What roads would History take if John F. Kennedy was not murdered in 1963 in Dallas? The question arises spontaneously this year when the JFK Centennial is celebrated, the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of JFK. But the anniversary is also a great excuse for a tour in the Kenyan places Massachusetts, birthplace of the 35th American President.
Starting point is the JFK National Historic Site by Brookline, the ancient neighborhood of Boston. Here you can visit the home where the future President was born, who, thanks to the work of his mother Rose Kennedy, gathers memories and testimonies of the Kennedy clan. Take the audio tour and you will seem to be accompanied by one room to another by the same Rose, a narrative voice of the recording.
Then reach Dorchester, the neighborhood at the southern gates of Boston, where is the splendid JKF Library and Museum designed by the famous architect IMPei, in which the world of Kennedy's three-year presidential world was recreated and which houses the exhibition of the 100th Anniversary.
From Boston to Cape Cod the JFK Trail, a route that touches all attractions and places of call related to JFK and Kennedy clan. Among the various stages, Hyannis is home to the delightful JFK Museum, the John F. Kennedy Memorial paying tribute to the man who created the "Camelot". Then the Cape Cod Maritime Museum or the cruise Hyannis Harbor Cruise, which recall the passion for the sea and the nautical of JFK.
Here you can discover the Cape Cod National Seashore, the national park on the sand dunes created in 1961 thanks to a law launched by JFK that established its value protecting its fragile coast: 17,000 hectares from Chatham to Provincetown, which attracts around 4 million visitors a year. Kennedy was a summer resident in the Cape and supported the law in the Senate for the purpose – as he wrote – "to the natural and preserve values of a portion of Cape Cod for the inspiration and enjoyment of people all over the United States. " It was the first time that the federal government created a national park from lands substantially in the hands of private individuals.
By ferry or hydrofoil you will then reach Martha’s Vineyard, the island of Presidents par excellence, frequented not only by JFK. From Ulysses S. Grant's time to Barack Obama is the preferred holiday destination for American leaders.
