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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Italians and Americans of Italian descent have |
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played a central role in the history and culture of our nation; and |
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WHEREAS, This heritage runs deep in Texas, from the earliest |
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days of our state; an Italian named Prospero Bernardi was among the |
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men who fought at Goliad and the Battle of San Jacinto, and Giuseppe |
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Cassini helped to finance the Texas War for Independence; a century |
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later, the sculptor Pompeo Coppini designed Sam Houston's grave |
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monument in Huntsville, the monument in Texas Heroes Square in |
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Gonzales, and the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio; and |
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WHEREAS, Other notable Italians in Texas include Joe Grasso, |
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a native of Sicily who pioneered the shrimp industry along the Gulf |
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Coast, Fraschio Fossati, who started the oldest delicatessen in |
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Texas, Salvatore Lucchese, who established the Lucchese brand of |
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boots in San Antonio, and Frederick Ruffini, an architect who |
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designed opera houses, office buildings, and courthouses all across |
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the state; and |
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WHEREAS, Houston native Jack Valenti was a decorated combat |
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pilot during World War II, a special assistant to President Lyndon |
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Johnson, and the head of the Motion Picture Association of America |
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for nearly 40 years; Romano's Macaroni Grill, the popular |
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nationwide chain of Italian restaurants, was founded by Texan |
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Philip J. Romano and maintains its headquarters in Houston; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1890, the Christopher Columbus Italian Society in |
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San Antonio established the first Italian hall in Texas, and the |
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Beaumont and San Antonio chapters of the Sons of Italy have donated |
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considerable sums to be used for scholarships, medical research, |
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disaster relief, and other causes over the years; and |
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WHEREAS, The celebration of Italian History Month provides a |
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fitting occasion to celebrate the rich history of Italians and |
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Italian Americans in Texas and the special contributions people of |
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Italian descent have made to our state and nation; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize October 2017 as Italian History Month |
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in the State of Texas. |