Founded 37 years ago by Dr. Pasquale Nestico, Filitalia International has grown rapidly to become one of the largest and most influential Italian American organizations, boasting 28 chapters across the United States, Italy, Venezuela and Cuba. This impressive growth and success were celebrated this past weekend at its gala in Philadelphia.  COPOMIA...

"L'Italia!" is an original song composed by Dame, Dr. Mary Rorro to celebrate the cultural treasure Italy is to the world. She wrote the melody and lyrics and the arrangement was composed by now 99-year-old World War II Veteran Maestro Matteo Giammario, who is also Italian American, and Dr. Rorro's former Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra conductor...

In September, Angelo Cassaro, president of the Italian American Club of Southern Nevada, presented Basil Russo with a Lifetime Honoring Membership for his efforts to promote national unity among Italian Americans. Russo, president of ISDA and COPOMIAO, encouraged club members to preserve and celebrate their heritage by passing it on to younger gene...

As our families age and we move further away from those family members that left everything behind to build anew in America, I often wonder what will our diaspora look like in 10 years, 20 years, even 50 years. It may sound ridiculous, but it weighs heavy on my mind. I have said in the past, I started down this road of history and heritage in a des...

February 2024 Christopher Columbus' legal defense in American courts: thanks to George Bochetto

New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a 14-term incumbent and a fixture in his hometown of Paterson for more than 40 years, passed away Wednesday at the age of 87. "Bill, a devoted grandfather, father and husband, embodied the kind of collaborative leadership that is sorely missing in Washington today," said COPOMIAO President Basil Russo. "His elevat...

Two bills that were advancing through the Massachusetts House and Senate, seeking to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day, are now all but dead-on-arrival thanks to a viral petition spearheaded by affiliates of the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO).  COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo, along wit...

Dear friends, it has been a very, very busy but exciting June for all of us here at We the Italians. We started it in New York's Little Italy with the opening party of the magnificent Red Sauce Studio, the latest genius brainchild of John Viola and the group that makes the Italian American Podcast with him, including my friends Rossella Rago and Pa...

June 1, 2024 Little Italy, Manhattan, New York

The annual COPOMIAO meeting, held on June 1 in NYC in Little Italy's Italian American Museum, demonstrated a national coalition on the rise through the steady leadership of Basil M. Russo, who was unanimously elected to a third consecutive term by his peers. The Italian American Museum is not yet open to the public, as crews wrap up with a years-lo...