Our Lady of Pompeii Church is located on 25 Carmine St. in New York City since 1928. But originally it was born in 1892 as the chapel of St. Raphael Society for the Protection of Italian Immigrants, in a townhouse that is still standing at 113 Waverly Place. The church location had to be changed several times but the needs of the ever-growing migrant Italian population had to be served, and finally a new building formally opened on October 7, 1928.
The church’s architect was Matthew Del Gaudio, an Italian American graduate of Cooper Union active in his profession from 1905 to his death in 1960. Del Gaudio created a Romanesque building that would have reminded the earliest parishioners of Italy, with its shallow front steps and flat façade close to the street, its domed sanctuary, and its campanile, or bell tower. The figure on the roof is St. Charles Borromeo, patron saint of the order of priests that founded and still staff the Church.
Discover this building steeped in the history of Italian New Yorkers with “Nuova York: Hidden in Plain Sight”. Hosted by Stefano Albertini, NYU and brought to life by Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, this series is on a mission to uncover and showcase the tangible traces of Italian presence in New York City, which boasts the largest Italian-American population in North America and ranks as the third-largest Italian population outside of Italy itself.
Each episode shines a spotlight on something special – be it a monument, a church, a store, a building, or even a street, answering those fundamental questions: when was it established, by whom, and why?
Videography by Eugenio Pizzorno, Motion Design Dan Arnklit
