February 5, 2026
Dear Governor Spanberger:
Our congratulations on your inauguration as Governor of Virginia. We wish you our best as you begin your term.
As president of the Italian American Museum of Washington, D.C., I am writing to express our concern about Virginia House Bill 858 which would, among other matters, replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day.
It is fitting that the Virginia legislature recognize the history and culture of our Native American citizens and other peoples who have contributed to the Commonwealth of Virginia. But we hope similar recognition will be given to Italian Americans, who have also played a significant role in our nation’s history.
Columbus Day has been recognized as a Virginia state holiday since 1977, and its celebration holds a special significance to the more than 330,000 Italian Americans who live in Virginia. As one of those residents, there is no question that we would appreciate acknowledgment by the State of contributions made by people of Italian heritage to America.
Viginia has been the beneficiary of Italian contributions since an Italian physician and political thinker, Philip Mazzei, became Thomas Jefferson’s neighbor and close friend. The phrase “all men are created equal,” appeared in Mazzei’s correspondence to Jefferson as he was drafting the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson designed Monticello and several buildings at UVA in the style of a neoclassical Italian architect. Another Italian, Carlo Bellini, held the first chair of Modern Languages, including Italian, at William and Mary University.
Not many know that the Lincoln Memorial was carved by six Italian sculptors: the Piccirilli brothers. Or that the U.S. Capitol dome and many of its rooms were decorated by fresco artist Constantino Brumidi; or that the National Cathedral’s gargoyles and statues are the work of Italian craftsmen.
Few people are also aware that Columbus’s deeds and character have been grossly misrepresented by revisionist authors. In his A People’s History of the United States, for example, Howard Zinn makes no mention of the fact that Columbus protected the peaceful Taino against the Caribs and Cannibs, who practiced slavery, human sacrifice, and cannibalism. Nor does he mention that Columbus was blood brother to the Taino chief, Guacanagari, and adopted his orphan son when the chief died in battle.
For these reasons, we hope you will veto this bill should it reach your desk. Please consider choosing another day for celebrating Native Americans. But please retain Columbus Day as an Italian American heritage celebration.
Thank you. If you have questions, I can be reached at: 571-435-1608.
Yours truly,
Francesco Isgro
President and CEO
Italian American Museum of Washington DC
