Italy Behind the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

Did you know that? Let’s learn more about the unknown historical connections between Italy and the USA.

Historical records confirm that the very first Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, raised in 1931, was erected not by city officials but by the construction workers building the complex—many of whom were Italian immigrants, together with other immigrant laborers.
That inaugural tree, a humble 20-foot balsam fir, was adorned with handmade decorations: paper garlands, strings of cranberries, and even tin cans crafted by the workers’ families.

Sources documenting the origins of the tradition consistently describe Italian-American and other immigrant workers pooling their own money to purchase and decorate the tree.
Some narratives go further, highlighting the role of Cesidio Perruzza, an Italian immigrant, who is remembered as one of the workers who helped bring and set up that first tree, alongside roughly sixty other Italians employed at the site.

Contemporary accounts and later research depict the workforce as a diverse immigrant crew—predominantly Italian, but also including Irish and Greek laborers.
Mainstream historical summaries (such as those from Time, AP, and various encyclopedic sources) emphasize the collective gesture of the construction workers as the true beginning of the tradition.
The story of Perruzza, however, survives through local memory and Italian-American oral history.

As a result, both perspectives coexist: the broader, historically documented collective effort, and the more intimate narrative that honors Perruzza’s personal contribution.

About Cesidio Perruzza

• Born in San Donato Val di Comino, a small town in the province of Frosinone, (not far from Rome) Italy.

• Emigrated to the United States in 1901, at about 17 years of age.

• Eventually worked on major construction projects in New York, where—according to family and community recollections—he and fellow Italian workers brought the idea of a Christmas tree to the Rockefeller Center construction site, unintentionally giving rise to what would become one of New York’s most cherished holiday traditions.

Thank you for reading.

Arrivederci (‘till we meet again)

Mic