Italian Americans

Italian Americans(Italian:italoamericani) areAmericanswho have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urbanNortheastand industrialMidwesternmetropolitan areas, with significant communities also residing in many other major U.S. metropolitan areas.
Between 1820 and 2004, approximately 5.5 million Italians migrated to the United States during theItalian diaspora, in several distinct waves, with the greatest number arriving in the 20th century fromSouthern Italy. Initially, most single men, so-called birds of passage, sentremittanceback to their families in Italy and then returned to Italy.
Immigration began to increase during the 1880s, when more than twice as many Italians immigrated than had in the five previous decades combined.Continuing from 1880 to 1914, the greatest surge of immigration brought more than 4 million Italians to the United States.The largest number of this wave came from Southern Italy, which at that time was largely agricultural and where much of the populace had been impoverished by centuries of foreign rule and heavy tax burdens.This period of large-scale immigration ended abruptly  with the onset ofWorld War Iin August 1914. In the 1920s, 455,315 immigrants arrived.They came under the terms of the new quota-based immigration restrictions created by  theImmigration Act of 1924.Italian-Americans had asignificant influenceto American visual arts, literature, cuisine, politics, sports, and music.
Italians in the United States before 1880included a number of explorers, starting withChristopher Columbus, and a few small settlements.
Italiannavigators and explorers played a key role in the exploration and settlement of the Americas byEuropeans.GenoeseexplorerChristopher Columbus(Italian:Cristoforo Colombo[kriˈstɔːforokoˈlombo]) completedfour voyages across the Atlantic Oceanfor theCatholic monarchs of Spain, opening the way for the widespread Europeanexplorationandcolonizationof the Americas.
Another Italian,John Cabot(Italian:Giovanni Caboto[dʒoˈvannikaˈbɔːto]), together with his sonSebastian, explored theeastern seaboard of North AmericaforHenry VIIin the early 16th century. In 1524, theFlorentineexplorerGiovanni da Verrazzano(Italian:[dʒoˈvannida(v)verratˈtsaːno]) was the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524.The Italian explorerAmerigo Vespucci(Italian:[ameˈriːɡoveˈsputtʃi]) first demonstrated in about 1501 that the New World was not Asia as initially conjectured but a different continent (Americais named after him).
A number of Italian navigators and explorers in the employ of Spain and France were involved in exploring and mapping their territories and in establishing settlements, but their work did not lead to the permanent presence of Italians in America. In 1539,Marco da Nizzaexplored the territory that later became the states ofArizonaandNew Mexico.
The first Italian to be registered as residing in the area corresponding to the current United States wasPietro Cesare Alberti,commonly regarded as the first Italian American. Alberti was a Venetian seaman who, in 1635, settled in theDutchcolony ofNew Amsterdam, which would eventually becomeNew York City.
A small wave of Protestants, known asWaldensians, immigrated during the 17th century. They were of French and northern Italian heritage (specificallyPiedmontese), The first Waldensians began arriving around 1640, with the majority coming between 1654 and 1663.They spread out across what was then calledNew Netherlandand what would becomeNew York,New Jersey, and the Lower Delaware River regions. The total American Waldensian population that immigrated to New Netherland is currently unknown; however, a 1671 Dutch record indicates that in 1656 alone theDuchy of SavoynearTurin, Italy, had exiled 300 Waldensians because of their Protestant faith.
Enrico Tonti(Henri de Tonti), together with the French explorerRené-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, explored theGreat Lakesregion. De Tonti founded the first European settlement inIllinoisin 1679 and inArkansasin 1683, known asPoste de Arkansea, making him "The Father of Arkansas."With LaSalle, he co-foundedNew Orleansand was governor of theLouisiana Territoryfor the next 20 years. His brotherAlphonse de Tonty(Alfonso de Tonti), with French explorerAntoine de la Mothe Cadillac, was the co-founder ofDetroitin 1701, and was its acting colonial governor for 12 years.
