The Italian-American Defense League (IADL) today announced that it has formally filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, challenging a recent district court decision that the organization believes undermines the rights and cultural heritage of Italian-Americans, including IADL members and Plaintiff Ralph Marcare...
READ MOREAs a third-generation Italian American growing up in the Little Italy neighborhood of South Philadelphia, I fondly remember learning about my immigrant grandparents. They immersed themselves in Italian opera and took great pride in the history and masterpieces of renowned Italian artisans and sculptors. Our home, like many in the neighborhood, was...
READ MORESpeaking of the pitfalls of popular reporting on historical research, a Spanish documentary received much attention in October because of its claim that new genetic evidence implied that Christoper Columbus was of Jewish ancestry. Mosaic noted reasons for skepticism on historical grounds. Razib Khan, a geneticist, points out the flimsy biological...
READ MOREThe controversial forensic scientist José Antonio Lorente, who has spent more than two decades analyzing the DNA of the alleged bones of Christopher Columbus and his relatives without publishing any conclusive data, has indefinitely postponed the presentation of his findings. The announcement came via a statement from Lorente himself, shared by his...
READ MORENew Haven's Columbus statue, installed in 1892 by Connecticut's Italian American community, was removed in 2020 by jittery civic leaders who rushed to dismantle historic monuments in a misguided effort to project inclusivity. Such decisions could be overturned as the Italian-American Defense League pursues a landmark ruling through a federal appeal...
READ MOREThe circular plaza where a Christopher Columbus statue overlooked the Inner Harbor is still empty - more than four years after the statue was toppled into the water during the nationwide protests of 2020. In recent weeks there, have been a few new updates on the plaza's future. The destroyed Columbus statue itself was retrieved from the Harbor, and...
READ MOREWhat should replace the Christopher Columbus statue that was dumped in Baltimore’s harbor more than four years ago? A replica of the statue that was destroyed? A sculpture depicting a family of Italian immigrants? A likeness of former U. S. House of Representatives Speaker (and Baltimore native) Nancy Pelosi or her father, former Baltimore Mayor Th...
READ MOREA Christopher Columbus statue was dedicated Saturday, Oct. 12 at Skylands Stadium in Augusta. The statue, which previously stood in Columbus Plaza in Newark, was made in Rome by Giuseppe Ciochetti and presented to the city by Newark’s Italians in 1927. It was removed by the city in June 2020 to prevent its toppling in a Black Lives Matter protest....
READ MOREFor 20 years, the Order Sons of Italy in America Giuseppe Garibaldi Lodge #1658 has celebrated Columbus Day. Each year the Sons of Italy honors an Italian American from Hammonton. This year Jack Mazzeo of Mazzeo Studio located at 111 S. Egg Harbor Rd. was honored at the Sons of Italy lodge at 427 N. Third St. on October 14. Mazzeo then gave a prese...
READ MOREIn celebration of Columbus Day, Livingston UNICO recently hosted its annual Italian flag raising ceremony at Livingston Town Hall with a subsequent reception featuring traditional Italian refreshments such as espresso, cannolis, homemade panettone, cookies, homemade freselle and gelato donated by Turano’s Pizza Kitchen. “Today we raise the Italian...
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