The 2012 Italian American Heritage Festival of Iowa will be held on the Court Avenue Bridge in downtown Des Moines on July 27 -28. The Cultural Center will once again present exhibits, demonstrations and performances that highlight our rich Italian and Italian-American heritage.
This year our regional focus will be on Tuscany and Calabria. This theme will be carried out in the chef demonstrations, Exhibit Tent, and the Cultural Center trailer. You can expect to see regional dress (both male and female), travel brochures and artifacts from the two Italian regions.
Genealogy instructors and computers will be available at the festival Exhibit Tent for those who are interested in locating their families via the Internet.
An Entertainers display is presently being compiled for display at the Exhibit Tent. Information about local Italian-American entertainers, both those presently performing and those from days gone by, is being sought from the public. We are also seeking more Italian-American wedding pictures to add to our collection. We will be glad to scan any pictures or news articles that you have to share and return them immediately.
For further information or to submit materials, you are asked to contact Cultural/Events committee chairperson Patricia Civitate at 515-244-4672 or 515-250-8804.
"Little Girl Paints DeGrazia", by Ettore (Ted) Degrazia
The Board of Governors of the Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa is proud to announce that signature plates of artist Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia are now on display in the museum. Included are “My First Horse,” “Love Me” and a DeGrazia self-portrait entitled “Little Girl Paints DeGrazia.” Miniature plates in the collection include “Sunflower Boy” and “Flower Boy.”
The son of Italian immigrants, Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia was born on June 14, 1909 in the mining camp of Morencia, Arizona. He became one of Arizona’s most prominent painters, illustrators and graphic artists. His signature works are paintings and illustrations of angel-like Southwest children.
DeGrazia’s immigrant father was an Italian copper miner and DeGrazia took a four-year family trip to Italy in 1920. He lived most of his life near Tuscon and worked in his studio which he called “The Gallery of the Sun.” It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ettore (Ted) DeGrazia
DeGrazia’s commercial success grew to include an international audience in the 1960′s, beginning with UNICEF featuring his painting “Los Ninos” on their greeting cards.
His vibrant images and bold strokes that most notably celebrate the Southwest and children have made him one of the most reproduced artists in the past five decades. He is self-described as “the world’s most reproduced artist.” DeGrazia died in 1982.
Visiting hours for the Cultural Center museum are Wednesday afternoons from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. and Sunday afternoons from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.. The Center is also open by appointment by calling 515-244-4672 or 515-250-8804.
Plans are now being formulated for this year’s Saint Joseph Altar celebration. The dinner and blessing of the altar will take place on March 18th and all-day visitation and luncheon will be held on March 19th, the feast of St. Joseph.
Individuals who would like to volunteer to be a part of the altar construction and/or baking of traditional breads and sweets are asked to call 515-244-4672 for additional information and a work schedule.
The preparations for this beautiful celebration are time consuming and truly an offering of love for Saint Joseph, foster father of Jesus and husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The feast of St. Lucy is December 13th and in Italy it ushers in the Christmas season. In keeping with this long-lasting tradition, the Cultural Center will have a celebration at the Center on Sunday, December 11th.
The celebration will begin with the lighting of the Christmas Fire at 3:00 pm. This will be followed by a candlelight procession through the hall to the altar prepared for St. Lucy. A memorial prayer service, honoring the memory of those who have been remembered through the Cultural center’s Memorial/Foundation program, will then take place.
There will be music and dancing, a sweets tasting table, and the sampling of the traditional Granno d’Santa Lucia with its various regional toppings. The gift shop will be open and there will be a bake sale of Italian sweets.
The Italian-American Cultural Center of Iowa will once again sponsor a Mitten Tree this holiday season. Donations of mittens, gloves, hats, and scarves are now being accepted to decorate a tree.
Following the Santa Lucia celebration on December 11th, these gifts will be donated to the Pioneer Columbus Center for distribution during their Holiday Gifts Basket program.
October has been declared Italian Heritage Month in Iowa by both Governor Terry E. Brandstad and Des Moines Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie.
To celebrate, the Italian American Cultural Center of Iowa hosted the 36th annual Columbus Day Dinner Party on Sunday, October 9, 2011. Over 100 people were welcomed to the cultural center by president Jo Anna Schmeling. Following a blessing by Deacon Tony Romeo, the guests were served an outstanding meal prepared by Christiani’s VIP Catering.
After the meal, mistress-of-ceremonies Patricia Civitate, director of the cultural center, introduced guest speaker Luca Berrrone, the President and CEO of Sacmi, USA. The evening concluded with the presentation of the Outstanding Citizen Awards to Linda Bisignano, Gracy (Danca) Kirkman, and the family of the late Dominic Natale Rizzuti.
