IECC / Casa Colombo

06/04/2026

A massive thank you to our dedicated volunteers Paul and Daezy for helping us plant some lovely new flowers at the front of the Casa Colombo facade yesterday! We couldn’t do it without wonderful people like you. 🌼

Are YOU interested in becoming part of our IECC volunteer team too? We always have room for more helping hands to aid in running our gallery space, and in making sure our arts and cultural events run smoothly!

Drop us a message anytime by sending us a DM on Instagram or Facebook, OR by emailing us at [email protected] for more details. Come get involved in your local community! We can’t wait to meet you. ☀️

06/03/2026

A wonderful write up by Professor William Connell himself, on our upcoming Giuseppe Mazzini lecture and exhibition! Please give it a read and consider joining us on June 13th! The link to register your attendance can be found within the comments below. ⬇️

A fresh discovery about 19th century Italian patriot Giuseppe Mazzini will be presented by Professor William Connell.

05/20/2026

Our very first IECC Young Professionals Networking event last Thursday evening was an epic success! 💪🏼 Thank you everyone for coming on down, putting your best foot forward, and allowing us to get to know you and more about what you do.

IECC truly believes in the younger generations and what they can bring to the table, because they’re our future too. That’s what these mixers are all about - and there’ll be many more to come!

Special thanks goes out to Michael Toto for making this new initiative a reality. 🙌🏼

Want tagged in these photos? Or to send us feedback? Let us know in the comments below, or shoot us a message, and stay tuned for an announcement on our next networking event date soon!

05/16/2026

Did You Know? Italian American jazz musician Louis Prima both inspired and voiced the character of King Louie, head of the merry band of apes, in Disney’s classic 1967 film ‘The Jungle Book’? Prima even wrote one of the film’s most recognizable, Grammy-nominated songs... ‘I Wan’na Be Like You’! 🎺🎶

Now announcing the Italian Educational & Cultural Center’s next installment of special programming for Summer 2026 — in conjunction with our current exhibition ‘Louis Prima: Rediscovering A Musical Icon’ — we are celebrating the skilled jazzman’s musical legacy, family-style, with ‘An Afternoon With King Louie’!

On Sunday, June 28th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM, join us for a few hours of fun and colorful activities designed to get your little ones moving, singing and swinging to the beat, featuring:

* ‘The Jungle Book’ Story Time
* Play with Percussive Musical Instruments
* Learning, Singing & Dancing to King Louie’s famous tune
* and Creating ‘Jungle Book’-inspired Arts & Crafts

Registration is FREE and open to the whole family at the link in the comments! PLEASE NOTE: All children ages 16 and under MUST be accompanied by an adult at all times. We will NOT have babysitting services on site during this event.

‘Louis Prima: Rediscovering A Musical Icon’ is now open at the Italian Educational & Cultural Center through August 15th, 2026. Thank you to the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) and the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs for making all of this possible on our eastern shores.

04/30/2026

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it... The Italian Educational & Cultural Center at Casa Colombo is proud to announce a special lecture on writer, political activist and renowned “Soul Of Italy” Giuseppe Mazzini.

Did You Know? Bequested by Dr. Anthony J. LaPera, IECC is the keeper of a small archive of Mazzini’s original letters and correspondence with American diplomat George Nicholas Sanders and his wife Anna Johnson Reid.

In this exciting one-off lecture on Saturday, June 13th from 2:00PM, we will be joined by Dr. William Connell, Ph.D., Professor of History and La Motta Endowed Chair in Italian Studies at Seton Hall University. Discussing both the importance of Mazzini and the interesting context surrounding the letters that IECC holds within its heritage collection, Dr. Connell will reveal another layer of scholarship behind these intriguing pieces of Italian and American history.

This event will be open to the public. Tickets are first come, first serve: free to IECC members, $15 for non-members, and $5 for students. Available now at the link in the comments!

Dr. Connell’s lecture will be followed by light refreshments, as well as the exhibition of Giuseppe Mazzini’s letters within our Italian Heritage Hall throughout the summer.

Special thanks and gratitude goes to the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs in collaboration with America 250, and to the Family of Rocky Aversa, for making this historical showcase possible.

04/29/2026

Welcome home to Monmouth Street, Mr. Robert Richardi and family! This past Sunday, IECC had the utmost privilege to celebrate the legacy of Casa Colombo’s architect Mr. James V. Richardi.

Our building, built in 1936, is one of the few standing examples based on an award-winning design that James V. Richardi brought to Jersey City in the first half of the 20th Century!

What an engaging afternoon it was too, listening to Robert Richardi’s memories of his grandfather and how the tools of the architectural trade in New Jersey have evolved over time. He even loaned us a tiny historic pamphlet featuring the NJ State laws once in regulation… We’d wager it’s a much more complicated practice these days!

It’s been an honor to have this opportunity to bring the Richardi family trade back to one of the very places from which it originated. We hope you’ll stop by our Italian Heritage Hall soon to view these amazing artifacts yourself and witness a rich, living legacy.

04/23/2026

NOW OPEN within our very own Jersey City Village through August 15th, the Italian Educational & Cultural Center is beyond excited to be hosting the wonderful traveling exhibition - Louis Prima: Rediscovering A Musical Icon! 🎶🎺

You can read a little bit more about this inspiring show and Italian American musical legend in two recent articles by Tris McCall at the Jersey City Times and by Jay Lustig at NJArts.net via the links in our comments.

With a score of special Prima programming and events now in the works for Summer 2026, stay tuned to hear more about what colorful experiences IECC will be bringing to our neighborhood in the months to come!

Thank you to the Gia Maione Prima Foundation, the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles (IAMLA) and the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs for making all of this possible on our eastern shoes. 🎶🎺

07/16/2025

Eye level wrote a thoughtful piece on our current show, “Envisioning Our Future”. Featuring design proposals for two historic rail resources in Jersey City by participants in the 2024 Environmental Design Studio, Rutgers University School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, curated by Dr, Frank Ghallagher, Ph.D. and Haemee Han, M.A. and sponsored by Embankment Preservation Coalition. The article discusses the intimidating structure and what needs to be done to ensure that the design plans come to fruition.

Check out the article here: https://www.eye-level.net/post/envisioning-our-future or at the link in our bio