The Verrazzano Day Committee, Inc. was incorporated by these two Italian-American organizations to honor the memory of Giovanni da Verrazzano, the Florentine navigator who discovered Narragansett Bay in 1524 and who described in his report to King Francis I, that the island which he discovered was like the “Isle of Rhodes”. From his report, history credits Verrazzano for having been indirectly responsible for naming the State of Rhode Island. The annual event honoring this great navigator also is held to honor an outstanding leader of the Rhode Island community.

The Verrazzano Observance Day Committee’s Scholarship Program was initiated a number of years ago under the guidance of the late Dr. Renato E. Leonelli. Initially, a monetary award was presented to a college student, who had achieved excellence in the study of Italian. Over the years, the program has been revised with the addition of a Resource Award. Both of the awards are given in honor of the late Dr. Leonell.

All the local colleges and universities who provide courses for the study of Italian language, culture and history are eligible for this program. Each year, one of the five Rhode Island Institutions, Brown University, Community College of Rhode Island, Providence College, Rhode Island College, and the University of Rhode Island, Providence Campus which offer Italain language, culture and history as part of their curriculum is presented with a cash award and a student from the school is presented a Scholarship Award.