A Message of Hope

Over the past two weeks, each of us has had the opportunity to reflect on the life of His Holiness John Paul II. A life that has changed the course of history. A man of peace. I was most fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet him during the New York Conference of Italian American State Legislators’ trip to Italy in 1997. It is hard to describe my feelings that day but to say that a feeling of serenity, oneness came over me, which has changed my life. Although life still has its struggles everything now has more meaning and I feel a greater sense of purpose.

Caption: Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa and Members of the New York Conference of Italian American State Legislators presenting Pope John Paul II with a Gold Medal from Queens College in St. Peter’s Square, October 1997

This year at our fourth annual Italian American Museum gala held on April 15, 2005, we honored four outstanding individuals for their work in promoting our Italian American culture. They are The Honorable Richard Greco, Jr., Assistant Secretary to the Navy and Founder of the Montfort Academy; The Honorable Serphin Maltese, Deputy Majority Whip of the New York State Senate and former President of the New York Conference of Italian American State Legislators; Joe Piscopo, entertainer, actor and humanitarian; and Louis Tallarini, General Chairman of the Columbus Day Weekend 2005 for the Columbus Citizens Foundation and patron of the arts and education. Each of our honorees, in their own way, has fostered Italian American pride. Each of our award recipients received “La Bellissima America” sculptured by Patrick Morelli, which embodies the spirit of hope found in each of us.

We have had another extraordinarily productive year, having mounted four new exhibitions; The Tree of Life: The Art of Christopher Priore; The Pietro and Luisa Saraceno Collection: An Exhibit of Selected Treasures; Dennis, Rose and Sal: Family Portraits by John Milisenda; and Something Borrowed/Something New: Italian and Italian American Women in the Old and New World. In addition, our traveling exhibitions have gone to our nation’s capital, Prisoners in Our Own Home: The Italian American Experience as America’s Enemy Aliens to the Immigrant Law Foundation in Washington DC. Evviva La Madonna Nera to the San Diego Library on the West Coast and Behind the Barbed Wire: Angelo Spinelli’s Living Testament of the Human Spirit to the Order Sons of Italy in America’s Garibaldi-Meucci Museum on Staten Island.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the support the Museum has received from The City University of New York, Queens College and the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, as well as all of you, the community at large who have come to our exhibits and supported our efforts with their donations

A special thank you to Chancellor Matthew Goldstein for championing our affiliation agreement, along with Trustee John J. Calandra and Queens College President James Muyskens. This agreement which provides space to the museum a the Calandra Institute terminates in one year on June 30, 2006. After that time, unless extended, we will leave.

Fortunately, while we have been mounting exhibitions, Joseph A. Grano has been busy seeking out a suitable permanent home for the Italian American Museum. On the cover of America & Italia Review is the architectural rendering of our proposed site at the South Street Seaport. This ideal location, south of the Brooklyn Bridge located in the historic epicenter of lower Manhattan, can become a living example of how New York City and our nation has benefited from the thousands of Italian immigrants and their descendants who have made our city truly international. The Museum would be located on Front, Fulton, Water and Beekman Streets encompassing five buildings for a total of 38,000 square feet, including a restaurant, a courtyard and park.

I want to personally thank and acknowledge Joseph A. Grano for his energy and steadfast enthusiasm for the museum project. Although, negotiations are on-going, I feel confident that we are closer than ever to securing our permanent home.

I wish also to thank all of our institutional supporters for helping us make this dream a reality, especially to this year’s General Gala Chairman, Lawrence Auriana and our Co-Dinner Chairs, William D. Fugazy, Richard Grace, Hon Frank Guarini, Michael Mariniello, Berardo Paradiso, and Joseph Sciame; our Journal Chairman, Jack Como, as well as the members of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, the National Italian American Foundation, Unico National Foundation, Coalition of Italo-American Associations, Order Sons of Italy in America, National Organization of Italian American Women and the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce. I would be remiss if I did not thank the members of the Museum Board, Philip Foglia, Esq., Max DiFabio, Eugene Limongelli, Ralph Tedesco, Trustee Emeritus, Robert Ciofalo and especially Maria Fosco who served as the gala’s event coordinator.

We are entering into a year filled with hope and many challenges. With all you help, we will finally make this dream of an Italian American Museum a reality.

Buona Fortuna e Pace a Tutti!!

Joseph V. Scelsa