• The Order of the Sons of Italy in America (OSIA) is the largest and oldest national organization for men and women of Italian heritage in the United States.
• Established in 1905 by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro as a mutual aid society for the early Italian immigrants, today OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 700 chapters coast to coast, making it the leading service and advocacy organization for the nations estimated 26 million people of Italian descent.
• Its missions include encouraging the study of Italian language and culture in American schools and universities; preserving Italian American traditions, culture, history and heritage; and promoting closer cultural relations between the United States and Italy.
• The Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) is a private, philanthropic institution, established by OSIA in 1959. To date, the SIF has given more than $93 million to scholarships, medical research, cultural preservation, disaster relief, and other projects.
• The Commission for Social Justice (CSJ) is the anti-defamation arm of the OSIA. The CSJ is committed to fighting racism, prejudice, and the stereotyping of all races, religions and cultures.

                    "Today I have a dream and hope that someday, even if it takes one hundred years before we are fully accepted, our children and their children's children, even if they carry a single drop of Italian blood, will be able and proud to continue to carry on our traditions, our culture and our language.  It is up to us, and what we do today."  --  Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro, OSIA Founder.

OFFICERS OF THE LEONARDO DA VINCI LODGE #2841

President:  FRANK GIACALONE - nyflnonno@aol.com

1st Vice President:  JOSEPH GIACALONE -joe.davincilodge@gmail.com 

Orator:  EVE NASETTI - eve@nasetti.com

Financial Secretary:  CONCETTA WARD - jlbward@comcast.net   

Recording Secretary:  ELAINE PREZZEMOLO - epsells@kw.com

Treasurer: RITA GIACALONE - nyflmima@aol.com

Mistress of Ceremonies:  TBA

Master of Ceremonies:   TBA

Guard: ROBERT WARD - jlbward@comcast.net

Trustee:   JOHN GIANATASIO - drgwestboca@att.net

Trustee:  JOHN NASETTI - john@nasetti.com

Trustee:  ELVIRA (VERA) DeMino - verademino@bellsouth.net

State Deputy:   JENNETTE  DALLESSANDRO - silkiesal@att.net

COMMITTEES & CHAIRPERSONS

MEMBERSHIP -   FRANK GIACALONE - (561) 470-1149
SOCIAL -              EVE NASETTI - (561) 865-3476
FUNDRAISING -   ELAINE PREZZEMOLO & EVE NASETTI

NEWSLETTER-   EVE NASETTI - (561) 865-3476


Please contact an above committee and volunteer your
time. OUR lodge needs OUR help!

OSIA Founder Vincenzo Sellaro

Vincenzo Sellaro, founder of the Order Sons of Italy in America, was born April 24, 1868, in Polizzi Generosa in the province of Palermo, Sicily. His parents were Giuseppe Sellaro, a shoemaker, and Serafina Polizzotto. As is customary for the first boy in many southern Italian families, he was named after his paternal grandfather. He received his medical degree in 1895 from the University of Naples and immigrated to the United States in 1897 where he settled in New York City. The following year, he completed post-graduate courses at the Cornell Medical School and obtained a license to practice medicine in New York State.

I AM AN ITALIAN-AMERICAN

By Pete Monaldi

I am an Italian-American. My roots are deep in an ancient soil,
drenched by the Mediterranean sun, and watered by pure streams from
snow capped mountains.

I am enriched by thousands of years of culture.

My hands are those of the mason, the artist, the man of the soil.

My thoughts have been recounted in the annals of Rome, the poetry of
Virgil, the creations of Dante, and the philosophy of Benedetto Croce.
I am an Italian-American, and

From my ancient world, I first spanned the seas to the New World. I am
Cristoforo Colombo.

I am Giovanne Caboto known in American History as John Cabot,
discoverer of the mainland of North America.

I am Amerigo Vespucci, who gave my name to the New World, America.

First to sail on the Great Lakes in 1679, founder of the territory that
became the State of Illinois, colonizer of Louisiana and Arkansas, I am
Enrico Tonti.

I am Filippo Mazzei friend of Thomas Jefferson, and my thesis on the
equality of man was written into the Bill of Rights.

I am William Paca, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

I am an Italian-American, I financed the Northwest Expedition of George
Rogers Clark and accompanied him through the lands that would become
Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan. I am Colonel Francesco Vigo.

I mapped the Pacific from Mexico to Alaska and to the Philippines, I am
Alessandro Malaspina.

I am Giacomo Belinimi, discoverer of the source of the Mississippi
River in 1823.

I created the Dome of the United States Capitol. They call me the
Michelangelo of America. I am Constantino Brumidi.

In 1904, I founded in San Francisco, the Bank of Italy now known as the
Bank of America, the largest financial institution in the world, I am
A.P. Giannini.

I am Enrico Fermi, father of nuclear science in America.

I am Steve Geppi, founder of Diamond Comics, the largest
distributorship of comics on the planet.

First enlisted man to earn the Medal of Honor in World War II, I am
John Basilone of New Jersey.

I am an Italian-American. I am the million strong who served in
America's armies and the tens of thousands whose names are enshrined in
military cemeteries from Guadalcanal to the Rhine.

I am the steel maker in Pittsburgh, the grower in the Imperial Valley
of California, the textile designer in Manhattan , the movie maker in
Hollywood, the homemaker and the breadwinner in over 10,000 communities.

I am an American without stint or reservation, loving this land as only
one who understands history, its agonies and its triumphs can love and
serve it.

I will not be told that my contribution is any less nor my role not as
worthy as that of any other American.

I will stand in support of this nation's freedom and protect against
all foes.

My heritage has dedicated me to this nation.

I am proud of my heritage, and I shall remain worthy of it.

I am an Italian-American.