The 75th annual Columbus Day parade kicked off Monday at 43rd Street. The boisterous spectacle of red, white and green celebrated all things Italian while moving up Fifth Avenue to 72nd Street.

More than 150 marching groups took part as Grand Marshall Massimo Ferragamo, son of the renowned Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo, was welcomed by tens of thousands of spectators along the route.

“It’s fantastic. This is the best,” said one parade-goer. “Every year I look forward to the family being here.”

Floats, fancy cars and performers created a festive atmosphere. And the balmy weather added to everyone’s enjoyment.

The parade is one of the city’s largest, and organizers call it the biggest celebration of Italian heritage and culture in the world.

We ran into some Italian tourists visiting who just stumbled on the parade and say they’ve never seen anything like it.

“I can in some way feel the Italian culture here in New York, which is far away from home, but still I can feel it,” said the Italian.

“In Italy, we don’t have, you know, those occasions where we wave our flags or just show our pride. So it’s very, very beautiful,” said another.

For some, it was the first time attending the parade, while for others it’s a yearly tradition they never miss. But for all gathered—it’s a great day to be Italian.