Hoboken 'Molfetta Day' Established: Italian Festival 2016

From the City of Hoboken:

On Wednesday, September 7, 2016, Mayor Dawn Zimmer, in conjunction with the Societa Madonna Dei Martiri, the Juventus Club of Hoboken, and the Federazione Molfettesi d'America officially established an annual Molfetta Day in Hoboken to be celebrated on the final day of the Annual Festival of Madonna Dei Martiri (Hoboken Italian Festival).

“I am proud to officially declare the last day of the festival as Molfetta Day in Hoboken to recognize the traditions and contributions of the people of Molfetta,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “We appreciate all that they have done to make Hoboken the great city that it is today.“

The City of Hoboken has a long history and shared tradition with the Town of Molfetta, Italy. In the late 1800’s and continuing into the 1900’s, as many people emigrated from southern Italy to the United States, the Molfettese people found Hoboken to be similar to Molfetta in many ways. Both were maritime communities with shipping as the largest industry.

Since the turn of the last century, the Madonna Dei Martiri Feast has been celebrated in some form in the City of Hoboken, with the first Statue of the Madonna arriving in the United States on October 4, 1928. The Hoboken Italian Festival is derived from a festival in Italy that is over 600 years old.

This year, the Hoboken Italian Festival takes place at Sinatra Park from Thursday, September 8th until Sunday, September 11th. The highlight of the feast is the daylong procession through the streets of Hoboken, including a reenactment of the “Blessing of the Fleet” in the Hudson River.

The Societa Madonna Dei Martiri was incorporated on October 31, 1927 and was affiliated with St. Ann’s Parish until 1938. In 1950, the Society purchased the property at 332 Adams Street which remains the home of Societa Madonna Dei Martiri to this day.

Photo courtesy of the City of Hoboken.