Spain and France were Catholic countries and sent many missionaries to convert the native American population.  Included among these missionaries were numerous Italians. In 1519–25,Alessandro Geraldiniwas the first Catholic bishop in the Americas, atSanto Domingo. FatherFrançois-Joseph Bressani(Francesco Giuseppe Bressani) labored among theAlgonquinandHuronpeoples in the early 17th century. The southwest and California were explored and mapped by Italian Jesuit priestEusebio Kino(Chino) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.His statue, commissioned by the state of Arizona, is displayed in theUnited States Capitol Visitor Center.
TheTaliaferrofamily (originallyTagliaferro), believed to have roots inVenice, was one of theFirst Familiesto settleVirginia. TheWythe House, a historicGeorgianhome built inWilliamsburg, Virginia, in 1754, was designed by architectRichard Taliaferrofor his son-in-law,American Founding FatherGeorge Wythe, who married Richard's daughter Elizabeth Taliaferro. The elder Taliaferro designed much ofColonial Williamsburg, including theGovernor's Palace, theCapitolof theColony of Virginia, and the President's House at theCollege of William & Mary.
Francesco Maria de Reggio, an Italiannoblemanof theHouse of Estewho served under theFrenchasFrançois Marie, Chevalier de Reggio, came toLouisianain 1747 where KingLouis XVappointed himCaptain GeneralofFrench Louisiana, until 1763.Scion of the de Reggios, aLouisiana Creolefirst family ofSt. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, Francesco Maria's granddaughter Hélène Judith de Reggio would give birth to famedConfederate GeneralP. G. T. Beauregard.
A colonial merchant, Francis Ferrari of Genoa, was naturalized as a citizen ofRhode Islandin 1752.He died in 1753, and in his will speaks ofGenoa, his ownership of three ships, a cargo of wine, and his wife Mary,who went on to own one of the oldest coffee houses in America, the Merchant Coffee House of New York on Wall Street at Water Street. Her Merchant Coffee House moved across Wall Street in 1772, retaining the same name and patronage.
This period saw a small stream of new arrivals from Italy. Some brought skills in agriculture and the making of glass, silk and wine, while others brought skills as musicians.
In 1773–1785,Filippo Mazzei, a physician, philosopher, diplomat, promoter of liberty, and author, was a close friend and confidant ofThomas Jefferson. He published a pamphlet containing the phrase, "All men are by nature equally free and independent,"which Jefferson incorporated essentially intact into theDeclaration of Independence.
Italian Americans served in theAmerican Revolutionary Warboth as soldiers and officers.Francesco Vigoaided the colonial forces ofGeorge Rogers Clarkby serving as one of the foremost financiers of the Revolution in the frontier Northwest. Later, he was a co-founder ofVincennes UniversityinIndiana.
After American independence, numerous political refugees arrived, most notablyGiuseppe Avezzana,Alessandro Gavazzi,Silvio Pellico,Federico Confalonieri, andEleuterio Felice Foresti.Giuseppe Garibaldiresided in the United States in 1850–51.  At the invitation of Thomas Jefferson, Carlo Bellini became the first professor of modern languages at theCollege of William & Mary, in the years 1779–1803.
In 1801,Philip Trajetta(Filippo Traetta) established the nation's first conservatory of music in Boston, where, in the first half of the century, organistCharles Nolciniand conductor Louis Ostinelli were also active.In 1805, Thomas Jefferson recruited a group of musicians fromSicilyto form a military band, later to become the nucleus of theU.S. Marine Band. The musicians included the youngVenerando Pulizzi, who became the first Italian director of the band and served in this capacity from 1816 to 1827.Francesco Maria Scala, an Italian-born naturalized American citizen, was one of the most important and influential directors of the U.S. Marine Band, from 1855 to 1871, and was credited with the instrumental organization the band still maintains. Joseph Lucchesi, the third Italian leader of the U.S. Marine Band, served from 1844 to 1846.The first opera house in the country opened in 1833 in New York through the efforts ofLorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's former librettist, who had immigrated to America and had become the first professor of Italian atColumbia Collegein 1825.
