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The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is now accepting essays for the NIAF NCCA Christopher Columbus Essay Contest. Since 1996, NIAF has worked with the National Christopher Columbus Association (NCCA) to sponsor an annual national essay contest on a topic related to Christopher Columbus for high school students throughout the United Stat...

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The replacement for the Columbus statue in Wooster Square Park has hit a roadblock, with objections to its size and design as well as questions on compliance with historic district standards. A vote on the proposed four-figure family statue meant to honor Italian-American immigrants to Wooster Square has been put off until Jan. 12 as the project se...

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A man convicted of knocking over the Christopher Columbus bust at the Lancaster County Courthouse and shattering a glass door pane at the courthouse's Duke Street entrance in June will spend up to nine years in prison, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office. Francisco Rodriguez Jr., 34, who police said was homeless when they i...

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Although the holiday honoring Christopher Columbus has passed this year, the passions of many of the legal combatants over the statue are still running hot, and several legal challenges are still unwinding in court which could determine the fate of the statue in South Philadelphia’s  Marconi Plaza. George Bochetto is the primary attorney at the for...

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The contentious debate between keeping controversial statues or removing them has reached a boiling point. In Syracuse, our discussion centers around a landmark of downtown, the Columbus Monument. A towering, 11-foot bronze statue of Christopher Columbus stands on top of a large pedestal. On both sides of the debate there are passionate opinions on...

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The Cristoforo Columbo Fellowship is gifted to graduate students, faculty, and/or independent scholars pursuing research on Italian people and their communities of Butte, Montana. Fellowship awards of $500 -$3,000 s. Award funds are to be used for research support, including travel and lodging expenses, but not as salary. Awards are to be used for...

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The group suing the City of Pittsburgh and Mayor Bill Peduto to keep the statue of Christopher Columbus in place now alleges that the art commission’s vote to remove it is invalid because the mayor attempted to influence that vote. But the allegation seems to rest on a mischaracterized email from an art commissioner. Attorneys for the Italian Sons...

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A controversial statue of Christopher Columbus in Providence will remain under wraps and hidden away for a while longer. The statue was removed from its pedestal in the Elmwood section of the city in June 2020, following repeated vandalism, and placed in storage. The city’s Board of Parks Commissioners is holding off for now on a recommendation to...

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Ciao from Rome!   As you probably know, at the end of October Rome hosted the G20 Summit, where the 20 most important countries in the world gather their leaders to talk about the future of the world. We the Italians sent a small reminder to the press offices of the summit and the embassies of the 20 countries involved. A symbolic communication, on...

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N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul is under fire by the Italian American community following a series of alarming decisions. Gov. Hochul walked in the Columbus Day parade on the morning of Oct. 11, then, hours later, she attempted to cancel the navigator’s namesake holiday by proclaiming Oct. 11 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. After a public outcry, she amended th...

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