Barbara Toscano, the executive director of the Peter Cardella Senior Center in Ridgewood, received one of Italy’s most prestigious honors and titles on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

In a decree only made possible by the Italian government, the Italian-American Federation of Brooklyn and Queens, alongside local Queens legislators, presented Toscano with the Ordine della Stella D’Italia (Order of the Star of Italy), along with the official designation of Cavaliere.