A Tuscan garden on Staten Island, a showcase of Italian culture. Created by the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute, and with the close cooperation of the Regional Government of Tuscany and the Fitzgerald Foundation of Florence.
This Tuscan Garden is an exact replica of the Renaissance garden which embraces Villa Gamberaia, a suggestive hillside archaeological complex at Settignano, a pleasant hamlet of Florence. The Villa, a classical building which is the focal point of the formal garden on the grounds of Snug Harbor, is the home of a rich programme of exhibitions and cultural events – from music to theatre to cuisine – with the cooperation of the Italian Government. Soon will be available a program which will give the opportunity to enjoy all the richness of the Italian civilization .
Snug Harbor organised a Gala for the inauguration of the Tuscan Garden, a “Tour of Italy” that made protagonist all the Italian country: the guests, in fact, tasted regional food and wine specialities from every region of Italy. Along the paths of the garden were characters in Italian Renaissance costume, even troubadours, and typical masquerade of ancient traditions like Arlequino and Pulcinella. There had been also two exhibitions, dedicated one to the Gardens of Italy, sponsored by the Italian Government, and the other to photographs of the famous Italian Americans Joe Di Maggio and Mario Lanza, created in cooperation with the Garibaldi Museum. The evening closed with the official announcement that the first off-set “Museo Italia” will be opened next year at Snug Harbor.
Among the speeches of many dignitaries and celebrities during the Gala, noteworthy was the one by Cav. Lawrence Auriana, President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, who was honoured with the Lorenzo de’ Medici Award.
High finance man, businessman and patron of the arts, Lawrence Auriana recalled the origin of the “very worthwhile project” of the Tuscan Garden, which “the hard work, tenacity, and generosity of a committed group of individuals” had crowned with success. “More than five years ago,” stated Mr. Auriana, “I visited Snug Harbor at the suggestion of Giuliana Ridolfi from the Italian Cultural Institute, and learned from Fran Huber, Count Gherardini, and Francesco Fadda, during lunch with the late Senator John Marchi, about plans for the Tuscan Garden. Senator Marchi, a grandson of Tuscany from Lucca, and a son of Staten Island, was a great friend of Snug Harbor and an important proponent of the Tuscan Garden. His spirit lives on in our friend, Joan Migliori, his daughter, a very ardent supporter of this project.”
“It is very fitting, he continued, that the Tuscan Garden is on Staten Island, which has the largest Italian American population of any county in the United States.” It is also appropriate, that New York, the preeminent world financial centre, has an Italian cultural centre based on a Renaissance garden from Florence, which at that time was a great financial centre. “I work in finance” Mr Auriana said, “and history shows that all great cultures emanate from the wealth of a nation. Great cultures are not created by government bureaucracies but by the individuals who create art and develop science. That was the case in Renaissance Italy, and it has been the case in the United States.”
Mr. Auriana thanked Frances Paolo Huber and Count Raffaello Gherardini for “having the vision to see what the Tuscan Garden could be and the strength of character to make it reality”.
Mr. Auriana quoted also those who had contributed to making New York the city we admire today, personalities, of the past and the present, of the calibre of John Jacob Astor of the New York Public Library; J. P. Morgan of the Morgan Library; Abby Aldrich Rockefeller of the Museum of Modern Art; Robert Richard Randall, the original benefactor of Snug Harbor in 1801; Baroness Zerilli-Marimo and her “well-respected” Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo at NYU; Ken Langone's of the NYU Langone Medical Center.
“At a time when Italian Americans are in danger of losing their true cultural identity through mischaracterization by the media and entertainment industries - he continued -it is important to have a cultural centre like the Tuscan Garden, that will give Italian Americans the opportunity to renew and rediscover their true heritage and give all Americans the opportunity to see Italian culture as it really is”.