Newton’s Italian-American community gathered around the City Hall back lawn Wednesday evening and raised the Italian flag to celebrate their heritage. “All the Italians in this community, all the Italians in this audience, keep your heritage alive,” speaker Kevin Wright said.

“Be proud of who you are. Be proud of what you stand for. It’s up to us to keep our neighborhood alive, keep it vibrant, keep our traditions alive.” The Italian-American community in Newton is largely based in Nonantum, according to Newton resident Anthony Gentile. “There were a lot of the old Italians from down here,” Gentile said. “It’s where we came from.”