PRINTER'S NO. 2988
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 405
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY CIRESI, T. DAVIS, MUSTELLO, ARMANINI, KINSEY,
PIELLI, HILL-EVANS, GUENST, SCHLOSSBERG, CONKLIN, SCHMITT,
VITALI, BRENNAN, COOK, M. BROWN, HOWARD, ROWE, DELLOSO,
PICKETT, MERSKI, MALAGARI, JAMES, CERRATO, SANCHEZ, HEFFLEY,
NEILSON, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ AND HADDOCK, APRIL 24, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 24, 2024
A RESOLUTION
1 Designating the month of June 2024 as "Italian-American Heritage
2 Month" in Pennsylvania.
3 WHEREAS, Italians, including Christopher Columbus and Amerigo
4 Vespucci, were among the first explorers to discover the
5 American continents and map their geography; and
6 WHEREAS, Italian-Americans have defended the liberty and
7 integrity of the United States since the Revolutionary War; and
8 WHEREAS, The phrase in the Declaration of Independence, "all
9 men are created equal," was paraphrased from the writings of
10 Italian immigrant and American patriot Filippo Mazzei; and
11 WHEREAS, Two of the original signers of the Declaration of
12 Independence, William Paca and Caesar Rodney, were believed to
13 have been of Italian descent; and
14 WHEREAS, An estimated 5.5 million Italians immigrated to the
15 United States between 1820 and 2004; and
16 WHEREAS, Today there are approximately 18 million Americans
 1 of Italian descent in the United States, making them the fourth-
2 largest ethnic group in this country; and
3 WHEREAS, The Italian-American community has strong roots in
4 Pennsylvania; and
5 WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia remains the second-largest
6 Italian-American community in this country; and
7 WHEREAS, The recent 2020 census, along with the 2021 American
8 Community Survey, reported that approximately 1.7 million
9 Pennsylvanians have Italian ancestry; and
10 WHEREAS, Italian-Americans have made and continue to make
11 important contributions to this Commonwealth; and
12 WHEREAS, On June 2 of each year, Italian-Americans, Italians
13 and individuals of Italian descent around the world celebrate
14 Festa della Repubblica, or Republic Day, Italy's National Day
15 that commemorates the 1946 referendum ending the monarchy in
16 Italy and establishing a republic; and
17 WHEREAS, The month of June also marks the anniversaries of
18 the founding of two notable Italian-American organizations, the
19 Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America on June 22 and the
20 Italian American Heritage Foundation on June 29; and
21 WHEREAS, These observances have previously led the Congress
22 of the United States and state and local governments to
23 commemorate Italian-American heritage by declaring "National
24 Italian-American Heritage Week," "National Italian-American
25 Day," "Italian Heritage Day," "Italian-American Day" and other
26 days in June; therefore be it
27 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
28 month of June 2024 as "Italian-American Heritage Month" in
29 Pennsylvania; and be it further
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the
20240HR0405PN2988 - 2 -
1 significant contributions that Italian-Americans have made to
2 this Commonwealth and the United States.
20240HR0405PN2988 - 3 -