With the new Italian Consulate of Western Massachusetts officially open, as of late Monday, it was already Tuesday in Italy. April 25 is Liberation Day, a holiday recognizing the victory of the Italian resistance — with Allied help — over Nazi Germany and its puppet state. “We recognize what Americans did for us,” said Arnaldo Minuti, consul general of Italy in Boston. “You made us free.”

Minuti was part of a parade of speakers — including Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi and Italian-American businessman Paul Picknelly — who extolled Springfield’s Italian-American community and long and deep ties to Italy. But Minuti said he wanted to look forward, recognizing more than the American Dream. “Today, we can also talk about the Italian Dream,” he said.