A large group of Italians and Italo Americans of the Greater New Haven Area, on the occasion of the celebration of Columbus Day, laid a wreath at the foot of the empty pedestal on which once there was the statue of Colombo with a plaque of the dedication “To The Italians of New Haven”. They demonstrated the same courage, determination and perseverance of Christopher Columbus: during the ceremony, second after the removal of the statue, organized by the Italian American Defense League headed by Matthew Guarnieri and the members of the Board Frank Frank and Fran Calzetta, Vincent Casanova Professor of History and poet read from his poems “A statue in the park”. Poetry inspired by the presence of the statue of Columbus for the past years on the Wooster Square park in the Little Italy area of New Haven.
The president of IADL Matthew Guarnieri, an Educator, after the deposition of the wreath said: “Today’s ceremony represents the unity, the faith, the devotion and courage of Columbus, of the Italian immigrants and all Americans”. It also recalled the History of the dedication of the statue of Cristoforo Colombo on October 21, 1892 on the Wooster Square Park in New Haven: it was on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America to which the Mayor of New Haven Joseph B. Sargent was present. Mayor Sargent at the dedication said: “The statue of Colombo will remain as a symbol of loyalty of the Italian immigrants to this nation and to its flag”.
Guarnieri remembered also Paul Russo, son of an Italian violinist who emigrated to New Haven from Viggiano, in 1872, one of the first Italians to land in New Haven, who when the statue of Colombo was built with the funds raised by the Italians and Italo Americans, on the occasion of the recurrence of the 400.th anniversary, during the dedication ceremony, represented the Italian Societies then in existence. Guarnieri concluded by saying: “We are promoting a new Italian-American tradition for the future by telling the history of the dedication of the statue of Christopher Columbus to Wooster Square Park and the story of Paul Russo and the first Italians of New Haven who will never be forgotten.”
The ceremony ended with the exhibition of Michael Guarnieri who sang two Italian popular songs: “Che sara’ sara’” and “ O’ Sole mio”.
The statue of Cristoforo Colombo was removed in 2020 by the Mayor of New Haven Justin Eliker with the support of some Italian leaders and local politicians after the tragedy of George Floyd and the demonstrations of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Mission of the IADL Italian American Defense League is to promote education, portray Italians in a positive way and preserve traditions. IADL is against discrimination against Italians and people of all ethnic groups and all races. The IADL recently sued the City of New Haven for the removal of the statue of Christopher Columbus erected 128 years ago. The case has been dismissed by the District Court of Connecticut, but the IADL League has already filed for an appeal because historical monuments are protected by federal law.
“However, the legal concept of standing is being used as a weapon to silence Italian Americans who are protecting American heritage and history before they even have a chance to make their argument in court.”
President Guarnieri said.
To help with a donation the Italian American Defense League you can go to the following website: https://iaddlnow.org/home
