Batali, talk show veteran Jay Leno, pop star Madonna, chef Giada De Laurentiis, US Attorney Rudolph Giuliani, financial reporter Maria Bartiromo, performer Connie Francis (Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero), actors Sophia Loren and Robert De Niro, Mario Cuomo the first Italian-American governor of the state of New York, reality star Teresa Giudice, Dion DiMucci of Dion and The Belmonts… just to name a few. Famous Italian fashion brands include: Prada, Gianni Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, and Armani. Bank of America was even founded by an Italian – Amadeo Giannini. Also, many feel that the telephone was actually invented by Italian – Antonio Meucci.
According to the committee of Italian-American Heritage Month, “The purposes of Italian-American Heritage Month are educational and celebratory. Our goal is to inform the public about the contributions made by Italians and Italian-Americans to our civilization, especially in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, and to celebrate the impact that Italian culture and language have had and continue to have on our lives as Italian-Americans.”
Monday October 12th was Columbus Day and it was widely (and is annually) celebrated by Italian-Americans. Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, also known as Cristoforo Colombo, was born in Genoa, Italy. He arrived to the Americas in 1492. The first Columbus Day celebration ever was organized by Italian Americans in 1869. Every year on Columbus Day, the parade is held in Manhattan. This year the Grand Marshal was Alberto Cribiore, who is the Vice Chairman of Citi Institutional Clients Group. There is also the Italian-American Heritage Museum located in Little Italy in Manhattan.
Celebrate this month with a delizioso Italian meal and glass of vino. Embrace in the Italian-American culture and values that will live on forever.
That’s Amore!