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In this episode of The Italian American Podcast, we are changing it up. I will be taking you on a trip with me and we will be heading to the black hills of South Dakota to attend a ceremony where Luigi del Bianco will be named the Chief Carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. We will also speak with Lou Del Bianco about the role he played i...

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About nine months ago I received an email from Lou Del Bianco telling me that he was looking for a publisher to publish the story of his family’s 25-year fight to gain recognition for his late grandfather Luigi Del Bianco, who they believed was the Chief Carver on Mount Rushmore.  I read the email and was intrigued. I had remembered interviewing Lo...

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The chief carver of Mount Rushmore who was responsible for refining the expressions on the faces of the monument's four presidents was honored Saturday with a plaque that recognizes his work. Luigi Del Bianco was an Italian immigrant and stone carver whose job included the challenging tasks of sculpting Jefferson's lips and Lincoln's life-like e...

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by Felipe Gomes The word "credit" weighs heavily in today's society. Receiving credit for hard work is a sacred value that fuels American progress. Acknowledgment is a must, not only in business, but for students, for athletes, for artists...   Fortunately, we live in a time where it is easier to determine if people are taking credit for ot...

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United States Representative Patrick "Pat" Tiberi (Republican - 12th Congressional District) of Ohio believes the late Luigi Del Bianco "should be formally recognized" for having served as chief carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.   In Carving a Niche for Himself; The Untold Story of Luigi Del Bianco and Mount Rushmore, author Do...

1981

by Brian Donnelly   The state Senate has joined the effort to get Luigi Del Bianco, who lived in Port Chester until his death in 1969, the proper recognition as the chief carver of Mount Rushmore. A few days before Port Chester unveils a memorial honoring Del Bianco, state Sen. George Latimer spoke about him on the floor of the state Senate...

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Capital District author Douglas J. Gladstone, whose new book is a valentine to the obscure Italian American immigrant who served as chief carver of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, will appear at the American Italian Heritage Museum on Thursday, July 17, 2014 at 7 p.m. to talk about his controversial work and sign copies of it.   Carvin...

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Luigi Del Bianco's name should be as familiar to you as that of Gutzon Borglum, Douglas Gladstone says, and the reason it's not is clear to him. Bigotry.   Del Bianco, master carver during the Mount Rushmore National Monument's construction, was an Italian immigrant when that nationality was belittled in the United States, particularly...

1979

Family members and supporters of an Italian immigrant seeking more recognition for his role in the carving of Mount Rushmore National Memorial have been unable to persuade the National Park Service to honor him as chief carver.   "They want to lump him in with the rest of the workers," said Gloria Del Bianco, 68, of Los Angeles, the only sur...

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There are many ways to analyze the contribution of the Italian Americans to the society, the economy, the culture, the greatness of the United States. One of these ways is celebrating those who have given their talent and their hard work to build monuments known and loved by every American, and not only by the Americans. There's an Italian who con...

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