(BINGHAMTON, NY) – Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) presented representatives from local Italian-American associations with a New York State Resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy during the Italian flag raising ceremony at the City Hall in Binghamton today. Lupardo, the Vice President of the New York Conference of Italian-American State Legislators, sponsored the resolution in the Assembly. The Abruzzese Social Club of Binghamton and the Sons of Italy lodges in Endicott and Binghamton were given framed copies of the resolution. October is Italian Heritage and Culture Month.

The Italian unification was a process that took decades, but the country dates its founding back to 1861, when the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed. Italy became a Republic in 1946, immediately after World War II.