Andretti Awarded Italian Gov't's Highest Civilian Honor

According to an Associated Press article in the International Herald Tribune (read the article here) Mario Andretti was awared the Commendatore dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana in New York City on Wednesday, October 25, 2006.

The article states:

The Commendatore, as it is known, is the highest honor granted a civilian by the Italian government, similar to being knighted in Britain. Only a handful of Italian Americans have been given the honor, and it took a while for the folks who give out these things to get around to Andretti.

It is a very nice article about a man who stayed true to his roots both in Italy and in Nazareth.

Congratulations Mario!