L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r r e a d e r s , October will a l w a y s b e Italian Her- itage Month in the heart of Italian-Amer- icans, and although Colum- b u s a n d h i s d a y m a y b e politically incorrect, Indige- nous People's Day is a bit over-the-top correct in my book. Nonetheless, we live and let live and hope others will extend to us the same courtesy. Back in 1992, all this ruckus and rewriting of history started as Americans c e l e b r a t e d t h e 5 0 0 t h anniversary of Christopher Columbus's voyage to Amer- ica and the discovery of the New World. In some Cali- f o r n i a n s c h o o l d i s t r i c t s , politicians began to rename t h e d a y H e r i t a g e D a y o r Indigenous People's Day. A l s o i n 1 9 9 2 , S i g n o r a M.C., a long-time reader in Salt Lake City, Utah, wrote that thanks to the efforts of Calabrian-born (Grimaldi, C o s e n z a ) F o r t u n a t o Anselmo, Italian Consul for Utah and Wyoming, the landlocked state of Utah was one of the first states to declare a holiday in honor of C o l u m b u s i n 1 9 1 9 . M r . Anselmo's friendship with several Utah governors, sen- ators, and other state and national figures was key to h i s l o n g c a m p a i g n t o enshrine Columbus Day as a n a t i o n a l h o l i d a y f o r a l l Americans. M r . A n s e l m o w a s a unique figure in Salt Lake City and Utah in the early part of the century. He came to the US in 1913 to engage i n t h e w h o l e s a l e f o o d i m p o r t i n g b u s i n e s s a f t e r emigrating from his native Italy to Colorado in 1901. In 1914, he founded, published, and edited La Gazzetta Ital- iana, an Italian-language n e w s p a p e r . H e s o l d t h e paper in 1915 when he was appointed Italian Vice Con- sul for Utah and Wyoming. *** Christopher Colum- b u s , 1 4 4 6 ( o r 1 4 5 1 ) – 1506. T h e e l d e s t s o n o f D o m e n i c o a n d S u s a n n a F o n t a n a r o s s a , C o l u m b u s was probably born in Genoa sometime between 1446 and 1 4 5 1 . A c c o r d i n g t o e a r l y records, he studied astrono- my, geometry, and cosmog- raphy at the University of Pavia. Records show that he engaged in a variety of activ- i t i e s a s a y o u n g m a n . H e worked in his family's weav- ing business, and also went to sea: it soon became clear that his first passion was the sea. In his early years, it is said that he visited England, Iceland, Ireland, and numer- ous ports in the Mediter- ranean. There is also evi- d e n c e s u g g e s t i n g t h a t h e may have traveled to ports and islands along the west coast of Africa. H e m a r r i e d F i l i p p a Mofiiz de Perestrello, the daughter of a naval captain i n t h e s e r v i c e o f P r i n c e Henry the Navigator of Por- tugal, likely in 1478. For a number of years, Columbus earned a living by creating maps of known land masses and seas. Over time, espe- cially after corresponding with Paolo Toscanelli, a F l o r e n t i n e p h y s i c i a n a n d cosmographer, he became c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e w o r l d was a sphere. He imagined that it would be possible to reach the Orient by sailing west from Europe. However, he drastically underestimat- ed the size of the world and had no idea that an entire hemisphere stood between Europe and the East. Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. Years of frustration fol- lowed, as Columbus, now a widower, sought to present his theory and gain support for an expedition to prove it. Eventually, after much per- s e v e r a n c e , h e r e c e i v e d approval and funding from the Spanish court. He set sail from Palos in southern Spain on August 3, 1492, with three ships: the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña, carrying a total of 88 men. The flagship, the Santa Maria, displaced 100 tons and had a crew of 52 men, c a p t a i n e d b y C o l u m b u s himself. The Pinta displaced 50 tons, with a crew of 18 u n d e r t h e c o m m a n d o f Martín Alonso Pinzón. The smallest ship, the Niña, dis- placed 40 tons and also had a crew of 18, commanded by Vicente Yáñez Pinzón. The voyage was long and diffi- cult, with threats of mutiny a n d m o m e n t s o f d e s p a i r among the crew. However, they pressed on and eventu- a l l y , o n t h e m o r n i n g o f October 12, 1492, a lookout on the Niña, Rodrigo de Tri- ana, spotted land. Columbus Day Parade in New York City (Photo: Mira Agron/Dreamstime)

• Cover