Italian American Digest Summer2019DigestDraft2 (2) | Page 3

SUMMER 2019
I talian A merican D igest
PAGE 3
The American Italian
Cultural Center Museum
enters final stages of
anticipated renovation!
By Samuel Puliafico
S
ince last issue the American Italian
Cultural Center has received a significant
upgrade! Throughout 2019, crews have
been working dilligently to restore and
modernize our building’s 2nd and 3rd
floors. Our 2nd floor (right) has become a
newly renovated event space which some
readers may have seen when Mayor LaToya
Cantrell delivered the Proclamation of
Apology here on April 12th.
The American Cultural Center’s newly renovated 2nd floor event space
which has already been used for lectures, parties, and Mayor Cantrell’s Proclamation
Newly installed windows in our 3rd floor
museum space. This alcove will soon be home to our
Hydraulic Pasta Press
Our museum’s exhibit space is set to
fill our entire 3rd floor space. The new
museum will present a cohesive timeline
of the Sicilian experience in New Orleans.
The brand new exhibits will highlight
Italian-American contributions throughout
the city of New Orleans from the initial
immigration to present.
In order to bring our proposed museum
space up to snuff, various crews spent
months tearing out floors, walls, and
windows (see above). New electrical systems
were installed along with polished new
flooring. Sleek and modern
lighting was added strategically throughout
to accentuate exhibits and artifacts.
Perhaps the most challenging (and
stressful!) event in the renovation was
moving two delicate and very heavy
artifacts to our third floor. The first piece, a
handcrafted Sicilian Cart (or carretto), was
imported direct from Sicily. The piece serves
as an eye catching example of the traditional
Sicilian cart (see right). This piece is hand
carved and painted with intricate and
brightly colored designs. The cart has been
a mainstay in the lobby of the Center for
years. To include the cart in the museum,
a crane had to be called to hoist the object
up to a third floor window! Fortunately,
the cart made it unscathed and will now
be apart of our museum’s art, or L’Arte,
section.
The same process had to be repeated for
our hand operated Pasta Cutting Machine,
whose home was also previously in the
AICC lobby. The machine was donated
by the Fresina family and was used to
hydraulically cut macaroni. As with our
cart, the 450 pound machine made the
journey upstairs intact and will be included
in the museum’s food, or Il Cibo, exhibit!
After thousands of screws and many coats
of new paint, the museum is now preparing
for finalizations of exhibit installation and
will be open Summer 2019!
AICC Chairman Frank Maselli and Matt Pollitt, of Royal
Restorations, look on as the Sicilian Cart is prepared for liftoff.
Royal Restorations was a major contributor in
the restoration of the AICC