The nation's largest celebration of Italian American culture returned to Fifth Avenue Monday morning when the 78th annual Columbus Day Parade kicked off.

“I love to listen to the Italian music, and [I love] the floats, too,” Francesca Ottomanelli said. Ottomanelli was born in Italy and later came to the U.S., where she grew up.

She tries to make it to the city’s Columbus Day Parade every year.

“I’m so proud of the Italian Heritage,” Ottomanelli said. “It’s just very moving.”

Ottomanelli made a friend from Italy at this year’s parade.

“I’m from Sicily, Polermo,” Maddalena Schifano said. She lives in Brooklyn and shares Ottomanelli’s love of Italian music.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, Rep. Lee Zeldin and Mayor Eric Adams were some of the elected officials to attend the parade.

Other dignitaries also made an appearance. Like most public figures in the parade, the city’s police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, made a stop along the parade route to greet Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the 10th and current archbishop of New York, who watched the celebration from outside of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Numerous bands and floats, plus more than 100 marching groups, passed by as they made their way up Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 72nd Street.

The floats and marchers in the parade were led by philanthropist and Paychex — a payroll, benefits and human resources company — founder Tom Golisano, who served as the grand marshall of this year’s parade.

The event is the largest celebration of Italian American heritage in the country and it dates back to 1929 with routes in East Harlem. It became an official celebration of Italian heritage in 1944.

Now, it attracts not only New Yorkers, but spectators from all over the world.

“It’s to see my heritage and to see the pride in all the people here,” Ottomanelli said.