Born Cristoforo Colombo (1451-1506) in Genoa Italy, Christopher Columbus began his seafaring career at age fourteen. He traveled extensively, studying navigation and mapmaking in Greece, Portugal, Africa, Ireland, England, and Iceland. As an adult Columbus became a navigator, an explorer, an adventurer. He was not in the military, not a soldier, and not in command of soldiers. Columbus grand plan to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic instead of the conventional eastern route was met with scepticism and rejection by the leaders of all the seafaring nations except Queen Isabella of Spain. On August 3, 1492, in the employ of the Spanish queen, Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain. After two months of sailing the vast Atlantic, on October 12, land is finally sighted. Columbus names the island San Salvador (Holy Savior). Columbus later voyaged across the Atlantic three more times charting all the major islands of the Caribbean and Honduras in Central America, which he called the Indies but known today respectively as the islands of Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, the Lesser Antilles and the coasts of Panama, Honduras, and Venezuela. Columbus may not have actually discovered America but his trans-Atlantic route and maps opened the way for future exploration in the region by other navigators such as Amerigo Vespucci, the namesake of the American continent.

Columbus Day is important to Italian Americans because it not only commemorates the arrival of Columbus in 1492, but also the arrival of over 5 million Italians a century ago, and the heritage of approximately 26 million Italian Americans currently living in the U.S. In 1907, Colorado's Hispanic Senator, Casimiro Barela, sponsored a bill at the request of Denver resident Angelo Noce, proclaiming Columbus Day, October 12, to be a public holiday. The bill was approved April 1, 1907 making Colorado the first state to observe Columbus Day. In 1909 Denver held its first Columbus Day Parade. In 1971, President Nixon declared Columbus Day a national holiday to be observed by all 50 states on the second Monday in October. On October 8, 2001, and October 14, 2002, President George W. Bush issued proclamations in recognition of Columbus Day and urged the people of the United States to reflect on the contributions of Columbus.

The expedition of Columbus and the resulting permanent colonies were unique and significant in that they resulted in the first intertwining of Europe with the Americas. For some this leads to the belief that Columbus is culpable for every ill that has befallen indigenous people in the interim.

For the Italian American community, the Columbus Day Parade is a time to honor and celebrate our Italian ancestors that, despite extreme adversity, prejudice, and suffering upon arriving in this country, showed determination and strength to not only build successful lives for themselves and their families but also to contribute in building a strong and successful nation that honors and respects people of all nations.