Queen Isabella of Spain (Mayra DiRico) and Christopher Columbus (Joe DiRico) are joined by the Parade Grand Marshal Philanthropist Antonio ‘Nino’ Vendome at seeing new lands to be discovered. (Mr. Vendome is best known for the role he played immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001 and his community outreach through the summer of 2002. He turned his family restaurant, Nino’s American Kitchen, into a relief center that served hundreds of thousands of free meals twenty- four hours a day to firefighters, police officers, Red Cross workers and others at the World Trade Center site.) Photo Walter Karling
The rain stopped as the head of the parade headed up 33rd Street approaching Columbus Triangle. Photos Walter Karling
Parade Chairman and event emcee, Judge Jerry Iannece leads participants with the Italian and American national anthems that brought a solemn moment.
The NYPD band paraded smartly from start to finish with inspirational tunes.
Queen Isabella of Spain (Mayra DiRico) and Christopher Columbus (Joe DiRico) discuss the operation of a navigational telescope joined by FIAOQ President Joseph DiPietro.
Alessandro Iannece prepares the Columbian flagship, the Santa Maria, for its time in dry dock.
The traditional laying of a wreath at the foot of the Columbus statue.
