BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Italian Cultural Center in Buffalo is now welcoming people across the Queen City to celebrate and learn about Italian heritage.

Center officials hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday to commemorate the opening of its new location.

Previously home to the North Park Branch Library, the building has been vacant since the library's closure in 2006.

The center, located at the corner of Delaware and Hertel, will be a hub for celebrating Italian culture, offering cooking classes, film screenings and language lessons in Italian and Sicilian.

The Centro Culturale Italiano di Buffalo first acquired the building in 2017, and in 2019, the nonprofit launched a campaign to collect $2 million to renovate the property.

"It will allow us to effectively share, not impose, our culture and values, in order to build a cross-cultural understanding through honest discussion and mutual respect," said Italian honorary vice consulate Lucia Caracci Ederer.

If you're interested in joining the center, you can fill out an online application at CCIBuffalo.org or send in a physical application with a check to pay the membership fee.