It’s been 500 years since Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano explored much of what is now America’s eastern seaboard in 1524. Officials from Rehoboth Beach, the Delaware Commission on Italian Heritage and Culture, the Rehoboth Beach Sister Cities Association, and the Rehoboth-area chapter of UNICO gathered April 17 at the Verrazzano Monument in Rehoboth to celebrate. 

The Italian heritage commission erected the monument in 2008 at the Boardwalk end of Olive Avenue. Rehoboth Beach Mayor Stan Mills opened the program with an official proclamation. Retired Delaware State Archivist Russ McCabe, the keynote speaker, said the knowledge learned from Verrazzano’s trip up the coast was hugely valuable.