The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic

ing from this influence. This is a subject dear to me and a contemplation deepened through my role as editor

of two other volumes—

The Italian Legacy in Washington D.C.: Architecture, Design, Art, and Culture

, published

by Skira in 2008, and

The Italian Legacy in Philadelphia: History, Culture, People, and Ideas

, Temple University

Press, 2021.

The Italian Legacy in the Dominican Republic: History, Architecture, Economics and Society

builds on

that framework as the third of an ongoing multi-volume series that aims to enhance our understanding of the

significance of the Italian presence in other societies.

I wish everyone a good read and discovery of the richness and depth of the history of the friendship and

ties between Italy and the Dominican Republic.

ENDNOTES

Marcio Veloz Maggiolo, “Italianos en la vida dominicana,”

Siglo

, October 27, 2001, 6E.

The debates over Columbus are ongoing in many parts of the

world. For an analysis of how Columbus is perceived in the Ita-

lo-American community, particularly in the Philadelphia region

and his significance to that community, see A. Canepari, “Ciao

Philadelphia: Creation of an Italian Cultural Initiative and Vol-

ume,” in

The Italian Legacy in Philadelphia: History, Culture, People,

and Ideas

, ed. A. Canepari and J. Goode (Philadelphia: Temple

University Press, 2021). In the United States there are those who

forget the role played by Columbus, since the time of his cel-

ebration at a federal level, in linking an oppressed minority to

the foundation of the United States. On May 21, 2020, an article

written by Gilda Rorro and published on the front page of the

New Jersey newspaper

The Italian Voice

under the title “Preserve

Columbus Statues: A legacy for the Ages” ended as follows: “Co-

lumbus’ statuary serve as physical monuments of bygone eras,

which are a precious legacy for this and future generations. Pre-

serve them as a resource to unite all people through education

and mutual understanding. In closing, I remember the former

Consul General of Italy in Philadelphia, and current Ambassa-

dor of Italy to the Dominican Republic, His Excellency Andrea

Canepari, saying about Columbus in 2016: ‘His statues stand as a

symbol for an oppressed minority to be recognized through him

as part of the dna of the Delaware Valley.’”

For some considerations on the passage and on the continuity

between the Middle Ages and the modern age, see A. Tenenti,

L’età moderna. La civiltà europea nella storia mondiale

(Bologna:

Società editrice il Mulino, 1981) and J. Huizinga,

L’autunno del

Medioevo

(Rome: Newton Compton, 1992).

INTRODUCTION BY THE EDITOR

Following pages:

Las Damas Street,

Colonial Zone, Santo

Domingo.