The following day, over 40 Italian Americans were in attendance for a wreath-placing ceremony at the Christopher Columbus monument on the south lawn of the Capitol. This was the 73rd annual observance of Columbus Day at Iowa’s Columbus monument. Master-of-ceremonies Ralph Marasco introduced guest speaker Darren Marasco while the wreath was placed by Outstanding Citizen of the Year honoree Gracy Kirkman.
Participants in this year’s observance included the Bellizzi-MacRae American Legion Color Guard, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus, Gruppo Il Trattenimento Italiano, Societa Vittoria Italiana and Auxiliary, and the Society of Italian Americans and Auxiliary.
Please enjoy the photos below from both of these events.
Mayor Mauro Santora of Terravecchia, Italy, has prepared the following video message for the 2011 Oelwein Italian Heritage Day. The video also includes family photos of those who immigrated to Iowa from Terravecchia and their families. Also included are photos of Terravecchia taken by Donna Debartolo from her recent trip there.
Below the video is the English translation of Mayor Santora’s message.
Hello, my name is Mauro Santoro, Mayor of Terravecchia. Greetings to all of you who are originally from Terravecchia and who now live in the United States. I send you all my personal regards, along with the regards of my administration, the Vice Mayor, our City Council and all the citizens of Terravecchia. All of us feel very close to all of you who have lived for many years in the United States of America.
In particular, I remember from my research, that there were many families who left Terravecchia from the years 1901 through 1923 and emigrated to the United States. In particular, I cite the descendants of these emigrants who, even though they have never seen Terravecchia, maintain their connections to our city. Above all, when they offer their contributions for our patron saint Madonna del Carmine’s feast day. This event is honored and celebrated each year on the first Tuesday after Easter. We celebrate her day with lots of great music and entertainment for one and all.
I would like to acknowledge some of the families who emigrated from Terravecchia, especially the families Comite, Leo, members of the Pigneri family, Raiolo, Pisano, Farago, the families Sposato, Baratta, Brufonaro, Rizzuti, Bisignano, Santoro, Alessio, Vulcano, Scigliano, Scorpiniti, Liguori, Pirillo, Filippelli, Ciangiaruso, Marasco and Amodeo. Surely I am forgetting some family names, but you must forgive me because these are some very old surnames and it is difficult to remember all of them. However, I remember all of those fellow citizens who found it necessary leave Terravecchia for America. I send special greeting to the children, grandchildren and all the relatives of our emigrants.
I am very happy to hear that you all get together each year to celebrate and to remember your roots. The community of Terravecchia feels very close to all of you. I want you to know that I, and the city administration, feel very close to all of you. We thank you for your monetary gifts, especially those you sent to us after the World Wars. These gifts helped to sustain the families here and helped them emerge from a disastrous situation.
I am happy that many of you and your family members, feel the desire and the need to rediscover your roots and come here to visit us. I am very passionate about historical research and have written six books about Terravecchia. It pleases me greatly when I am able to provide historical data which helps people connect to their roots in Terravecchia.
I invite all of you to come to Terravecchia. I, along with some of my City’s officials, hope to visit all of you in America to participate in one of your reunions there so that you will feel even closer to the community of Terravecchia and shorten the geographical distance between us.
Terravecchia remains a very small town, but one that is growing economically. A town that keeps the old memories and traditions alive. For example, in the way in which we celebrate the feast of our Patron Saint Madonna del Carmine each Spring with great honor. This year 2011, in particular, we are having a party to celebrate 90 years of our re-establishment as an autonomous city. In 1910 Terravecchia was assumed as a part of the City of Cariati, and then in 1921, Terravecchia was re-established as a separate city. We announce with joy that in August, our Church of Santa Maria will be named a Diocesan Sanctuary by our Archbishop, Santo Marciano. This is a great honor for us, to be recognized. To know and understand our deeply religious history is a boost for the city as many pilgrims and visitors will come here to pray.
I renew my best regards to all of you, your families, and encourage you to maintain this connection. And I, along with other city officials, hope to visit you all in America soon. Again, I thank you for your attention. Best wishes and prosperity to all of you. Have fun and our very best to you all.
In July of 1961, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, one of the oldest churches in the city, was being prepared to be razed to make way for the River Hills urban renewal project. The Gothic styled landmark, located at Second and Crocker streets, was completed in 1877.
St. Mary’s parish was established primarily for German speaking residents of Des Moines. German was spoken and taught in the school during the early years.
