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WHEREAS, on June 24, 2005, the Giuseppe Verdi Lodge #315 of the Order Sons
of Italy in America hosted the 29th Biennial
State Convention of the Grand
Lodge of Virginia in Richmond, celebrating the national fraternal
organization's 100th anniversary; and
WHEREAS, the Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA), established by Vincenzo
Sellaro on June 7, 1905, to preserve Italian American heritage and culture,
claims 700 prestigious chapters with 750,000
members; and
WHEREAS, overcoming hardship and discrimination, early Italian immigrants
and their children became
part of the intricate fabric of American society
in less than 100 years; today, their descendants number nearly 16 million,
and citizens with at least one Italian grandparent number 26 million; and
WHEREAS, Italian Americans have grown
in spirit and prosperity because they
are passionately committed to strong family values, the welfare and
education
of their children, as well as the elevation and enrichment of the
lives of all citizens; and
WHEREAS, throughout
the country's history, Italian Americans have fought for
equality and freedom: three Italian regiments, totaling 1,500
men, fought in
the American
Revolution; Giuseppe Garibaldi, dubbed the "Jeb Stuart of
Italy," was offered a generalship in the Union Army by President Abraham
Lincoln;
Sergeant John Basilone, killed in the battle of Iwo Jima, was the
only enlisted Marine to receive the Navy Cross for Valor
and the
Congressional
Medal of Honor; and Captain Don Gentile of the United States
Army Air Force, hailed by Dwight D. Eisenhower as his "one man air force,"
was awarded
the Distinguished Cross; and
WHEREAS, Filippo Mazzei, a lifelong friend and neighbor of Thomas Jefferson,
inspired the famous phrase "All men are
created equal" when he wrote, "All
men are by nature equally free and independent"; and
WHEREAS, Costantino Brumidi,
considered the "Michelangelo"
of the United
States Capitol, painted the building's exquisite interior dome; Dominick
Argento, one of the most famous
and frequently performed twentieth century
opera composers, received the Pulitzer Prize for Music for his song cycles,
From the Diary of Virginia
Woolf; Don DeLillo,
one of the most noteworthy
contemporary American novelists, wrote Americana, Great Jones Street, Libra,
White Noise,
and Underworld; and Lawrence
Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso,
dissatisfied with conformity in the 1950s, were two prominent "Beat
Generation"
poets; and
WHEREAS, resourceful Italian American entrepreneurs contributed much to the
growth and stability of
the American economy, including Amadeo Pietro
Giannini, who established the Bank of America, one of the nation's largest
banks; Generoso
Pope, the first Italian American millionaire, who
transformed Colonial Sand and Stone Company into the largest building
materials supplier in the country; William Cafaro and Edward J. DeBartolo,
Sr., who developed the American shopping
mall; Leonard Riggio of Barnes
&
Noble and Robert DiRomualdo of Borders, who command the two largest
bookstore chains; and Fred DeLuca,
who at age 17 started his first sandwich
shop, which evolved into 13,136 Subways in 64 countries; and
WHEREAS,
the Italian American generation of the current era is replete with
glittering stars and engaging personalities, including,
among many others,
Yogi
Berra, Joe DiMaggio,
Joe Montana, Tommy Lasorda, Jimmy Durante, Frank
Sinatra, Francis Ford Coppola, Madonna, Mario Cuomo, and Rudy Giuliani; and
WHEREAS, modern Italian Americans
owe a great debt of gratitude to the
sacrifices of their immigrant ancestors, and all Americans may be
exceedingly
proud of the illustrious accomplishments and invaluable
contributions made by Italian Americans, past and present; now,
therefore,
be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General
Assembly commend
and congratulate the Order Sons of Italy in America and the
Giuseppe Verdi Lodge #315 of Virginia on the occasion of their
100th
anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this
resolution
for presentation to the Giuseppe Verdi Lodge #315 in appreciation
of the lodge's efforts to preserve Italian American
heritage and culture and
as an expression of the best wishes of the General Assembly.
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