In Los Angeles, Italian American Heritage Month was celebrated in the context of the recent designation of the month of October as the month of Italian culture by the State of California under the initiative of Senator Anthony J. Portantino. In this context, the Little Italy of Los Angeles Association, organized on October 6 the annual “Festa Italiana” in San Pedro, where the largest concentration of Italian descendants in Southern California is present.
The event, conceived as a “town square celebration” featured 40 booths, with live music and entertainment, that attracted approximately 30,000 visitors.
Consul General Valentini took part in the opening speeches together with Councilman Tim McOsker, representing District 15 of Los Angeles covering the San Pedro area, and LILAA President Mario Amalfitano. In her speech, the Consul General referred to the important contributions of Italian migrants to the prosperity of modern Los Angeles, to the deep bonds of friendship between the Italian and American people, remembering the recent success of the stopover of the Amerigo Vespucci ship, which attracted approximately 72,000 visitors last July, also thanks to the important support provided on a voluntary basis by the Italian-American community of San Pedro.
