Bruce Springsteen’s European immigrant roots — and his family’s 110-year American dream — were celebrated on Ellis Island yesterday.
Accompanied by his proud mother and aunts — the women who “provided me with place” and “filled my family and all of my work with great meaning” — Springsteen, 60, received an Ellis Island Family Heritage Award.
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation presents the award to immigrants or their descendants “who have made a major contribution to the American experience.”
“You can’t really know who you are and where you’re going unless you know where you came from,” Springsteen said.
The singer’s maternal great-grandmother, Raffaela Zerilli, arrived at Ellis Island from Vico Equense, Italy, on Oct. 3, 1900, with her five kids in tow.



