“Remember that whatever you plant will not grow, unless you water it.”
–Dr. Francesco Giacobbe
In celebration of Italian American Heritage Month, we continue to recognize the economic, cultural, political, and social contributions of notable immigrants and refugees who’ve helped shape America’s vibrant tapestry. Today, we spotlight esteemed medical doctor and co-founder of the Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo, Dr. Francesco Giacobbe.
Dr. Francesco Giacobbe was born in the small hamlet of Spadafora, located in Sicily, Italy. Displaying remarkable aptitude early, his family relocated to Messina when he was just 9, in part to provide him with better educational opportunities. There, he hustled to pay for his studies. He routinely negotiated with local fishermen to purchase fish before walking 14 miles to resell them in the neighboring commune, San Pier Niceto. In 1951, at 18, despite not speaking English, Francesco immigrated to the United States to Study at Syracuse University. He also was, for the first time, able to meet his father, who had left Italy years earlier to escape poverty and support the family from abroad.
Following graduation, he returned to Italy to attend a boarding school for university students operated by the Barnabite Fathers. There he roomed with Syracuse classmate and friend, Joe Coppola, who introduced him to his future wife, Renata. He earned his medical degree from the world-famous University of Naples before returning to the United States.
In 1960, Dr. Giacobbe began and completed a rotating internship at the esteemed E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital (now ECMC) in Buffalo, NY. One year later, he returned to Naples to marry Renata, before she and her parents joined him in Western New York. In the spring of 1963, Francesco received his New York State license to practice medicine and, by 1976, was named chief of Pediatrics at Sisters of Charity Hospital, where he worked for over three decades. He also opened Kenwood Pediatrics, a medical practice where he treated generations of children.
Dr. Giacobbe was known for his kindness and devotion to his patients. He never declined house calls to homes in Buffalo or to other municipalities across the region. Former patients often approached him in public, offering heartfelt, effusive appreciation for the tangible difference he had made in their lives.
At 47, Dr. Giacobbe’s love and appreciation for the U.S. led him to join the Naval Reserve, in which he served active duty for six months during the Gulf War.
In 2010, Dr. Giacobbe and his late wife, Renata, founded the successful Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo, which brings together Italian Americans and anyone simply interested in Italy. The venture, in which he served as president, was inspired by their dream of creating an Italian cultural center to enrich the Western New York community further. Today, it continues to offer the public a variety of programs, including Sicilian language and cooking classes, concerts, films, and story hours for children.
Dr. Francesco Giacobbe passed in March 2024 at 90 years old.
Others we are celebrating in honor of Italian American Heritage Month:
Mother Cabrini, canonized Catholic sister and the patron saint of immigrants
Ilio DiPaolo, Buffalo restaurateur and professional wrestler
Rita Levi-Montalcini, Nobel Prize-winning neurobiologist