During this period, Italian explorers continued to be active in the West. In 1789–91,Alessandro Malaspinamapped much of thewest coast of the Americas, fromCape Hornto theGulf of Alaska. In 1822–23, the headwater region of theMississippiwas explored byGiacomo Beltramiin the territory that was later to becomeMinnesota, which named acountyin his honor.
Joseph Rosatiwas named the first Catholic bishop of St. Louis in 1824. In 1830–64,Samuel Mazzuchelli, a missionary and expert in Indian languages, ministered to European colonists and Native Americans inWisconsinandIowafor 34 years and, after his death, was declared Venerable by the Catholic Church. FatherCharles Constantine Pise, a Jesuit, served asChaplain of the Senatefrom 1832 to 1833,the only Catholic priest ever chosen to serve in this capacity.
In 1833,Lorenzo Da Ponte, formerly Mozart's librettist and a naturalized U.S. citizen, founded the first opera house in the United States, the Italian Opera House in New York City, which was the predecessor of the New York Academy of Music and of theNew York Metropolitan Opera. Missionaries of theJesuitandFranciscanorders were active in many parts of America. Italian Jesuits founded numerous missions, schools, and two colleges in the west.Giovanni Nobilifounded the Santa Clara College (nowSanta Clara University) in 1851. The St. Ignatius Academy (nowUniversity of San Francisco) was established byAnthony Maraschiin 1855. The Italian Jesuits also laid the foundation for thewinemakingindustry that would later flourish inCalifornia. In the east, the Italian Franciscans founded hospitals, orphanages, schools, and St. Bonaventure College (nowSt. Bonaventure University), established byPamfilo da Maglianoin 1858.
In 1837, John Phinizy (Finizzi) became the mayor ofAugusta, Georgia.Samuel Wilds Trottiof South Carolina was the first Italian American to serve in theU.S. Congress(a partial term, from December 17, 1842, to March 3, 1843).In 1849, Francesco de Casale began publishing the Italian American newspaperL'Eco d'Italiain New York, the first of many to eventually follow. In 1848,Francis Ramacciotti, piano string inventor and manufacturer, immigrated to the U.S. fromTuscany.
Beginning in 1863, Italian immigrants were one of the principal groups of unskilled laborers, along with the Irish, that built theTranscontinental Railroadwest fromOmaha, Nebraska.In 1866,Constantino Brumidicompleted the frescoed interior of theUnited States Capitol domeinWashington, D.C., and spent the rest of his life executing still other artworks to beautify the Capitol. The firstColumbus Daycelebration was organized by Italian Americans in New York City on October 12, 1866.
Giovanni Martinoor Giovanni Martini, also known as John Martin, was a soldier and trumpeter who served both in Italy withGiuseppe Garibaldiand in theUnited States Army, famously in the7th Cavalry RegimentunderGeorge Armstrong Custer. He was the only survivor from Custer'scompanyat theBattle of the Little Bighorn.
An immigrant,Antonio Meucci, brought with him a concept for the telephone. He is credited by many researchers with being the first to demonstrate the principle of the telephone in apatent caveathe submitted to theU.S. Patent Officein 1871; however, considerable controversy existed relative to the priority of invention, withAlexander Graham Bellalso being accorded this distinction. (In 2002, theU.S. House of Representativespassed a resolution on Meucci (H.R. 269) declaring that "his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged.")
