Want to learn about Italian-American history? You don’t need to go far. Check out the following Brooklyn landmarks to learn more about Italian-Americans’ rich history. 

Basilica of Regina Pacis

1230 65th St, Brooklyn, NY 11219

The Basilica of Regina Pacis is a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn.

The Basilica of Regina Pacis, located in Bensonhurst, opened on Aug. 15, 1950 as a votive shrine for the then-Church of St. Rosalia. It is considered the mother church of Italian immigrants. 

The inside of Regina Pacis is pictured while it was decorated for the 2021-2022 Christmas season.

Dedicated to Mary under her title as Queen of Peace, it was built with hope for lasting world peace following World War II. The movement began with then-Monsignor Angelo Cioffi and his congregation in 1942, with construction starting six years later. 

It was created in the style of Italian renaissance revival architecture, with marble from different parts of Italy. At 93 years old, artist Ilario Panzironi painted the image of Mary which hangs over the main altar. 

Regina Pacis hosts a mass partly in the Italian language each Sunday at noon. It also holds masses in Mandarin and Spanish.

In 2013, Bishop of Brooklyn Nicholas DiMarzio received permission from Pope Benedict XVI to designate Regina Pacis Church as a minor basilica.

The Church of St. Rosalia was closed permanently in 2016, establishing Regina Pacis as the parish church. Despite community protest, the church was demolished in 2018. 

The Diocese of Brooklyn could not sustain the costs of running the original church due to “significant financial hardships.”

The ceiling of Regina Pacis features Catholic imagery.

St. Rosalia’s marble altar, vestments, memorial plaques and main image of its namesake were transferred to Regina Pacis.

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

Before the bridge was built, the only way to travel to Staten Island was by ferry.

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island, was named after Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first documented European sailor to enter New York Harbor.

Verrazzano, born in Tuscany, Italy, in 1485, made his discovery on a voyage backed by the French king in 1524.

Verrazzano also discovered present-day Block Island and Narragansett Bay. By F. Allegrini | Wikimedia Commons

The bridge opened on Nov. 21, 1964. Approximately 500 cars crossed the bridge within the first hour and about 10,000 crossed within the first day, according to the NYC Parks Department. 

In the year the bridge opened, a sculpture of Verrazzano was placed at Verrazano Memorial Flagstaff in John J. Carty Park in Bay Ridge. It went missing in the 1980s but was replaced by NYC Parks in 2014. 

The bridge is pictured here from the view of the Fourth Avenue and Shore Road entrance to Shore Park and Parkway.

The bridge was originally misspelled as the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge — with one ‘z’ — in 1960 due to an error in the construction contract. It was corrected in 2018 after then-St. Francis college student Robert Nash started a petition in 2016. 

“If we’re really going to honor [Verrazzano] and his name has two Zs, then it’s time,” he said to The Brooklyn Daily at the time.

It caught the attention of New York State Senators Martin Golden and Andrew Lanza, who sent a letter to MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast. Golden sponsored a New York State Senate bill in 2018, which was passed unanimously. 

The New York State Assembly passed the bill. In 2018, former Governor Andrew Cuomo signed it into law. 

“This is something that is important to the Italian-American community, and something that they’ve been fighting for for 60 years,” then-Assemblywoman and current congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, whose constituency covers Staten Island and South Brooklyn, said in 2018.

The bridge is pictured here from the view of the Bay Eighth Street entrance to Shore Park and Parkway, overlooking the Belt Parkway.

Today, the bridge averages nearly 200,000 in daily traffic, according to the NYC Parks Department. 

Greenwood Cemetery

500 25th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232

Greenwood is where the highest natural point in Brooklyn is, called Battle Hill.

Greenwood Cemetery, founded in 1838 and now a national historic landmark, is home to many notable and well-known individuals, including Italian-Americans.

The first Italian-American elected to the United States House of Representatives, Francis Spinola, is buried in the 478-acre cemetery. 

Spinola died in 1891. By US Bureau of Engraving; restoration by Godot13 | Wikimedia Commons

In addition to serving as a New York representative from 1887 to 1891, he also was general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Born in Long Island in 1821, Spinola established a law practice in Brooklyn. He was a member of the New York State Assembly in 1856 and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1860. 

Greenwood Cemetery is located several blocks southwest of Prospect Park.

“As a soldier he was vigliant, intrepid, and amendable to discipline,” a memorial address about Spinola said. “As a legislator, he was watchful, industrious, and energetic. As a man, he was far from average.” 

Singer Alan Dale, whose real name was Aldo Sigismondi, is another Italian-American buried in Greenwood cemetery. 

Dale, who lived in Sheepshead Bay at the end of his life, was 73 when he died in 2002. By Unknown Author | Wikimedia Commons

Dale was born in Brooklyn to two Italian immigrants. His mother came from Sicily, while his father hailed from Abruzzi. His father was a comedian in Italian language theater and had a radio program.

Dale was popular in the 1940s and 50s with hits such as “Heart of My Heart” and “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White.”

The former reached No. 10 on Billboard in 1953, while the latter reached No. 14 in 1955.