This year marks the eleventh anniversary of Thirty-One Days of Italians. In 2006, a list of Italians and Italian Americans who should be recognized for their extraordinary achievements was compiled and a website was created. The website features 74 names, but the annual List is limited to 31 – one for each day in October.
The first day in October honors the Italian immigrant and the last day is set aside to honor someone not on the list. Honorary Members are on the List every year. In alphabetical order, they are Father Pietro Bandini, Constantino Brumidi, Saint Francis Cabrini, Enrico Caruso, Christopher Columbus, Enrico Fermi, Amadeo Pietro Giannini, Guglielmo Marconi, Filippo Mazzei, Antonio Meucci, Maria Montessori, Andrea Palladio, Antonio Pasin, Arturo Toscanini and Amerigo Vespucci.
Other names are rotated, giving everyone on Thirty-One Days of Italians a chance to have their day. The 2017-18 List includes John Buscema, Father Joseph Cataldo, Fred DeLuca, Robert Charles Gallo, Grucci Family, Costantino Nivola, Jeno F. Paulucci, Leonard Riggio, R.A. Salvatore, Giorgio Santelli, Francesco Scavullo, Giovanni Schiavo, Charles Angelo Siringo, Giuseppe Maria and Francesco Vigo.
Author, educator and researcher Janice Therese Mancuso established Thirty-One Days of Italians to promote the significant contributions that those of Italian heritage have made to America. She was awarded a grant from the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) and a grant from the Italian Historical Society of America to assist in continuing her work to promote Italian American culture and heritage. She is the director of the Italian American Press and publisher of Tutto Italiano, an e-newsletter established in 2004.
