ARPA obtained a statue of St. Nicholas for its Pugliesi community in the Chicago area and carried it for the first time in a procession on May 16 for its annual celebration of St. Nicholas.

Cliccate sulla bandiera per la versione in Italiano.
Click on the flag for the Italian version.

ARPA, a cultural organizations of Pugliesi in the Chicago area, under the stewardship of Joseph De Benedictis, its president, realized this year a cherished project, bringing to Chicago a statue of St. Nicholas for the Pugliesi community.

St. Nicholas is Bari's patron saint, Bari being the main city and government seat for the Puglia (Apulia) region, the heel of the Italian boot. St. Nicholas, with a basilica in Bari that holds its remains, is revehered throughout the Puglia region and beyond, and was naturally adopted by the Pugliesi in the Chicago area as a rallying symbol for their heritage.

St. Nicholas is much better known as St. Nick, more commonly known as Santa Claus, the bearer of presents for children at Christmas.

The statue was realized with the help and support of Pasquale Caputo, a native of Puglia with a successful business in the Chicago area.

He is CEO of Wiscon Corporation, vice-chairman of Casa Italia, co-founder and president of the Mola Foundation, third vice-president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, and a 2000 council member of the National American Foundation in Washington, D.C..

Michele Rogondino, Caracas, Venezuela, also contributed to this project.

The base for the statue, a detailed carving of weaving strands with allegoric pictures from the Saint's history, was realized by Martino Primavera.

The statue is a rallying symbol for the Pugliesi commnumnity. A procession was held on May 16 in the Stone Park, a suburb of Chicago, to celebrate the event and pay omage to St. Nicholas.

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