L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2025 L'Italo-Americano than a birthplace, the tone is different, but the intent is similar: ceremonies use the grammar of civic festivals to renew a sense of belonging and to pass down names, places, and values. If Genoa's a w a r d s r o o m a t P a l a z z o Ducale elevates scholarship, public service, and memory, I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n o b s e r - vances lean on parish life, neighborhood associations, and intergenerational partici- pation. In both cases, the c a l e n d a r i s d o i n g t h e quiet work of identity. The debate around Colum- bus's legacy, of course, sharp- ened in recent years, espe- cially in the US, where public art, school curricula, and city holidays have been contest- e d . G e n o a r e s p o n d e d b y widening the frame rather than narrowing it: the city's cultural program for October p u t s h i s t o r i a n s a n d archivists in the fore- g r o u n d , to put the most important factor of all, histo- ry, center stage. Honoring a medievalist like Musarra dur- ing the ceremony fits this approach because it signals that the narrative of Atlantic navigation sits within a larger history of Genoa's medieval networks and Mediter- ranean exchange. R e a d e r s i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s w i l l r e c o g n i z e t h e same mechanics at a differ- carry forward with maritime- themed events into late Octo- ber. Across the Atlantic, the U n i t e d S t a t e s m a r k e d Columbus Day on the sec- ond Monday of October, this year on October 13, under a federal proclamation that still uses the historic name while more cities and states recog- nize Indigenous Peoples Day on the same date. This dual track is now a settled part of the American calendar: some communities hold Masses, wreath-layings, and parades that emphasize Italian roots, w h i l e o t h e r s f o r e g r o u n d Native history and resilience. For Italian Americans, Octo- ber is also Italian Ameri- can Heritage Month, and the holiday sits inside a wider r u n o f s c h o o l p r o g r a m s , museum talks, and neighbor- hood festivals. T r u l y , t h e c o m p a r i s o n between Genoa and the Ital- ian-American world comes naturally. In Genoa, the ritu- al is about a city that still wears its maritime past on its streets; the parade literally walks through the city's his- tory – Casa di Colombo, Piaz- za De Ferrari, San Lorenzo, Porto Antico – in a way that allows residents to see their present reflected in a histori- cal itinerary. In the United States, where the point of ref- erence is a community rather ent scale. Italian-American o b s e r v a n c e s o f t e n m a k e r o o m f o r s c h o o l b a n d s , parish choirs, veterans' posts, and mutual-aid clubs; they stand around a monument for a blessing, then march down a main street with flags from towns of origin. The s c r i p t m a y b e l i g h t e r o n archives than Genoa's and heavier on neighborhood life, but there is a common sense of continuity, demonstrated in public, visible ways. The holiday now shares space with programs that honor Indigenous histories, and many cities have learned to h o l d b o t h s t r a n d s a t once. The calendar is flexi- ble enough to carry more than one meaning, and it is precisely this flexibility that keeps the day relevant in an America that has been chang- ing and evolving. This Thursday, the day you'll read this piece in our beloved newspaper, the two shores of the Atlantic look closer than the map suggests. G e n o a u s e d i t s s t r e e t s , palaces, and harbor to restate a story that continues; Ital- ian-American communities used the language of local c e r e m o n y t o d o t h e s a m e across the ocean. The for- mats are different, but the purpose is shared: to keep a community in conversation with its past. tanerie di Porto - Guardia Costiera) for its technical and civic service; and the I n t e r n a t i o n a l S p o r t s Prize went to Giovanni Malagò, long-time leader in Italian sport and member of the International Olympic Committee. The city also awarded the Grifo di Geno- va, its highest civic honor, to Mirella Alloisio, a Resis- tance figure whose wartime service as a young staffetta in the Ligurian CLN made her a durable voice of civic memory in the decades that followed. The program also includ- ed gestures that stitch local ritual to a broader Atlantic map: Genoa renewed the tra- ditional offering of oil from Riomaggiore for the votive lamp at the site that com- m e m o r a t e s C o l u m b u s ' s remains in Santo Domingo, a s m a l l c e r e m o n y t h a t nonetheless underlines the w a y t h e c i t y p r o j e c t s i t s remembrance beyond Italy's borders. Much of the week around the anniversary is a l s o f r a m e d b y a r c h i v e s , libraries, and lectures: the Berio Library is mounting an exhibition of books and fac- similes from its Columbus holdings, while the State Archives is displaying a 1502 letter to Columbus from the Bank of Saint George's "Pro- tectors." The schedule will G e n o v a j u s t w r a p p e d u p one of its most e m b l e m a t i c civic moments w i t h t h e c e l e b r a t i o n s f o r Christopher Columbus. On Sunday, October 12, the city brought back the 34th H i s t o r i c a l C o l u m b u s Parade, a costumed proces- sion that threaded its way from the Casa di Colombo through the historic center and down to the waterfront, where the day closed with a staged "landing" at the Porto Antico. The route linked the medieval heart of the city to its maritime front door in a simple but effective stage set, a reminder that Columbus's name here still stands for seafaring, mobility, and the l o n g e x c h a n g e a c r o s s t h e Atlantic that shaped the city's life for centuries. T h e p a r a d e f o l l o w e d a w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d p a t t e r n : groups in historical dress, flag-throwers, and local asso- c i a t i o n s c a r r i e d h i s t o r y through Piazza De Ferrari and along Via San Lorenzo before the scene shifted to the harbor for the reenact- ment. The city's cultural arm has, over time, turned the event into a real celebration of Genoa's own history and symbols under the banner I Chiostri del Tempo di Colombo, where the parade and its satellite events use s t r e e t s , s q u a r e s , a n d t h e waterfront as a continuous stage, building a link between heritage and the city's pre- sent-day life. As evening approached, attention moved indoors for the formal Columbus Cere- mony in the Sala del Mag- gior Consiglio at Palazzo Ducale. The city conferred its traditional distinctions: the Columbus Medal went t o A n t o n i o M u s a r r a , a Genoa-born medieval histori- an and associate professor at Sapienza University in Rome, known for work on medieval Genoa, navigation, merchant networks, and the Mediter- ranean world; the Interna- tional Communications Prize honored Italy's Coast Guard (Corpo delle Capi- FRANCESCA BEZZONE One heritage, two shores: Columbus Day in Genoa and the US HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS Christopher Columbus is a symbol for Genova, as much as it is for the Italian-American community (Image created with DALL-E 2)

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