We the Italians March 21, 2016 - 77 | Page 54

st # 77 MARCH 21 , 2016 nue to emphasize tourism in Puglia. Tourism in Puglia has grown exponentially in the past few years and we like to think we played a part in that boom. Still, I believe Puglia is far behind the other regions in promotions. We aim to remedy that. How many Pugliese associations are there in the US? And how many are the Americans who have their heritage in Puglia like you? There are many individual Pugliese clubs in the USA. In the hundreds. Most of them started as Mutual Aid Societies back at the turn of the century. As such many of the groups have second and third generation members but unfortunately they have for the most part, lost the connection to Puglia. Who have been or are the most famous Pugliesi in America? Fiorello LaGuardia had Apulian roots. Peter Pace, the head of the Joint Chief of Staff under President Bush has Apulian roots. So 54 | WE THE ITALIANS www.wetheitalians.com do actors Sylvester Stallone, John Turturro and Joe Mantegna. The discoverer of the AIDS virus, Dr. Robert Gallo has Apulian roots. World famous architect and NY resident Antonio Pio Saraceno is