Dear col. Hogan,

Dear friends of the National Columbus Association, Reverend Daniel Coughlin and National Mall Superintendent John Plitzecker,  Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am particularly glad to be here today with the whole Italian American community, to be part of this very special occasion to celebrate the Italian presence in the United States and the tradition of excellence of the overall relations between our two countries. I also wish to thank the United States armed forces honor guard, military district of Washington, the Knights of Columbus fourth degree color corps, Calvert province and the Districts of Washington Archdiocese, Maryland and Virginia for their participation in this important event.

Cristoforo Colombo changed the world’s history with his achievements.

Despite the increasingly fast pace of transformations that we experience in our times - transformations in technology which make communications quicker than ever; despite the enormous improvement of our standards of living, a real revolution such as the one Columbus made, changing the history of his time and the future of mankind, seems, even today, out of reach for a single man.

The genius, vision and spirit of this great Italian led to a veritable re-discovery of this part of the world, ensured the spreading of European civilization here and opened to the course of history the enormous contribution of the new world.

Columbus was born in Genoa exactly one year after Leonardo Da Vinci was in Tuscany.

They both worked and became famous in the same European context, a context of refined courts, distinguished intellectuals, artists and patrons, an environment where Italian science, research and technology were in constant demand and so highly admired.

Humanism and Renaissance, in their Italian origin, consisted in a supreme synthesis of values based on the strong reaffirmation of man’s freedom, brightness and aesthetic sense of beauty: a context of humanity living in harmony with nature.

It is because of these fundamental reasons that i believe that Columbus Day should be celebrated as the event which more than anything else honors the Italian community in America. Italians’ industrious contributions, together with their cultural and moral legacy, remain fundamental to the growth of this great nation that is the united states. 

I therefore believe that it is important to find a strong message in Columbus Day; we must remember the real meaning of a culture that emphasizes values centered on man, on freedom of spirit and on the excellence of its achievements.

These, indeed, are the Italian values, and have formed the character and the inspiration of giants of our common history such as Cristoforo Colombo and Leonardo Da Vinci.   

This is why the very essence of our celebration today is also an opportunity to reflect on how to reaffirm the Italian-American background as the most solid cultural basis for the friendship between Italy and the United States. 

Thank you

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(Pictured above, Italian Ambassador Giulio Terzi di Sant'Agata at the Columus Memorial in Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of Louis Scalfari and Marco Fiorante)