(1) San Francisco was built by entrepreneurs, innovators, and communities dedicated to promoting the City as a world leader and destination. The City owes a great deal of gratitude to the Italian immigrants and Italian American individuals, families, and communities who have made innumerable contributions to our City’s society, culture, landscape, and history.
(2) San Francisco is named for St. Francis of Assisi – an Italian Catholic friar, deacon, and preacher, whose compassion for service to all living beings led him to act as a champion for those in extreme poverty and for the protection of the world’s natural spaces and environment.
(3) The first Italian immigrants arrived and settled in the San Francisco Bay area in the 1840’s, around the time of California’s official statehood and the incorporation of San Francisco.
(4) Italian immigrants who settled in San Francisco from the Gold Rush through the 1880’s built a strong economic foundation in the Bay Area and Northern California in trades such as fishing, agriculture, restauranteuring, culinary arts, winemaking, and merchantry.
(5) One such Italian merchant to settle in the area in 1847 was Domenico Ghirardelli, the owner and operator of a confectionery which introduced visitors and residents to Italian sweets and chocolate. Ghirardelli Square remains today one of the top economic centers and tourist destinations in San Francisco.
(6) Other skilled Italian merchants, laborers, and master craftsmen imported and utilized Italian marble in San Francisco homes and buildings, including the seat of City government, City Hall.
(7) In the 1850’s, Italian Jesuit priests, Father Nobili and Father Accolti, founded St. Ignatius College, which we know today as the University of San Francisco.
(8) Throughout the 1860’s, early Italian settlers filled roles in City public works and sanitation, contributing to the creation of Golden Gate Park.
(9) After the devastation caused by the 1906 earthquake and fire, the City’s Italian American community banded together in City neighborhoods such as North Beach and Telegraph Hill, to rebuild homes, businesses, and streets. The resilience and work ethic of the Italian American community led to a rapid recovery from the disaster in these areas.
(10) Famed local photographer Giovanni Monaco captured hundreds of photos of the 1906 disaster, which remain some of the only records documenting the impact of the earthquake and fire on neighborhoods, communities, and families.
(11) The Bank of Italy’s Amadeo P. Giannini set up a desk from two barrels and a wooden plank in Fisherman’s Wharf in the aftermath of the 1906 disaster to help provide Italian Americans with financial resources to overcome hardship. Giannini believed that financial institutions should first serve the individual, and he brought the first network of branch banking into communities and neighborhoods – the first branch opening in the Mission District. Giannini’s network and institution expanded into what we now know as Bank of America.
(12) The City’s reputation as a vibrant, world-renowned center of arts is built upon a foundation of contributions by Italian artists, singers, dancers, filmmakers, and philanthropists. For example, Gaetano Merola led the establishment of the City’s first resident opera company in 1923. Merola’s leadership and collaboration with other community members led to the creation of the San Francisco Opera Association, which stands today as the oldest surviving opera company on the West Coast. He also connected with City leaders and residents to construct the War Memorial Opera House during the Great Depression as a monument to San Francisco’s veterans of the First World War.
(13) Italian American poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti founded beloved literary site City Lights Bookstore in 1953. City Lights continues today as a free and open space for poets, authors, and book lovers all across the world.
(14) San Francisco has inspired the nation with great Italian American athletes, such as baseball’s Joe Dimaggio, Dom Dimaggio, Tony Lazzeri, and Frank Crosetti.
(15) Italian Americans have consistently led and served the City through philanthropic and charitable causes. In 1858, La Societa Italiana di Mutua Beneficenza was created to provide relief for struggling Italian immigrants. La Societa was the first mutual benefit society in San Francisco, and for decades, operated as the oldest, continuously-existing Italian organization in the United States.
(16) Perhaps some of the biggest contributions Italian Americans have made in San Francisco are in public service, policy-making, and political leadership. Three Italian American mayors have led San Francisco through momentous times: Mayor Angelo Rossi, the first mayor of 100% Italian descent to manage a major U.S. city, presided over the building of the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges. Mayor Joseph Alioto steered the city through the cultural revolution of the late 1960’s and 1970’s and through major capital projects such as BART, the Embarcadero Center, and the Transamerica Pyramid. Mayor George Moscone fought to keep the San Francisco Giants in the City and left a legacy of promoting tolerance and acceptance of individuals from all walks of life. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is the first woman to serve as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
(17) The Italian Heritage Parade recognizes the accomplishments and culture of all Italians and Italian Americans and remains the oldest in the nation, celebrating its 150th Anniversary in October 2018.
(18) Italians and Italian Americans continue to promote San Francisco’s growth by working and leading in economic and trade sectors, including technology and innovation.
(19) Those who live or work in, or visit San Francisco are fortunate to experience traces of the earliest contributions and creations of San Francisco Italian American culture through businesses, restaurants, shops, community events, and daily life throughout North Beach.
(20) We honor all Italians and Italian Americans for their commitment to San Francisco’s growth and vibrancy and will continue to honor their passion for hard work, love and dedication to family and loved ones, and the cherished opportunity to live life.
(b) This subsection (b) supplements Section 16.4(b) of the Administrative Code. The second Monday in October each year shall be known as Italian American Heritage Day in addition to being known as Indigenous Peoples Day. All official City communications, notices, calendars, and other publications, whether electronic or paper, shall refer to that day as both Italian American Heritage Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.
(c) Within 30 days of the effective date of the ordinance enacting this Section
16.4-1, the City Administrator shall notify all City boards, commissions, committees, and other bodies, and all City departments, of the requirements of this Section.
(d) This Section
16.4-1 does not affect the recognition or non-recognition of the second Monday in October as a holiday for City departments and employees.
(e) Nothing in this Section
16.4-1 shall prohibit the City from providing funds or support to events that commemorate or celebrate the holiday using the name Columbus Day or other descriptors.
(Added by Ord. , File No. 180192, App. 5/4/2018, Eff. 6/4/2018)
