"Viva la Italia, viva la Staten Island," said Silvia Limoncini, deputy consul general for the Italian government at the culmination of her speech  at "Festa Italiana at the Mount" on Saturday afternoon. Her sentiment: "Long live Italy, long live the Staten Island!" was shared by the thousands of attendees of the event at the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, Mount Loretto, Pleasant Plains.

Billed to be "the biggest Columbus Day celebration in history," people enjoyed dancing, walking and eating their way through the all-day affair. According to Borough Hall, there were 10,000 people who attended the event.