COPOMIAO Reception in NYC Held Last Month Strengthens Ties Between Italian Americans, Italian Dignitaries
Italy’s Top Consul General Hosts COPOMIAO Reception in NYC
Meeting Builds Upon Efforts to Forge Stronger Ties Between Italian Americans and Italian Dignitaries
Fabrizio Di Michele, the Consul General of Italy in New York, hosted a grand reception on Saturday, July 23 to honor and celebrate the emerging bond between the Italian government and The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO).
Held at the Italian Consulate headquarters in NYC, the gathering reflects an ongoing effort by COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo and his peers to strengthen cultural relations, enhance commercial ties, and bolster activism on issues of mutual concern between the U.S. and Italy.
This effort began last December with a precedent-setting reception held by Mariangela Zappia, Italy’s Ambassador to the U.S., who welcomed COPOMIAO delegates into her residence in Washington, D.C.
The work continued with a watershed trip to Rome in May, as COPOMIAO delegates sat down with prominent leaders at the highest levels of the Italian government, and the Vatican.
COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo and Fabrizio Di Michele, the Consul General of Italy in N.Y.
At last month’s reception, Consul Di Michele expressed his desire to continue to work closely with Italian American leaders. Likewise, we expressed our gratitude to the Consul for his leadership, friendship, and hospitality
Banner Image: Last month’s event. Image Credit – Italian American Museum
Italian American Museum
Logo A NEW HOME IN THE HEART OF LITTLE ITALY New Exterior The new Italian American Museum (IAM) will serve as a cultural hub and community nexus for Italian Americans and the Little Italy neighborhood. Through permanent and temporary exhibits, robust educational and cultural programming, and collaborations with the community, the IAM will become the preeminent center for learning about and engaging with Italian as a platform for sharing Italian American voices and celebrating Italian American achievements, the IAM will be interesting to both Italian Americans and non-Italian Americans, bringing Italian American culture and heritage to younger generations and a wide range of new audiences. The Italian American Museum preserves, promotes, and celebrates the culture and history of Italian Americans, serving as living record of their contributions to America and a bridge between the remarkable past and the evolving future of the community. By allowing Italian Americans to share their story in their voice, the Italian American Museum will encourage a full appreciation of what it means to be Italian American. News Progress Photos Building Update / Annual Appeal Dear friends, We are pleased to report that we have topped off our new building and the new brick facade is being applied. Below please find pictures of the new building and the brick facade. Topping off the building Close up of the new brick facade View of the brick facade on our building Due to COVID-19 we have postponed all of our fundraising activities for the year including our annual Golf Classic and Ambasciatore Awards dinner. However, we ask that you be as generous as possible during this time of our Annual Appeal since it will be our sole fundraiser for 2021. Please know that we sincerely appreciate your contributions and that funds raised will be used to support the construction for the new building. We do so look forward to seeing you again at the reopening of the “New” Italian American Museum in Fall 2022. We will be bigger and better than ever before. Thank you for your continued support of our Italian American Museum. Andrà tutto bene! Respectfully, Uff. Prof. Joseph V. Scelsa Italian American Museum 19th Annual Golf Classic to be held on Monday, June 6th at North Hills Country Club. North Hills Country Club Exhibitions The New Italian American Museum: Architectural renderings and model for the forthcoming newly designed museum. OUR STORY FROM COLUMBUS TO CUOMO From our beginnings in Little Italy The IAM is located on Mulberry Street in the heart of what was once the largest Italian community in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th century. We became aware of the need for our own Museum in 1999, with the launch of the first major exhibition on Italians in America at the New York Historical Society, “The Italians of New York: Five Centuries of Struggle and Achievement”. The exhibit was a great success and we realized that in order to be part of the cultural dialogue in America, we needed our own Museum. So in 2001, we were chartered in New York State as the first Italian Museum in America. In our Museum, we seek to tell our whole story from Columbus to Cuomo and everything in between, our struggles and our accomplishments through hard work, ingenuity and perseverance. It has not always been easy but we have much to be proud of, for our contributions to American society are enormous. Now we will have a secular cathedral for all to see, experience and appreciate where we came from and what we have achieved.
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