Knight of Columbus with Italian flag
On Columbus Day, October 8, 2012, Italian Americans and friends joined in the centennial celebration at the National Christopher Columbus Memorial located at the Union Station plaza.
The celebration marked the 100th year since the unveiling of the Columbus Memorial. According to the June 9, 1912 edition of The Washington Herald, it was then Italian Ambassador Marquis Cusani Confalonieri who at the end of his remarks was “handed a rope connected with the drapings around the statue . . .The Ambassador gave the rope a vigorous pull. The two gigantic American flags were loosened from the monument floating majestically in the breeze from from the cable extending over the site, revealing in all its ravishing beauty the statue of Columbus.”
Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo) was equally honored with pomp and ceremony again this year, thanks to “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, and the hundreds of Knights of Columbus dressed in their full regalia, and by the presentations of thirty memorial wreaths by various groups including the National COPILAS and the Lido Civic Club. The Italian Embassy was represented by Minister Luca Franchetti Pardo, the Deputy Chief of Mission, and Minister Cristiano Maggipinto.
