The American Italian Heritage Museum sits inside an old church building on Central Avenue in Colonie. Much like the people it represents, the building has blended into the scenery while still having a distinct identity of its own. The credit for this goes to Philip DiNovo.

A retired professor from SUNY Morrisville, he felt the need to record and preserve his Italian heritage for himself and for immigrants in the generations to come. With this in mind he started an association for Italian immigrants in 1979. But as an educator, DiNovo soon realized that in order to illustrate and reinforce history, the Italian American community needed a museum as well.