October Is National Italian Heritage Month, Get Ready to Celebrate Italian Style!

The National Italian American Heritage and Culture Month of October was designated by United States Presidential Proclamation.  Coinciding with the festivities surrounding Columbus Day, the proclamation is in recognition of the many achievements, contributions, and successes of Americans of Italian descent as well as Italians in America.  

 

Over 5.4 million Italians immigrated to the United States between 1820 and 1992.  Today there are more than 26 million people of Italian heritage living in the United States.  The country was even named after an Italian, the explorer and geographer Amerigo Vespucci.  

 

San Francisco will certainly celebrate throughout the month of October with a wide variety of activities and details about many of these activities can be found below. Celebrating beyond just the traditional Columbus Day Parade on October 12, San Francisco will be buzzing with activities for residents, visitors, adults and children.

 

The first Columbus Day celebration was organized by Italian Americans in San Francisco in 1869.  According to the 1940 census, 18.5% of all European Immigrants were Italian, the largest in the city. North Beach is San Francisco’s Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population.  The history of San Francisco’s Columbus Day Parade goes like this:

 

1869 – San Francisco’s First Columbus Day Celebration is held for the first time in San Francisco to honor the accomplishments of Italians, as well as the first Italian-American, Christopher Columbus.  The Parade took place in San Francisco’s downtown featuring the bands and marching units of Italian fraternal organizations, including the Garibaldi Guard, Swiss Guards and Lafayette Guards. 

 

1892 – President Harrison declared October 12, 1492 as the day America was discovered by Christopher Columbus.

 

1909 – California declared October 12 a legal holiday, to be known as Discovery Day. 

1911 – Assemblyman Dismo M. De Negri of San Francisco changed the name of the holiday to Columbus Day.

 

1910 – President Taft declared October 12 to be a legal U.S. holiday.

1915 – The San Francisco Columbus Day Committee was organized by the Salesian Fathers of Saints Peter and Paul’s Church in the heart of North Beach. 

 

1920s, 30s & 40s – The Parade grew to include marching units, bands, decorated automobiles and floats, lasting over three hours and enjoyed by thousands.

 

1957 – A Christopher Columbus bronze statue was placed in front of Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. This statue was created by Italian Sculptor, Umberto Cobertaldo, and cost $30,000, which were donated by the Italian-American community.

 

2014 – This year marks San Francisco’s 146th Italian Heritage Parade, featuring Italian-American dignitaries, music, performances, floats and commerce. Italian Heritage can be expressed in many ways, including our melodious language, in music, fine arts, and of course, our cuisine.  Below are some of the ways you can celebrate and acknowledge our rich heritage.

 

“Venice-Gala on the Grand Canal”

Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason Street, San Francisco

5:30 p.m. cocktails, 7:30 p.m. dinner in the Venetian Room – Dancing to follow.

Additional information is available at www.sfcolumbusday.org/events.

 

San Francisco’s Columbus Day celebration is the nation’s oldest Italian heritage parade.  This year it will take place on the streets of San Francisco Sunday, October 12, 2014.  The event has been ongoing since 1868.  

 

Parade action begins at 12:30 p.m. at Jefferson and Stockton Streets and proceeds through North Beach on Columbus Avenue, ending in Washington Square in front of Saints Peter and Paul Church. Parade viewing is available throughout the route.  Admission to all Parade activities, including the Ferrari Sports car display in Washington Square Park and a variety of hands-on activities for children and families, are free of charge.  For detailed parade information, go to www.sfcolumbusday.org

 

The North Beach Branch of the San Francisco Public Library has a month long series of events as highlighted below.  For more information on the following events go to http://www. sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000524701.

 

Join City Guides for a walking tour of the historic North Beach area.  Reservations required. Call (415) 355-5626 to reserve.  Meet at the North Beach Library. 

 

Learn how to conduct family history research by using U.S. census data, vital records, city directories, and historical photos from Ancestry LE, HeritageQuest, and other online resources.

 

Flavors of Italy: Part 1 – October 11, from 2 to 3 p.m.

Cookbook author and teacher Rosetta Costantino discusses the flavors and traditions of Southern Italian cooking. 

 

Celebrate Italian Heritage Month with pretend-pizza making and Italian themed story time. 

For ages 3-5.

 

In this WW II tragicomedy, Guido (Roberto Benigni) must rely on his colorful imagination and irresistible sense of humor to save his wife and son from an unthinkable fate. Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. 

 

Discussion of  award-winning author Jess Walter’s novel Beautiful Ruins, the story of an almost-love affair that begins on the Italian coast in 1962 and is rekindled in Hollywood fifty years later.

 

Viola Buitoni discusses the traditions and trends of modern day Italian cooking. Buitoni is a chef, writer, and culinary educator from Italy, living in San Francisco.

 

In this Italian comedy, Father Don Mario (Marcello Mastroianni) has pledged obedience and celibacy, however his spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. 

 

Tenor Plácido Domingo and soprano Teresa Stratas star in director Franco Zeffirelli’s lushly cinematic version of Verdi’s opera La Traviata (“The Woman Gone Astray”).

 

The 79th Blessing of the Fishing Fleet Ceremony, Madonna del Lume (Mother of the Light) is one of many traditional celebrations Italian immigrants brought to the United States. This particular Festa honors Mary, guardian and patroness of fisherman, with a mass, procession and the ancient ritual of the blessing of the fishing fleet.  The memorial mass will be held on Saturday, October 4th at the Fisherman’s and Seamen’s memorial chapel.  11:30 to 1:00 is the Fishing Boat Parade and Memorial Ceremony at Sea.  Sunday October 5h at 11:30 will be the La Madonna del Lume High Mass at Saint’s Peter and Paul Church.  At 12:30 is Spuntino and Raffle in the Church gym.  The parade procession will begin in front of the church at 2:30.  For more information go to https://facebook.com/MadonnadelLumeSf.

 

The Tuscan painter, Domenico Monteforte, turn the Italian Cultural Institute galleries into a painters studio so guests can see him at work.  The exhibit runs through November 2, 2014.

Go to http://www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it for more details.

 

This long-standing tradition brings high-quality Italian films to Northern California.  The Festival takes place at the Showcase Theatre in Marin Center, Marin County’s Civic Center complex in San Rafael and runs through November 8.  More information is available at www.italianfilm.com /thefestival.html.

 

As you can see, there are many ways we can celebrate our “Italian-ness” in San Francisco this year.  So, go ahead, raise a glass of Prosecco (or San Pellegrino) and enjoy what makes Italian-Americans persone straordinarie!