However, a few families of Italian extraction, also were parishioners during the existence of the church. Such names as Jiacopetti, Comito, Scalise, Grandanette, Andreucetti, Simonini, Rinaldi, Marchetti, LaCava, Prati, Leonard, Papollni, Orsucci, Capello, Palandri, Piagantini and Canarini could be found on the church list.
At the time of the razing, the pastor at St. Mary’s was Father Dominic Webber, order of the Benedictine’s.
The etching of St. Mary’s Church shown here was drawn by Mr. Joseph Parisi, 1321 41st Street. Mr. Parisi had completed two years in art from Art Instruction, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. He had also taken courses in art lettering at Des Moines Tech, design and competition at the Des Moines Art Center. In 1961, he was employed at Look Magazine.
- from the American Citizen newspaper, July 28, 1961
Seventy-five years ago, on June 28, 1936, Des Moines Mayor Joseph Allen officiated at the dedication services of Columbus Park, formerly Walker Park, on Des Moines’ south side. Over 1,000 people were in attendance at the dedication ceremonies, which were sponsored by the Columbus Club in cooperation with all the other Italian-American societies in the city.
A bronze plaque was unveiled during the ceremony and presented by John Rossi, chairman of the celebration, to Mayor Allen who in turn presented it to E. Lee Keyser, parks commissioner.
Dr. Walter Kirch, of the Columbus Club, delivered the principal address of the afternoon before the formal dedication services. During his brief talk, he stressed particularly the value of citizens of Italian descent to the United States. Before speaking in English, he said a few words in Italian for the benefit of the older persons attending. He told them how he liked his country to the extent that he was made an American citizen three weeks earlier.
“In spite of the fact that the Italian people in this country came here for the most part, poor, uneducated and ignorant of English, they have by hard work and thrift in the last 70 years achieved an economic and political importance in this country that demands consideration. This should be used constructively and not for political graft,” said Dr. Kirch.
Dr. Kirch said that the Italians have contributed to the building of America by their very thriftiness which enabled them to survive on the low wages which industry found necessary to pay in the early building stages. He urged that Italians retain their racial pride.
Joseph Petosa, master of ceremonies,introduced all of the speakers on the program during the day.
Mayor Allen congratulated the Italian-Americans of this city for their hard work and perseverance before presenting the plaque made by the Columbus club to the Parks Commissioner, Mr. Keyser. Mr. Keyser accepted the plaque stating that it was a great pleasure to have the opportunity of participating in the celebration in honor of the occasion. He said he hoped that Columbus Park would become a center for all reunions for the Italian-Americans of the city as it was named for their very illustrious countryman and discoverer of America.
Henry HasBrouck, Commissioner of Public Safety, another guest of the club, also said a few words commending the club and the group for its splendid attention and interest in the park and in all things that had to do with the civic life of the people of the community. He said that he was most happy to be able to attend the celebration Sunday and hoped to attend every one in the future held at the park by this and any other group.
“I feel that the Italian-Americans of our city have done enough for the city of Des Moines to be entitled to this recognition of their great countryman,” concluded Mr. HasBrouck.
With no further speeches on the program a 50-piece band played a number of selections and the young peopIe joined in the athletic contests of the afternoon on the park grounds. Prizes were awarded to the winners of these games and contests by Dr. Ralph DeCicco, president of the Columbus club.
A dedication dance was held at the Societa Stemma D’Italia hall in the evening. Joe Gazzo and his orchestra played for the American dancing from 9 till 11 pm, while Arthur Nizzi and Joseph Zanotti, accordionists, played for the Italian folk dancing from 7 to 9 pm.
With the dedication of Columbus Park completed successfully, the Columbus Club began laying plans for the erection of a memorial for Columbus in the capital city of Iowa. The Columbus memorial was eventually dedicated on Columbus Day, 1938 at the State Capitol grounds.
- from the American Citizen newspaper, July 3, 1936.
St. Joseph's Altar Display at the All Things Italian Street Festival
On June 18, 2011, the Italian American Cultural Center of Iowa traveled to Fairfield, Iowa to participate in the annual “All Things Italian Street Festival“.
Cultural Center Director Patricia Civitate and volunteer Debbie Loiocomo brought with them a 6-foot Saint Joseph Altar with all of its trimmings. The altar, along with additional brochures containing information about the cultural center and Italian customs were on display at Fairfield’s Fellowship Hall during the festival.
Also in attendance at the festival were several adult and children dancers of the Des Moines-based Italian folk dance group, Il Trattenimento Italiano. The dance group performed on the main stage during the festival’s evening festivities.
