Cape Anncestry is a new and evolving collaboration dedicated to uncovering, preserving, celebrating, and elevating the cultural and historical contributions of Cape Ann's ethnic communities.

Sal Zarilli, Laura Ventimiglia, and Maria (Mia) Millefoglie serve as the volunteer leadership team, connecting community partners, historians, artists, educators, cultural organizations, and residents to document and share the immigrant and ethnic experiences that have shaped life on Cape Ann.

Our project builds on the success of our inaugural project, Branded: Gloucester's Hidden History of Enemy Aliens — launched with the support of Awesome Gloucester and expanded through grants from the Mass Cultural Council and the Essex Community Foundation. Community response to the writing series, public presentations, and forthcoming documentary has been overwhelmingly positive. To date, more than 200 community members have attended presentations, and our content regularly reaches between 1,300 and 2,000 people through the Down the Fort Facebook page. Branded is featured on GlobalBoston, a digital platform attracting more than 10,000 visitors each month.

Fueled by this success, future initiatives include the public viewing of the full-length documentary in 2027, as part of the 100th Anniversary of St. Peter’s Fiesta, and projects emerging from outreach to Portuguese, Irish, and other ethnic groups.

Objectives:
:• Build a living archive of oral histories, photographs, artifacts, written narratives, and documentary films.
• Preserve community knowledge by recording stories before they disappear.
• Inspire intergenerational connections through programming, public events, and community conversations.
• Increase public access to cultural history through exhibitions, publications, documentaries, and digital storytelling.
• Foster dialogue about cultural identity, belonging, and historical memory.
• Create opportunities for community members to contribute their own stories