The American dream and the inseparable bond with the motherland are at the heart of the celebrations held every year in September on the outskirts of New York City, and 2024 has been an unforgettable event for Italian Americans who dream of traveling to Italy.

It is a phenomenon that goes by the name of Roots Tourism, and the traditional Italian Festival in Hoboken, New Jersey, is proof of that: from Thursday, September 5, through Sunday, September 8, it renewed the devotion of Molfettesians from overseas to Our Lady of the Martyrs during the famous procession.

It has been a good 98 years since the celebration of this religious rite through which, on the banks of the Hudson River facing the Manhattan skyline, the dense and lively Italian American community-and in particular the very large population of Molfettese origin-is able to catalyze the attention of New Yorkers who love Italy.

About 100,000 visitors attended, to whom, among music events and food stands, this year - for the first time - Pugliapromozione dedicated a series of initiatives to increase the desire for vacations in the Heel of Italy. This is one of the activities of the “Puglia: Business or Pleasure” project, which synergistically combines the work of the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Tourism of the Region of Puglia. On the occasion of the event in Hoboken, N.J. recorder Alessandro Piva went and made videos. The Apulia Region was present with a booth, with illuminations and other typical products of the Apulian culture of hospitality. B2Bs were held with economic operators, while the Puglia tourism videos were projected in Times Square, on the ledwalls of the world's most famous square for the second time after the great success in June 2019.