Work Your Way Through

At one hundred years old, Franco Vitiello, '68, is the oldest living BAC alumnus.

"I'm very proud of being an Italian and I'm very proud of being an American," he often says. At the College's 2025 Commencement, Franco Vitiello received Doctor of Design Leadership Honoris Causa for his contribution to the field of design.

Franco immigrated to the United States from Italy at age 29 with nothing in his pocket and no connections, at a time when there was rampant discrimination against immigrants from his country.

He worked his way up from an office boy to becoming an accomplished architect who has spent his decades-long career giving back to the Italian American community through the Dante Alghieri Society of Massachusetts. Franco's work can be seen all over Boston and beyond the United States.

Today, he's dressed in a suit and tie (an outfit he still insists on putting on daily), sitting in his daughter Tina's Wellesley, Massachusetts, kitchen surrounded by family, eager to share his life story with remarkable detail.

"The BAC, to me, is the best school in the world," Franco says. "It allows you to become an architect without going to school day and night. You can work your way through."

He points to a framed hand-drafted rendering of his final project from the College, a carefully thought-out plan for an urban hotel. Franco completed his studies at the BAC while taking night classes, working full-time, and parenting four daughters with his wife, Maria, who shaped him into the best version of himself.

He advises BAC Class of 2025 graduates, "Don't be afraid of taking on a big project. Use your degree to make positive results in the world."

Drafting a new life in America

In Naples circa WWII, Franco graduated from technical school and joined the Italian Air Force, dreaming of becoming a pilot. But when his superiors realized that Franco had a steady hand as a draftsman, his life took off in a different direction altogether.

"After the war, Italy was devastated morally and physically," he says. There were no jobs, so when his sister married an American veteran and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, Franco immigrated there too.

It wasn't easy. "I had to start an entirely new life in a new world. The physical environment was different. The culture was different. The language was different."

"Italy is one of the best places for architecture. Wherever you go, you see monuments," Franco says. When his brother-in-law led him on a tour of Cleveland, Franco raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where are all the statues?"

Franco's first job was working long shifts as a presser in a factory, steaming and smoothing textiles. Then he moved to Boston and got another factory job before landing his first office job at the architectural office of Perry Shaw Hepburn and Dean in Boston.

"I started as an office boy," Franco says. Sixty-one people were working there, and it was my job to serve coffee to everyone in the mornings. Then I was promoted to draftsman. I was 30 years old and making $32 a week."

Ever since drafting for the Air Force, he'd secretly dreamed of becoming an architect. Still, he had pushed the idea aside because he couldn't afford to stop working long enough to study. But after struggling through English lessons to pick up the language, Franco heard about the BAC by word of mouth. It was a lightbulb moment.

The BAC Years

Franco and his family lived in Belmont, a Boston suburb, and he was fortunate to afford a car. He commuted to the BAC for classes three nights a week and ended up carpooling with a BAC legend:

"Dean Casciari didn't have a car, so I used to give him a ride home because we both lived outside the city." Like Franco, the Dean came from humble Italian beginnings–and the two bonded.

It was at the BAC that Franco developed his design philosophy: "Good architecture needs both form and function." It's an ethos that would ring true in his future projects. Over the next chapter of his career, Franco proved essential to designing and constructing two beloved monuments that any Bostonian can identify today.

Boston Design Icons

The Don Orione Fathers commissioned an Italian architect, Arrigo Minerbi, to build the Madonna, Queen of the Universe Shrine, which houses a 35-foot-tall bronze and copper statue of the Blessed Mother. "I was brought on to help because I was Italian,"Franco says.

Set on a hill in East Boston, the shrine's tower is constructed of Italian-made granite ground with bauxite. "I was in Milan while they were casting the granite. You should have seen it," Franco marvels.

His daughter Tina says, "Next time you fly into Boston, look out the plane window and you can't miss it."

After building the tower, the architect unexpectedly died. The priest turned to Franco to help finish the project. As an architect, he always asked clients: “What do you need? What is it that you want?"

The priest told him they wanted "an open church." Franco's responsive design is the serene plaza with five columns on each side and planters filled with local foliage. This design still resonates with pilgrims visiting the shrine today.

Next, Franco went to work with the Architect Design Group. The firm was still in startup mode, but landed a big job–the Boylston Street Building of the Boston Public Library under the direction of the noted starchitect of the era, Philip Johnson. Johnson's center of gravity was Manhattan, and he hired the Boston-based firm to manage the project.

"My boss called me and said, 'Frank, you'll be the job captain.’ I must admit, I was very nervous because I didn't know if I could handle a project of that magnitude," Franco says.

Just like any other young architect, he experienced imposter syndrome. But he leaned into the skills he'd picked up at the BAC. "It was an honor to be involved with a project of that magnitude. I was very stressed for the first few days, but gained some courage. I knew deep down that I had the skills I needed to succeed."

There were some perks, too. "Every couple of weeks, I went to New York City to deal with Johnson, who was a very nice but eccentric man," Franco recalls. He would lunch at the Four Seasons near Johnson's elegant office. "I was lucky. Anytime something like that happened, one part of my brain would remember the past in which I had next to nothing."

Franco was an architect with American Medical International in the later years of his career. This investor-owned hospital management company constructed healthcare facilities all over the world. Projects he helped lead continue to stand and save lives in Ecuador and Greece.

Franco has been a leader of the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts since 1957. He was the first volunteer to teach Italian language classes in the current Cambridge building. Because of his service, the Consulate General of Italy in Boston recommended Frank to a Commandatore in 2013, a prestigious award commending his contributions bestowed by the President of Italy.

More recently, at a Consulate event held in Cascieri Hall at the BAC, Franco, who shies away from attention, was embarrassed to be ushered to the front row. There, he met BAC President Mahesh Daas for the first time, and a genuine friendship began.

Distilled from 100 years of living, Franco’s advice to the BAC Class of 2025 is: “Do everything with your whole heart.”