LA VOCE DI MANTOVA

From Washington to New York, the Digital Map of Italian Heritage Across the United States Continues to Grow

NEW YORK – From the stories of Italian immigrants to the cultural, artistic, and entrepreneurial achievements of Italians in the United States, the expansion of tracingITALIANroots©️ into the New York area was officially unveiled on Friday at the Consulate General of Italy in New York.

Developed by GlobalMedia, a Mantua-based agency that has spent the past 30 years creating multisensory applications and immersive storytelling experiences worldwide, the web app documents and geolocates Italy’s legacy across America through an interactive digital map.

The initiative was presented by Ornella Fado, Vice President of COMITES New York, and Fabio Castagna, the project’s curator and author. The presentation took place in the presence of Deputy Consul Laura Pirino and representatives of leading Italian-American institutions.
Following the successful pilot project launched in Washington, D.C., which was recognized by Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as a Special Project, the platform is now expanding into New York City, the iconic gateway of Italian immigration to America.

Accessible free of charge without requiring installation, the web app allows users to explore places, stories, landmarks, and individuals that have shaped the Italian presence in the United States. By connecting American narratives with their places of origin in Italy, the platform serves as a dynamic archive that leverages imagery, multimedia content, and augmented reality to transform collective memory into an engaging digital experience.
Among the first 200-plus entries cataloged in the New York area are several notable figures and landmarks linked to the province of Mantua. One example is Stefano Albertini, a native of Bozzolo and Director of NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, which has been featured on the map as a key institution promoting Italian culture in the United States.

The project also highlights Giovanni Turini of Castel Goffredo, creator of the bust of Giuseppe Mazzini installed in Central Park in 1978.
Special attention was given to the 90th anniversary of Tazio Nuvolari’s victory in the 1936 Vanderbilt Cup. Through a collaboration with the Tazio Nuvolari Museum in Mantua, a dedicated digital feature has been created for Vanderbilt Avenue, allowing visitors to view, in augmented reality, the Alfa Romeo entered by Scuderia Ferrari that carried the legendary Mantuan driver to his historic triumph.
“Our goal is to foster strong collaboration among institutions, associations, museums, theaters, and media organizations to create a living, accessible, and shared map of Italian identity,” said Ornella Fado.

Fabio Castagna emphasized that the project “is not simply creating a map, it is giving life to a soul: a living map of Italian heritage,” capable of building “a shared and inclusive narrative of Italian identity in America while strengthening the bridge between the two sides of the Atlantic.”

Following Washington and New York, the project is now looking toward future expansion into cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, and Houston, with the goal of creating a comprehensive, participatory map of Italian heritage throughout the United States.

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