The new Italian American Museum (IAM) will serve as a cultural hub and community nexus for Italian Americans and the Little Italy neighborhood. Through permanent and temporary exhibits, robust educational and cultural programming, and collaborations with the community, the IAM will become the preeminent center for learning about and engaging with Italian as a platform for sharing Italian American voices and celebrating Italian American achievements, the IAM will be interesting to both Italian Americans and non-Italian Americans, bringing Italian American culture and heritage to younger generations and a wide range of new audiences.

The Italian American Museum preserves, promotes, and celebrates the culture and history of Italian Americans, serving as living record of their contributions to America and a bridge between the remarkable past and the evolving future of the community.

By allowing Italian Americans to share their story in their voice, the Italian American Museum will encourage a full appreciation of what it means to be Italian American.

Progress Photos

Museum Hours

Monday: No public hours

Tuesday: No public hours

Wednesday: By appointment only

Thursday: 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Friday: 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Saturday: 12:00 – 5:00 pm

Sunday: By appointment only

Featured Exhibits

Sicilian Theater in Little Italy:

The Return of the Manteo Puppets

Verrazzano’s Voyage to America:

The Quincentennial Year

Goodnight, Maria

A tribute to all the women

who worked tirelessly

in the garment industry

to live the American dream

Events

The Poetry of Ignazio Buttitta

A lecture and poetry reading

in English and Sicilian

Presented by Dr. Gaetano Cipolla

Saturday, April 26th, 3:00 pm

Click here for tickets

Ignazio Buttita is the most famous Sicilian poet of the twentieth century and a staunch defender of the Sicilian language. Dr. Cipolla will talk about him and his work and recite a few of the most iconic poems in Sicilian and in his English translation.

About the book:

This is a bilingual anthology (Sicilian and English) of the poetry of Ignazio Buttitta, the most famous Sicilian poet who wrote primarily in the Sicilian language. The anthology contains an extensive introduction by Gaetano Cipolla and the text of Buttitta’s best known poems, translated on the facing page, including his iconic poem entitled “Lingua e dialettu” that is a passionate defense of the Sicilian language that is “losing a chord every day”. He claimed that you can take everything from the people but when you take away their language they become poor and enslaved. They are lost forever.

Saturday, April 26th, 3:00 pm

$20 per person (includes Museum admission)

Italian American Museum

151 Mulberry Street

New York, NY 10013

Click here for tickets

Immigrant Hearts

A Book Reading and Talk

Presented by Catherine Gigante-Brown

Saturday, May 3rd, 3:00 pm

Click here for tickets

On March 15, 2025, Volossal Publishing released author Catherine Gigante-Brown’s eighth novel, Immigrant Hearts, a vintage love story that spans generations. It follows the lives of Luisa and Antonio, a seamstress and tailor in the garment industry who meet in 1920s Brooklyn. Their expansive romance stretches across 40 years, exploring the large and small things that compose a life – joy, loss, poverty, prosperity, prejudice…and love, always love. Inspired by true events, richly imagined by the author.

Says Volossal publisher Vinnie Corbo, “Immigrant Hearts is exactly the kind of narrative we need right now. In addition to being a beautiful love story, it’s an uplifting tale about community, of people banding together in difficult times and overcoming obstacles together, as well as Italian immigrants’ valuable contributions to society.”

Gigante-Brown is one of Volossal’s most prolific authors, a champion of Italian-American themed novels. She’s a Brooklyn-born writer of fiction, nonfiction, plays and poetry. Her Volossal library includes: “The El Trilogy” (The El, 2012, The Bells of Brooklyn, 2017 and Brooklyn Roses, 2020) Different Drummer (2015), Better than Sisters (2019). Paul and Carol Go to Guatemala (2021) and Cry of Silence (2023).

Immigrant Hearts is available from Ingram in softcover and as an eBook.

Saturday, May 3rd, 3:00 pm

$20 per person (includes Museum admission)

Italian American Museum

151 Mulberry Street

New York, NY 10013

Click here for tickets

22nd Annual

Golf Classic

Monday, June 30, 2025, 11:00 am

Click here for online registration

All Payers – Automatic entry to win $10,000

which can be applied towards an

Alfa Romeo Tonale 24 month lease

or purchase of any other Alfa Romeo.

(In lieu of the Alfa Romeo, winner can opt to take $10,000 as a cash prize)

Monday, June 30, 2025, 11:00 am

North Hills Country Club

Click here for online registration

Annual Appeal 2025

Dear Friends:

We are pleased to announce that on October 1, 2024 at the beginning of Italian American Heritage and Culture Month we cut the ribbon opening our new facility for the Italian American Museum.

The New Italian American Museum: Architectural renderings and model for the forthcoming newly designed museum.

The IAM is located on Mulberry Street in the heart of what was once the largest Italian community in the United States in the first quarter of the 20th century.

We became aware of the need for our own Museum in 1999, with the launch of the first major exhibition on Italians in America at the New York Historical Society, “The Italians of New York: Five Centuries of Struggle and Achievement”. The exhibit was a great success and we realized that in order to be part of the cultural dialogue in America, we needed our own Museum. So in 2001, we were chartered in New York State as the first Italian Museum in America. In our Museum, we seek to tell our whole story from Columbus to Cuomo and everything in between, our struggles and our accomplishments through hard work, ingenuity and perseverance. It has not always been easy but we have much to be proud of, for our contributions to American society are enormous. Now we will have a secular cathedral for all to see, experience and appreciate where we came from and what we have achieved.

Dr. Joseph V. Scelsa
Founder and President
Italian American Museum

Support the Italian American Museum and choose to make a difference by sustaining a rich visual arts and cultural heritage for future generations. Donors impact the museum in different ways either through immediate or planned gifts. The Italian American Museum is grateful for all levels of support — big or small. The future holds many opportunities for the Italian American Museum to provide enhanced programming, increased access, deeper understanding and broader community engagement. Through our ongoing commitment to create new experiences that challenge and inspire, we are pleased to offer a variety of ways donors and members can be involved.

Donors to the Italian American Museum are more than just supporters. They are a community of believers in the power of art and cultural heritage to help interpret and shape the world. While there are many ways to say thank you to such visionaries, the most meaningful is often a reflection of the donors themselves. That’s why the Italian American Museum’s gift recognition is highly personalized and tailored to the individual wishes of donors.

Members receive a 10% discount on all in-house Italian American Museum events.

• Individual Membership $100
• Family Membership $150
• Senior Membership $50

Click here for more information on
Naming Opportunities

Send your contact information and email to
info@ItalianAmericanMuseum.org to receive
Museum news and announcements.