The Consulate General of Italy in Boston celebrated the culmination of the 8-day Festival of Italian Creativity at a Gala dinner on November 22 at the SoWa Power Station. The event, organized with the support of the October Italian American Heritage Month Committee of Massachusetts, commended the vibrant legacy of Boston’s Italian American community, with over 600 distinguished guests from the US and Italy.

The Gala featured a gourmet dinner conceived by the Italian Chef Mario Marini, of renowned ALMA International School of Italian Cuisine and live music by the band “Scanzonati” of Stefano Marchese and Andrea Pejrolo. Cheryl Fiandaca, an award-winning broadcast journalist and chief investigative reporter for the I-Team at WBZ-TV, graciously served as the master of ceremonies.

The Gala also honored four distinguished members of the Italian American community, recognizing their extraordinary achievements. The honorees included Karyn Polito, former Massachusetts lieutenant governor, recognized for her years of public service; Joseph Campanelli, CEO of Needham Bank, honored for business leadership; Joseph Loscalzo, M.D., Ph.D., revered for his successes in medicine; and David Manfredi, CEO and founding principal of Elkus-Manfredi, acknowledged for transforming the face of Boston through architecture. The speeches by the honorees were heartelt. They reflected on the values instilled in them through their Italian American upbringing and how they have shaped who they are today.

“It is with great enthusiasm that we honor these exemplary individuals and highlight the remarkable beauty and potential inherent in their creativity as well as the many impressive presenters throughout the Festival’s events" remarked Arnaldo Minuti, the Consul General of Italy in Boston in its welcoming address, “The Festival and the Gala serve as a distinguished celebration of Italian American excellence; by shining a light on Boston as a hub of creativity, with a vibrant Italian American component, we have sought to underscore the city’s strategic potential as a bridge between Italy and the United States."

“This Festival is truly historic as never before in the history of Boston and Massachusetts has there ever been such a comprehensive and inspiring exposition of Italian creativity and heritage spanning two weeks”, declared Richard Vita, President of October Italian American Heritage Month Committee of Massachusetts.

From November 14 to 21, the Festival of Italian Creativity, featured a series of activities, workshops for students, musical and theatrical performances, food and wine tastings, meetings with authors, lectures, networking opportunities, roundtable discussions on science, technology, and business. Mayor Michelle Wu attended the opening ceremony and gave high praise for the purpose and extensive breath of the Festival program.

“The enthusiastic participation of students in our workshops was truly inspiring. Their engagement not only deepened their appreciation for Italian culture but also sparked a genuine interest in learning the Italian language”, underscored Ivana Marroncelli, Education Director of the Consulate General of Italy commenting the laboratories on robotics (by the university of Genoa, Italy), on biomaterials (by Tufts University Silk Lab), on theater (by Pazzi Lazzi, theater company in Boston) and on Dante Alighieri’s Florence by Holy Cross Professors which have involved more than 250 middle and high schools students of Italian language.

The Festival featured a three-day session focused on science, technology, and business that tackled critical cultural, social, technological, and scientific challenges that will shape the future of humanity, our planet, and the lives of individuals, businesses, and societies. The event brought together more than 100 speakers from major Universities, such as Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, Boston College and Tufts and Boston University, and more than 500 attendees, exploring key themes such as life sciences, energy transition and sustainability, advanced materials, electronics manufacturing, space exploration, and digital transformation. Participants included Italian and U.S. scientists, institutions, companies, investment funds, accelerators, and venture capitalists. Among the highlights were panels on architecture, design, and construction, led by Italian American bankers, entrepreneurs, and professionals. “Our goal was to showcase the creativity of Italians and Italian Americans within the Boston ecosystem, while also highlighting significant contributions from Italy to foster greater collaboration. This Festival marks the beginning of a creative, generative process, and we will continue to reflect on and build upon the content and connections created,” said Paolo Gaudenzi, Science and Technology Counselor at the Consulate General of Italy.

During the Festival, the Italian National Space Day was also celebrated, with Italian astronaut Colonel Walter Villadei in attendance, as well as the IX Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World, with ALMA Chefs and the Italian SMes day (small and medium enterprises). Seven remarkable cultural events, that gathered more than 3000 people, were also presented: the “Va, pensiero” concert at the historic Jordan Hall, a captivating evening of Italian opera and jazz, thanks to the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director Marco Pignataro; the “Belpaese” concert, featuring some of Italian great composer Giacomo Puccini’s most beautiful arias, thanks to renowned artists from Italy and Artistic Director Nicholas Giusti and the Boston Conservatory Orchestra concert “A night in Italy” celebrating an array of Italian famous composers. Two events dedicated to literature allowed the large audience to meet the famous Italian writers Dacia Maraini, Marco Malvaldi and the cartoonist Leo Ortolani. The theatrical performance of Niccolò’ Machiavelli’s “The Prince” was also very successful by Manuele Morgese of Italian company TeatroZeta. A meeting with the Italian American Associations of New England and the 10th Edition of the “Salvemini Colloquium” were also held during the Festival.

All the events were organized by the Consulate General of Italy in Boston, in cooperation with the October Italian American Heritage Month Committee, led by President Richard Vita, and with the support of Joe Albanese, founder and CEO of Commodore Builders and a pillar in Boston’s Italian American community. “The Consulate and his team put together an unbelievable program of festival events, bringing together so many Italians and Italian Americans to celebrate our heritage with great pride. The Gala was a terrific capstone event with more than 640 attendees, honoring our awardees and the milestone recognition that Boston is truly a global center of creativity for Italians” Albanese said. Other major companies involved were Needham Bank, Intercontinental Real Estate, Consigli, Vita Law, Cannistraro, Chiesi, Arch Street Glass, EM Duggan, The Welch Corporation, Piper Sandler, NER Construction Management, Tom and Lisa DiRienzo and The Napoli and Spadea Families.