Monday morning, I had the great pleasure of meeting Germana Valentini, an enterprising television producer and author, in Little Italy, New York. Sitting in on a meeting, I learned several new and exciting projects are being proposed to help strengthen the historical connection between Napoli and New York City. These include complementary murals, a cultural center in New York, an emigrant museum in Naples, and a replica of the statue of San Gennaro located in the port of Naples, which was the last thing the emigrants departing for these United States saw before being greeted by the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Positive and important, not to mention long overdue, we pray these momentous new ventures come to fruition.
(L) Germana Valentini’s Veniero: Storie di emigranti italiani a New York (2023). (R) Germana was kind enough to show me her ring depicting the blood miracle of San Gennaro. It reads: "We in Naples thrive only on miracles"
Germana’s Veniero: Storie di emigranti italiani a New York can be purchased at store.venieros.com