During this period, Italian Americans established a number of institutions of higher learning. Las Vegas College (nowRegis University) was established by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits in 1877 inLas Vegas, New Mexico. The JesuitGiuseppe Cataldo, founded Gonzaga College (nowGonzaga University) inSpokane, Washington in 1887. In 1886, RabbiSabato Morais, a Jewish Italian immigrant, was one of the founders and first president of theJewish Theological Seminary of Americain New York. Also during this period, there was a growing presence of Italian Americans in higher education.Vincenzo Bottawas a distinguished professor of Italian atNew York Universityfrom 1856 to 1894,and Gaetano Lanza was a professor of mechanical engineering at theMassachusetts Institute of Technologyfor over 40 years, beginning in 1871.
Anthony Ghio became the mayor ofTexarkana, Texas in 1880.Francis B. Spinola, the first Italian American to be elected to theUnited States House of Representatives, served as a representative from New York from 1887 to 1891. He also served as a general in theUnion Armyduring theAmerican Civil War. Following the war, Spinola was a banker and insurance agent and became an influential figure among the rapidly growing Italian immigrant community in the New York City area. He was again a member of the State Assembly (New York Co., 16th D.) in1877,1881, and1883.
Between 5,000 and 10,000 Italian Americans fought in theAmerican Civil War.The great majority of Italian Americans, for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in theUnion Army(including generalsEdward FerreroandFrancis B. Spinola). Some Americans of Italian descent from the disbandedArmy of the Two Sicilies, which was defeated byGiuseppe Garibaldiafter theExpedition of the Thousand, fought in theConfederate Army.They included Confederate generalsWilliam B. Taliaferro(ofEnglish-AmericanandAnglo-Italiandescent) andP. G. T. Beauregard.Six Italian Americans received theMedal of Honorduring the war, including ColonelLuigi Palma di Cesnola, who later became the first director of theMetropolitan Museum of Artsin New York (1879–1904).
TheGaribaldi Guardrecruited volunteers for the Union Army from Italy and other European countries to form the39th New York Infantry.At the outbreak of the American Civil War,Giuseppe Garibaldiwas a very popular figure. The39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, with 350 Italian members, was nicknamed Garibaldi Guard in his honor. The unit wore red shirts andbersaglieri plumes.They carried with them both a Union Flag and anItalian flagwith the wordsDio e popolo,meaning "God and people."In 1861, Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to PresidentAbraham Lincoln. Garibaldi was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of StateWilliam H. SewardtoH. S. Sanford, the U.S. minister atBrussels, July 17, 1861.
From 1880 to 1914, 13 millionItalians migrated out of Italy,making Italy the scene of one of the largest voluntary emigrations in recorded world history.During this period of mass migration, 4 million Italians arrived in the United States, 3 million of them between 1900 and 1914.They came for the most part from southern Italy (the regions ofAbruzzo,Campania,Apulia,Basilicata, andCalabria) and from the island ofSicily.Most planned to stay a few years, then take their earnings and return home. According to historianThomas J. Archdeacon, 46 percent of the Italians who entered the United States between 1899 and 1924 permanently returned home.
Immigrants without industrial skills found employment in low-wage manual labor jobs. Instead of finding jobs on their own, most used thepadrone systemwhereby Italian middlemen (padroni) found jobs for groups of men and controlled their wages, transportation, and living conditions for a fee.
According to historian Alfred T. Banfield:
In terms of the push-pull model of immigration,America provided the pull factor by the prospect of jobs that unskilled and uneducated Italian peasant farmers could do. Peasant farmers accustomed to hard work in the Mezzogiorno, for example, took jobs building railroads and constructing buildings, while others took factory jobs that required little or no skill.
The push factor came primarily from the harsh economic conditions in southern Italy. Major factors that contributed to the large exodus included political and social unrest, the weak agricultural economy of the South modeled on the outdatedlatifundistsystem dating back to thefeudalperiod, a high tax burden, soil exhaustion and erosion, and military conscription lasting seven years.The poor economic situation in the 19th century became untenable for many sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and small business and land owners. Multitudes chose to emigrate rather than face the prospect of a deepening poverty. A large number of these were attracted to the United States, which at the time was actively recruiting workers from Italy and elsewhere to fill the labor shortage that existed in the years following the Civil War.  Often the father and older sons would go first, leaving the mother and the rest of the family behind until the male members could afford their passage.
