Washington DC, The COMITES of Washington DC, led by the President Maria Bina Palmisano, spear “Tracing Italian Roots”, an innovative project that aims to enhance the Italian heritage present in the United States, strengthening the cultural bond between Italy and America. Thanks to the technological support of Global Media, The initiative aims to tell the stories of men and women who, crossing the ocean, brought with them the essence of Italy: culture, art, cuisine, traditions, and ingenuity.
Project objectives
The project, curated by Dr. Palmisano and Dr. Fabio Castagna (Global Media), was born with the aim of:
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Rediscovering and valorizing Italian heritage in the United States: the traces of Italians will become living symbols of culture, tradition, innovation, and solidarity, involving all generations.
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Promote the Italy brand: through events and digital content, the project highlights Italian excellence in its cultural, historical, and educational aspects.
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Involving families, young people and local communities: a path that conveys values of inclusiveness, participation, and a sense of belonging.
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Reconnecting the Italian-American community to its roots: a digital bridge between the United States and Italian villages, enhancing places that are often less well-known.
A journey through history, culture, and innovation
“Tracing Italian Roots” aims to transform the Italian traces in the United States into living symbols of culture, tradition and ingenuity. The aim is to involve all generations, promote the’Italian excellence and strengthen the sense of belonging of Italian-American communities.“It is an initiative that not only tells the story of the past, but builds a concrete link between those who live in the United States today and the Italian villages from which their roots come.”, explains Maria Bina Palmisano, President of COMITES DC.
Main activities of the project
Development of the interactive digital platform (Engine Data-Bank DC + webAPP DC)
The digital platform of the project will be easily accessible from smartphones and tablets, without the need for installation, requiring only an Internet connection.
Inside, a search engine will guide the user through a interactive map of places of Italianity in the United States, with particular reference – in this first phase – to the COMITES constituency of Washington DC, and then extending to other US COMITES that wish to join.
Each point on the map will be linked to multimedia content divided into categories: Culture, History, Art, Architecture, Famous People, Restaurants and many others, allowing you to discover on-site living testimonies of the Italian contribution to American history.
Users will also be able to build personalized itineraries, accompanied by audio guides in Italian and English, enriched by immersive experiences thanks to the use of 3D technologies and Augmented Reality (AR).
The platform will also offer a virtual trip to Italy, backwards in time and space, through dynamic links with the portal ITALY. Users will thus be able to virtually explore the villages and places of origin in Italy where it all began, rediscovering the roots of the traces left overseas. A digital bridge uniting past and present, Italy and the United States, memory and discovery, where it will also be possible to access services and organizations for cultural trips to Italy.
In this initial phase, a meeting between the TEAM Tracing Italian Roots – composed of managers Maby Palmisano and Fabio Castagna – and a manager of the ITALEA portal will define the methods and timelines for sharing materials and services to support the project.
Data Planning and Collection: DATA-BANK DC
The beating heart of the project will come to life in Washington, D.C., where the mapping of Italian traces present in the territory will begin. This phase represents much more than simple data collection: it is the beginning of a process that aims to give voice to the hidden Italian memory among the streets of the American capital.
Subsequently, through the selection of local staff active in the community, the Team DC, initially composed of two units, which will be accompanied in a growth and training process managed by expert GlobalMedia teachers, both in person (3 days) and online (E-learning).
The task of the DC Team will be to collaborate with local associations to identify and document evidence of Italianness, transforming them into digital content through a Content Management System (CMS): stories, faces, places, and symbols that will populate the platform's interactive cards.
This phase is not only organizational, but deeply symbolic, with the aim of giving a face and a voice to the Italian roots that still live today and are intertwined with the American soul of Washington DC.
Community engagement and cultural impact
The project aims to involve families, young people, students, cultural associations and Italian-American communities, promoting values of inclusiveness, participation, and a sense of belonging. The platform will also become an educational tool for Italian and international schools in Washington DC, strengthening ties between generations and rediscovering the importance of Italian roots.
Technology at the service of culture
Thanks to the integration of Interactive search engines, Augmented Reality and 3D content, Tracing Italian Roots offers an immersive experience that unites past and present, Italy and the United States, memory and discovery. The initiative represents a concrete example of how technology can enhance the Italian cultural heritage and make it accessible to a global audience.
