The Brooklyn Giglio Feast: A Community Dialogue
A symposium presented by The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute and The New-York Historical Society.
Saturday, January 20, 2001, 2PM
The New-York Historical Society
2 West 77th Street at Central Park West
The giglio feast in Williamsburg, Brooklyn is one of the city’s most dramatic public celebrations. Giglio in Italian means lily, but in Brooklyn the flower is a multi-tiered spire consisting of a series of papier-mâché and wood panels attached to an aluminum frame topped by a statue of Saint Paulinus (354-431) of Nola. The tower is lifted and carried through the neighborhood streets by approximately 125 able-bodied men in a reenactment of St. Paulinus’s safe return from enslavement and the townspeople’s heartfelt welcome who waved lilies at the shore.
Immigrants from Nola, a town near Naples, introduced the religious feast to the city in 1903. Their descendants and other community members have been celebrating the feast almost every year since. Learn more about this festival tradition in Italy and New York at this free talk.
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Community members and feast participants lifter Michael Addeo, writer Vera Galasso Badamo, Monsignor David L. Cassato, Capo # 1 2001-2002 Benjamin “Benny” Mangone, Honorary Capo Salvatore “Sarge” Mirando, and giglio band conductor Daniel Vecchiano will talk about their involvement in the feast.
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Dr. Joseph Sciorra of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute will talk about the history of the feast in Italy and the United States.
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View vintage film footage of the feast in Nola and Brooklyn.
Seating is limited and reservations are required. R.S.V.P (212) 873-3400, press zero.
The New-York Historical Society
2 West 77th Street at Central Park West.
Subway: B or C train to 81st Street
Bus: M10 to 77th Street; M79 to 81st and CPW
Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission is $5/adults, $3/students and seniors,
children 12 and under free. For more information, the public should call (212) 873-3400.
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