Maserati Heads Columbus Celebrations
Trident represents the best of Italy and America

More: Maserati Trounces Mercedes, Jaguar, Lexus | Maserati Heads Columbus Celebrations | Victory! 8 Championships in 3 Years!

From Grand Central Terminal to the Waldorf Astoria to a parade on 5th Avenue, Maserati represented the best of Italy at events surrounding this Columbus Day. Columbus Day is a celebration of Italian-American amity and heritage, a much anticipated annual opportunity for everyone to enjoy the best of both magnificent cultures of which Maserati is so much a part. The Trident was prominent throughout The Columbus Citizens Foundation’s (CCF) gala weekend, and integral to the huge success of its charitable fund-raising. Events kicked off with a grand party in Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal, celebrating all aspects of Italian American heritage and displaying a GranTurismo and a Quattroporte, both resplendent in Blu Oceano, flanking the clock at the center of the famed Grand Concourse. These cars were raffled to benefit the CCF’s scholarships for worthy students. Needless to say, the thousand-dollar raffle tickets sold out very quickly!

On the Friday evening before Columbus Day, as throngs of commuters and enthusiasts admired the pair of deep blue Maseratis stopping pedestrian traffic in one of the world’s busiest transport hubs, the Foundation hosted a marvelous celebration of Italian American heritage in Vanderbilt Hall. Attendees reveled in fine Italian food and wine, enticing displays highlighting Italian regions, and thrilled to the entertainment of masterful flag-throwing troupe Il Mastrogiurato from Abruzzo. Partygoers later surrounded the Maserati GranTurismo to enjoy Italy’s rousing Banda della Guardia di Finanza in the Grand Concourse. Afterwards there was the opportunity to chat with Italian Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella, Columbus Day Parade Grand Marshal Lidia Bastianich of TV’s Lidia’s Kitchen, and members of the CCF including Chairman Lawrence Auriana, all of whom had worked so hard to make this year’s events successful.

The following night, the Waldorf Astoria hosted the Columbus Citizens Foundation’s black tie dinner, the climax of which was the raffle drawing for the Maserati Quattroporte. Jeffrey Gravelle of Norwalk, Connecticut, won the four door sports car; any disappointment felt by other ticket holders in the huge ballroom was sweetened by the thought of how much money the three hundred raffle tickets, each $1,000, had raised for the CCF’s scholarships.

On Columbus Day itself, New York’s Fifth Avenue was closed for the annual parade organized by the Columbus Citizens Foundation, led for the first time by a group of privately-owned Maserati thoroughbreds, including the one of a kind V4, the 1931 Maserati Zagato Spyder that was the first super car, a 1955 A6G54 GT Frua Berlinetta, once owned by Italian music legend Domenico Modugno, a 1960 5000 GT, a 2004 MC12 super car and a 2007 Quattroporte. The graceful lines of these rare Maseratis were at home on one of the most elegant streets in the world, and the crowds loved the sight of them on an avenue that is normally gridlocked by yellow cabs. There could be no more fitting tribute to the contributions and accomplishments of Italian Americans than these dynamic sculptures linking uniquely Italian design and craftsmanship with archetypically American enthusiasm. Perhaps the next raffle drawing for the lithe Maserati GranTurismo could focus attention once again on the Columbus Citizens Foundation’s mission to help elementary, high school and college students who are in financial need with educational grants and scholarships, and Maserati’s support of it. The chance to be one of the first GranTurismo owners in the US – and the opportunity to skip ahead of the rapidly growing wait list for this exceptional new car – caused the five hundred $1000 raffle tickets to be snapped up by excited patrons. This fine coupe was won by Gregg Pacchiana of Hillsborough, North Carolina who was informed of his good fortune by the ebullient Lawrence Auriana, himself a noted enthusiast of fine Italian cars and an admirer of the Trident marque.

Columbus Day is a wonderful celebration of all things Italian-American, and two lucky – and generous – raffle winners got to experience the best of Italy thanks to the Columbus Citizens Foundation and Maserati.