Interactive, digital exhibit at Big Fresno Fair to carry on local Italian heritage

Maya Angelou once said, “You can’t really know where you are going until you know where you have been.” This quote continues to resonate with me as I consider the legacy left by my cousin, Vincent Isnardi, and the work of the Isnardi Foundation.

Vincent Tocchini Isnardi was born and raised in Fresno by his Italian immigrant father Joseph Isnardi and mother Jennie (Genevive Tocchini) Isnardi. Vincent graduated from Fresno High School, the University of California Berkeley, and finally the University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy in 1943, where he was proud to be a graduate.

After graduation, Vincent returned to Fresno to join the family pharmacy business, the International Drug Co., located on Kern Street. Later, the business relocated to F Street, where the family erected a new building.

Vincent loved his family, his rich Italian heritage and he loved Fresno and its people — all of which were the driving force behind his creation of the Isnardi Foundation in 2006, with a purpose to support those in need in Fresno and the surrounding area. In his words, “The whole idea is to try to help out the Valley people. That is where I was born and raised.”

Today the foundation continues to invest in charitable organizations in and around Fresno that promote education and human development, the reduction of poverty and injustice, medical advancements and health maintenance, beautification of the city and the streets, the care and comfort for the elderly and sick and the advancement of those who are of Italian descent. The Foundation has donated approximately $9 million dollars to more than 20 local organizations including Community Health System, EPU Children’s Center, Fresno Police Chaplaincy, Hinds Hospice, Marjaree Mason Center, Poverello House and Valley Children’s Healthcare, to name a few.

Most recently, the Isnardi Foundation was delighted to be a primary benefactor of the Italian Heritage exhibit expansion located at the Fresno County Historical Museum at the Big Fresno Fair. The museum and the exhibit will be open to the public during the Big Fresno Fair, which begins Oct. 6 and continues to Oct. 17. It is open year round by appointment at 559-650-FAIR.

As a board member of the Isnardi Foundation since 2013, one of the things I’ve enjoyed the most is realizing the impact that Vincent’s legacy has on the future of Fresno, specifically, its children and youth. Fresno has a rich heritage of immigrants from around the globe who settled here and made Fresno their home. The Italian heritage in Fresno is just a small piece of the whole, but we are thrilled to consider the impact this state-of-the-art exhibit will have for generations to come.

Upon visiting the Italian Heritage exhibit one enters the façade of a quaint Italian villa. A look upward reveals a breathtaking replica painting of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man” from the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. At eye level, large, digital screens begin an interactive journey into the rich and vibrant Italian heritage of Fresno as you choose from 12 major categories – agriculture, food & dining, sports, stories of service and language and traditions, and the list goes on.

Nat DiBuduo, chair of the Italian Heritage exhibit, remarks, “These amazing stories and photos will help illustrate Italian families’ experiences in the homeland, their journeys to America, their work and talents and the many contributions they have made to all walks of life within Fresno County and beyond. The Isnardi Foundation has been the cornerstone of the Italian American ‘Road of Dreams’ Exhibit. We could not have accomplished such a project without them.”

This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.