The Enrico Caruso Gallery

The history of legendary Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso is now part of the permanent collection of the Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere.

Caruso (1873-1921) sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. He was also one of the first major singing talents to be commercially recorded.

Many theatrical items once owned by Caruso were collected by Commendatore Aldo Mancusi, who created the Enrico Caruso Museum in his Brooklyn home. Upon his passing in 2022, Mancusi’s estate donated many significant items to the Italian Cultural Foundation, where founding member Lou Barrella has worked for many months to curate and display these items in a section of the mansion.

In October 2023, a ribbon cutting for this new gallery was attended by special guests who played an important role in this transfer, including Mancusi’s two daughters. The Enrico Caruso Gallery is open for tours by appointment only.

For more information, call 718-273-7660.