IL NEWYORKESE

The New Map of Italian Heritage in the United States

TracingITALIANroots.NY is a digital platform that tells the story of the Italian presence in the United States through family histories, ancestral origins, and cultural traditions.

At the Consulate General of Italy in New York, memory is being transformed into an interactive map. Not a static archive or a simple collection of testimonies, but a project that seeks to turn Italian roots in America into a living network of stories, places, and shared identities.
Yesterday marked the official presentation of TracingITALIANroots.NY, a digital platform dedicated to preserving and promoting Italian cultural heritage in the United States. At the heart of the initiative is a free web-based application that allows users to explore a dynamic map of Italian American heritage, navigating family stories, traditions, places of origin, and migration journeys.

Recognized as a Special Project by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) and developed by GlobalMedia, the platform is launching in New York following a successful pilot phase in Washington, D.C.

The platform already features one hundred profiles, accessible worldwide.
More than a genealogical database, TracingITALIANroots.NY aims to build a bridge between past and present, connecting small Italian towns and villages with Italian American communities across the United States. It is a geography of belonging as much as a digital resource.
“We started in Washington, and now we are here in New York as part of the project’s expansion,” explained Fabio Castagna of GlobalMedia, the platform’s developer and owner. “It is a web application—not an app that needs to be downloaded—that maps the Italian presence throughout New York.”
“What makes it unique is that it also maps users’ roots in Italy. It creates a bridge that begins in New York and traces family origins back to Italy, and vice versa. The platform includes databases, search tools, self-registration features, and the ability to conduct interviews. But it goes far beyond simple record-keeping: it tells the story of the places people come from, creating a powerful opportunity to promote Italy’s cultural heritage.”

The concept originated approximately three years ago through a local project focused on the city of Mantua and the history of the Gonzaga family. It gradually evolved into a broader initiative dedicated to documenting Italian identity abroad.

“When we began mapping the Gonzaga heritage in Mantua, the idea emerged to tell the story not only of a specific territory but of Italian identity as a whole,” Castagna said. “From there, we arrived in New York, developed additional applications, and, through our collaboration with COMITES New York, created a partnership centered on Italian roots. Later, together with MAECI, the project was expanded to serve all COMITES organizations throughout the United States.”

During the event, speakers also highlighted the institutional recognition received by the platform, which has been praised as a model capable of combining innovation, historical memory, and cultural promotion.
“MAECI, together with GlobalMedia, supported and funded the project because it represents a successful model at the intersection of culture, memory, and innovation. In 2025, the Embassy of Italy introduced a pilot version that achieved immediate success. Today, the platform is fully operational and continues to evolve.”

According to the project’s organizers, the goal is to create a participatory network that brings together institutions, associations, museums, media organizations, and local communities. The map is intended not only to help people trace surnames and places of origin but also to rebuild a broader sense of collective identity and belonging.
During the presentation, attendees viewed a live demonstration of the platform, showcasing how the web application guides users through family stories, historical photographs, culinary traditions, and the small Italian towns from which thousands of families departed generations ago in search of a new life in the United States.

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