By Silvio Laccetti
In April 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano became the first European to enter New York Harbor. Today, across the Narrows entrance to this harbor, stands a monumental bridge named in honor of the Italian explorer. It is the longest suspension bridge in America, longer even than the Golden Gate Bridge.
While this bridge should be a source of pride to all Italian-Americans in the metropolitan area, it had long been, instead, an annoyance to many. Since its opening in 1964, signs referring to this bridge carried a dreadful spelling error: They dropped the second “z” and misspelled the bridge “Verrazano.”
For over 50 years the misspelling stood, until October 2018 when then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo signed a bill requiring the correct spelling.
Just to add a note of befuddling irony here, there are two other bridges named after the Italian explorer. One, the Verrazzano-Jamestown Bridge in Rhode Island, is correctly spelled. The other, in Maryland, connecting Assateague Island with the mainland, was misspelled a la New York.
Every year we crown winners in the National Spelling Bee. What would these kids say? “We can spell Gesellschaft, but can you tell us what Verrazzano Bridge you are referring to? In a sentence, please.”
So, really, what was the fuss? Well, even small matters like misspellings reveal deeper aspects of an issue. To begin with, understanding the history and context of naming the New York bridge will provide insight. When the bridge was first planned, Robert Moses, the 20th-century master urban planner, opposed naming it for the Italian navigator. Moses felt that Verrazzano was only a minor historical figure and that the name was too difficult for him to pronounce anyway. Some sources indicate Moses preferred to name the structure simply the Narrows Bridge in order to save space.
Fortunately, the Italian Historical Society of America lobbied Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and he had the final word and the correct spelling. But early on in the typed contract documents the second “z” was dropped and lost to future documentation.
Apart from the problem of historical and literary accuracy (and perhaps some prejudice) the erroneous spelling became increasingly unacceptable in the era of political correctness and identity politics. Everything is scrutinized relating to ethnic, national and racial groups, from pronunciation of names to the spelling of tribal names for which no indigenous alphabet exists.
Now, it is one thing to endure misspellings of our names on bills, receipts and such. Most of us have experienced this in today’s world where a drive to be accurate and to research spellings, if necessary, has given way to passive reliance on spellcheck. But it is quite another thing to have misspellings on important documents. To give two personal examples, one of my honorary degrees has my name misspelled; a first run of one of my books also had an error in the spelling of my name. Perhaps this doesn’t compare to the character in “The Godfather” whose surname was changed from Andolini to Corleone by an immigration officer! What would the DMV say to alternate versions of your name? You might never take a plane again.
Finally, Italian-Americans have grown too silent in the rowdy arena of policy and politics. With 17 million people nationwide, Italian-Americans can be a potent force. In the New York metro area, in which the bridge is centered, the percentage of Italo-Americans is huge: New Jersey, 16.8 percent; New York, 13 percent; Connecticut, 18.7 percent. In Staten Island, the total is 37 percent.
New Jersey posts six of the top 11 counties nationally in percentage of Italian-Americans, according to figures from the National Italian American Federation. The top counties are Ocean, with 25.3 percent; Monmouth, with 23.2 percent, and Bergen, with 22 percent (and the highest total of Italian-Americans, 194,000).
In our immediate localities, some interesting recent percentages emerge regarding Italian American residents: Fairfield, 38%; Totowa, 37%; South Hackensack, 36%; Woodland Park, 34%; and Lyndhurst, 33%.
Clearly, the spelling error had to be addressed, and in this age of electronics the best way to correct errors and oversights is to bring them to public attention in social media and internet-based petitions. To all of you who have been dissed by your name being misspelled, there is hope. Forza! But to all of us of whatever nationality who have been dissed by a misspelled name: corragio.
Silvio Laccetti, Ph.D., of Fairveiw is a retired professor of history at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken whose columns have been published nationally.
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