John D. Calandra Italian American Institute: Community Affairs

History of Italian Heritage and Culture Month Sponsored by the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, Inc.


New York’s Italian Heritage and Culture Month will be celebrating its thirty-fourth anniversary this year, 2010. The IHCC-NY, Inc. has provided more than three decades of special events, concerts, exhibits, lectures, and proclamations to celebrate and to better inform New York, the largest Italian city outside Italy, and other geographic areas throughout the United States and the world, of the important legacy of Italian and Italian American culture.

It is important to recognize from a historical perspective that in the spring of 1976, NYC Mayor Abraham Beame, proclaimed the first “Italian Culture Week,” from May 17 to 23. The idea for such progress was proposed to Dr. Leo Bernardo, Director of the Bureau of Foreign Languages, who was easily persuaded of the value and importance of this project. Dr. Bernardo appointed Dr. Gimondo as citywide coordinator, resulting in the first celebration of Italian Culture Week under the auspices of the Bureau of Foreign Languages of the Board of Education of the City of New York. Nine years later, in 1985, the festivities moved to October, to coincide with various Columbus Day celebrations. By then, a week had become too short to encompass the range of programs so the week was transformed to “Italian Heritage and Culture Month.” As the years passed, the Governor of the State of New York and the President of the United States joined in acknowledging this significant annual celebration in issuing proclamations in recognition of the heritage and culture of Italians and Italian Americans.

This pioneering month long celebration grew out of an idea from Dr. Angelo Gimondo, then President of the Italian Bilingual Educators Association and Superintendent of School District 30 in the Borough of Queens, NYC. Dr. Gimondo, honored by the Italian Government on several occasions including that of Gran. Uff. in the Order of the Star of Solidarity, was the head of the IHCC's group of volunteers who annually coordinated the celebration of Italian heritage and culture in the five boroughs of New York. Dr. Gimondo located like minded enthusiasm in Rosamaria Riccio Pietanza, then President of the Italian Teachers Association. Together they gathered numbers of educators and administrators with an interest in language and culture, many of whom continue to be presently involved with the IHCC-NY, Inc.

Soon, after inception, the idea to dedicate each year’s event to a specific theme or personality representative of the history and culture of Italy and Italian Americans was conceived. Dr. Gimondo left as founder and president of the IHCC-NY, Inc. in December 2006, after 30 years of outstanding leadership and leaving an important legacy that continues today. He continues to serve on the Board as a prime collaborator and advisor.

Commencing in January 2007, Cav. Uff. Joseph Sciame, Vice-President for Community Relations at St. John's University, a past president of the national Order Sons of Italy in America, and a IHCC-NY, Inc. Board member for the three decade history, was elected President/Chair of the Board of Directors. Under his leadership the Board of Directors of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York, Inc. continues to be composed of eminent representatives of New York¹s Italian and Italian American community. Each year the Board of Directors selects a new theme and then proceeds to create a theme poster and publish a Calendar of Events. The role of the Board of Directors continues to promote, coordinate, and manage the month long celebration. The themes are herein included for review and historical importance, and represent many individuals, concepts and events that have memorialized the Italian and Italian American movement.

In addition to its work on heritage and culture, as well as the annual award ceremonies for the DaVinci Award, conferred upon distinguished Italian and Italian American personages, the IHCC-NY, Inc. has sponsored a concert in Washington Square Park in honor of the 100 year birth of Giuseppe Garibaldi; sponsored a special anniversary gathering on the occasion of the 200th Birthday of Antonio Meucci, the true discoverer of the telephone; a special international art exhibit from Palermo, Sicily by Rosa Ponte Fucarino; partnered with the Institute of Classical Architecture and Classical America in the 500th Anniversary Celebration of Andrea Palladio; supported the efforts of the Italian and Italian American community in advancing the cause of the Advanced Placement in Italian at high schools in the USA; saluted the lifetime achievements of the late Rocco Caporale, Ph.D. and former Board Member; hosted a special tribute to international playwright Dott. Cav. Mario Fratti for his recognition of the play and movie “Nine;” and participated in annual flag raising ceremonies at Bowling Green, a site of the arrival of the first Italian to the New York shores.

The IHCC-NY, Inc.'s role with the Office of the Consulate General, now led by Minister Francesco Maria Talò, as well as with the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI) and the Italian American Committee on Education (IACE), has been strengthened over the years in order to work in more collaborative ways so as to achieve common goals in education, heritage, culture, language, diplomatic respect and a better understanding of the "Italianita" that is so very important to the legacy left to Italian Americans by their families all. In fact, for most of the years of various activities it has been the Consuls General of Italy who have each fully supported the efforts of the IHCC-NY, Inc. as well as the Director of Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York, now under the leadership of Dott. Riccardo Viale.

Today, owing to the work of the IHCC-NY, Inc., a multitude of programs and events are organized by cultural associations, community centers, libraries, schools, and university departments of Italian in the Greater New York metropolitan area to proudly celebrate October's Italian Heritage and Culture Month. Moreover, other states such as Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., Wisconsin, and several others, have worked to follow the lead of the IHCC-NY, Inc. and enhanced their activities in their respective states for the month of October.

For the year 2010, the Board of Directors determined that it be appropriate in its role to recognize Italians and Italian Americans, by saluting Dr. Maria Montessori, an internationally renowned educator, physician, and humanitarian. By recognizing her, all Italian and Italian American women are saluted for their professional and personal achievements.

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Thirty four years of Celebrating

Italian Heritage and Culture Month

Mese della Cultura Italiana

Sponsored by the Italian Heritage & Culture Committee of New York, Inc.