By Angelo Bianchi, Esq
I am an Italian American.
My roots are deep in an ancient soil drenched by the
Mediterranean sun, and watered by pure streams from
snow capped mountains.
I am enriched by thousands of yeas
of culture.
My hands are those of the mason, the artist, the man
of the soil.
My thoughts have been recorded in the annals of Rome,
the poetry of Virgil,
The creations of Dante, and the philosophy of Benedetto
Croce.
I am an Italian American and from
my ancient world,
I first spanned the seas to the new world.
I am Cristoforo Colombo
I am Giovanni Caboto
Known in American history as John Cabot, discoverer
of the mainland in North America
I am Amerigo Vespucci,
Who gave my name to the new world, America.
First to sail on the Great Lakes
in 1679, founder of the territory that became the State
of Illinois, colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas,
I am Enrico Tonti
I am Filippo Mazzei,
Friend of Thomas Jefferson and my thesis on the equality
of man was written into the Bill of Rights
I am William Paca,
Signer of the Declaration of Independence.
I am an Italian American,
II financed the Northwest Expedition of George Rogers
Clark and accompanied him through the lands that would
become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
I am Colonel Francesco Vigo
I mapped the Pacific from Mexico
to Alaska and to the Phillipines.
I am Alessandro Malaspina.
I am Giacomc Beltrami,
Discoverer of the source of the Mississippi River in
1823.
I created the Dome of the United
States Capitol. They called me the Michelangelo of America.
I am Constantino Brumidi.
In 1904. I founded in San Francisco,
the Bank of Italy now known as the Bank of America,
the largest financial institution in the world.
I am A.P. Giannini/
I am Enrico Fermi,
Father of nuclear science in America.
First enlisted man to win the medal
of Honor in World War II,
I am John Basilone of New Jersey.
I am an Italian American. I am the
million strong who served in America's armies and the
tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in military
cemeteries from Guadalcanal to the Rhine. Who served
and sacrificed in Korea, whose names are etched on the
wall; and those from Desert Storm, to Afghanistan.
I am the steel maker in Pittsburgh,
the grower in the Imperial Valley of California, the
textile designer in Manhattan, the movie maker in Hollywood,
The home make and the breadwinner, 10,000 communities.
I am an American without stint or
reservation,
loving this land as only one who understands history,
its agonies and its triumphs can love it and serve it.
I will not be told that my contribution
is any less nor my role not as worthy as that of any
other American.
I will stand in support of this
nation's freedom and promise against all foes.
My heritage has dedicated me to
this nation.
I am proud of my full heritage, and I shall remain worthy
of it.
I am an Italian American
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