St. John’s University turned into Little Italy on Oct. 20 to celebrate the 39th annual celebration of Italian Heritage and Culture Month.
During the celebration, the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York Inc. (IHCC-NY) honored Italian Creativity, 1965 New York World’s Fair: 2015 Expo Milano, Celebrating 50 Years of Science and Technology, to commemorate the scientific and technological accomplishments of Italians and Italian-Americans.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz was joined by Joseph Sciame, president/chair of the IHCC-NY, and Chiara Saulle, vice consul of the Consulate General of Italy, to recognize and hand out citations to the five honorees.
“Tonight we honor educators and artists and people that spent their lives not only for Italian heritage, but for the next generation,” Katz said. “I congratulate every single one of you, and thank you for the honor of being involved here tonight.”
The five people honored by the IHCC-NY were Tony DiPiazza, Italian-American leader; J.P. DiTroia, president of the U.S. Columbarium; Maria Lisella, poet laureate for Queens; Carolyn Reres, state president for the New York Grand Lodge, Order Sons of Italy in America; and Robert E. Mangione, Ed.D., provost, St. John’s University.
