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The Public Ledger Building, Philadelphia

Public Ledger Building, 44 KB

This is the view west from Independence Square, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The building to the left is the Public Ledger Building, and the colonial building with the tall tower to the right is Independence Hall, where the U.S. Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776.

The Italian Consulate in Philadelphia is located on the 10th floor of the Public Ledger Building, at 6th and Chestnut Streets (150 South Independence Mall West). The Public Ledger Building was built in 1867. "Public Ledger" was the name of a newspaper in Philadelphia until 1942.

Public Ledger Building, 37 KB

I visited the consulate on the mornings of 11 February 2005 and 12 January 2007. The photographs on this page are from the second visit. I had expected the consulate to be like an embassy, but I think the Republic of Italy only uses some rooms on the 10th floor of the building. The building also houses the consulates of Chile, Ecuador, and Switzerland; there are several flags flying out front, only one of which is the Italian flag.

Visiting the consulate was like visiting a high security bank once you entered Room 1026 which is quite small: all the officials are on the other side of glass windows: no hand-shaking, no "nice to meet you, please sit down". (Note that the consulate has since moved to Suite 956 of the Public Ledger Building.)

Public Ledger Building
Consulate General of Italy
150 S Independence Mall W STE 956
Philadelphia PA 19106-9900

The consulate's Web site is: Italian Consulate General of Philadelphia.

Map of Center City Philadelphia - Public Ledger Building, Independence Hall

Map of Center City Philadelphia (partial), 100 KB

On the map the large yellow circle shows the location at 6th and Chestnut Streets of the Public Ledger Building (no. 137). Directly to its east is Independence Square with Independence Hall (no. 53) facing Chestnut Street. The small circle shows 8th and Market Streets, where there is a subway station which is not a long walk away from the Public Ledger Building.

Source: from the "Center City Enlargement" of the Philadelphia & Suburbs Street and Road Map of Alfred B. Patton, Inc. (Doylestown, Pennsylvania: 1997)

Citizenship Questions

"And now we wait -- six months?" In the event it was twenty-three months. But in those days there was no cost to present your documents and there was no waiting for an appointment.

Italian Passport, 11 KB

Ralph Angelo (Raffaele Angelillo of Sant'Angelo d'Alife, Campania) and John Valente (Giovanni Valente of Gambatesa, Abruzzo e Molise) were Italians who became Italian-Americans. I would be an American-Italian, if I emigrated, but I am too old now to even visit again. They were subjects of the Kingdom of Italy and later citizens of the United States of America. (Because my father was born before Raffaele became a U.S. citizen, I am a citizen of both the United States of America and of the Republic of Italy and therefore also of the European Union. But because her father became a U.S. citizen before my mother was born, she is not a citizen of Italy. There is a particular absurdity in this.)

The European Union was founded 25 March 1957 by the Treaties of Rome. It was prompted by two world wars, the consequent longing for lasting peace among Europe's neighbors.


The URL of this page: https://www.roangelo.net/ledger.html
Last revised: 20 August 2019 : 2019-08-20 by Robert [Wesley] Angelo.

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