By far the strongest "pull" factor was money.Migrants expected to make large sums in a few years of work, enabling them to live much better when they returned home, especially by buying a farm. Real life was never so golden: the Italians earned well below average rates. Their weekly earnings in manufacturing and mining in 1909 came to $9.61, compared to $13.63 for German immigrants and $11.06 for Poles.The result was a sense of alienation from most of American culture and a lack of interest in learning English or otherwise assimilating.Not many women came, but those who did became devoted to traditional Italian religious customs.When theWorld War Ibroke out, European migrants could not go home. Wages shot up, and the Italians benefited greatly. Most decided to stay permanently, and they flourished in the 1920s.
Many sought housing in the older sections of the large Northeastern cities—districts that became known as "Little Italys." Such housing was frequently in overcrowded, substandard tenements, which were often dimly lit and had poor heating and ventilation. Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases were a constant health threat for the immigrant families that were compelled by economic circumstances to live in these dwellings. Other immigrant families lived in single-family abodes, which was more typical in areas outside of the enclaves of the large northeastern cities and other parts of the country as well.
An estimated 49 percent of Italians who migrated to the Americas between 1905 (when return migration statistics began) and 1920 did not remain in the United States.These so-called birds of passage intended to stay in the United States for only a limited time, followed by a return to Italy with enough in savings to reestablish themselves there. While many did return to Italy, others chose to stay or were prevented from returning by the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
The Italian male immigrants in the Little Italys were most often employed in manual labor and were heavily involved inpublic works, such as the construction of roads, railroad tracks, sewers, subways, bridges, and the first skyscrapers in thenortheasterncities. As early as 1890, it was estimated that around 90 percent of New York City's and 99 percent of Chicago's public works employees were Italians.The women most frequently worked as seamstresses in the garment industry or in their homes. Many established small businesses in the Little Italys to satisfy the day-to-day needs of fellow immigrants.
ANew York Timesarticle from 1895 provides a glimpse into the status of Italian immigration at the turn of the century:
The New York Timesin May 1896 sent its reporters to characterizethe Little Italy/Mulberry neighborhood:
The masses of Italian immigrants that entered the United States (1890–1900) posed a change in the labor market, prompting Fr. Michael J. Henry to write a letter in October 1900 to the Bishop John J. Clancy ofSligo,Ireland, warning
TheBrooklyn Eagle,in a 1900 article, addressed the same reality:
In spite of the economic hardship of the immigrants, civil and social life flourished in the Italian American neighborhoods of the large northeastern cities. Italian theater, band concerts, choral recitals, puppet shows, mutual aid societies, and social clubs were available to the immigrants.An important event, thefesta, became for many an important connection to the traditions of their ancestral villages in Italy. The festa involved an elaborate procession through the streets in honor of a patron saint or the Virgin Mary in which a large statue was carried by a team of men, with musicians marching behind. Followed by food, fireworks, and general merriment, the festa became an important occasion that helped give the immigrants a sense of unity and common identity.
The destinations of many of the Italian immigrants were not only the large cities of theEast Coast, but also more remote regions of the country, such as Florida and California. They were drawn there by opportunities in agriculture, fishing, mining, railroad construction, lumbering, and other activities under way at the time. Often the immigrants contracted to work in these areas of the country as a condition for payment of their passage. It was not uncommon, especially in the South, for the immigrants to be subjected to economic exploitation, hostility, and sometimes even violence.The Italian laborers who went to these areas were in many cases later joined by wives and children, which resulted in the establishment of permanent Italian American settlements in diverse parts of the country. A number of towns, such asRoseto, Pennsylvania,Tontitown, Arkansas,andValdese, North Carolina,were founded by Italian immigrants during this era.
A number of major business ventures were founded by Italian Americans.Amadeo Gianninioriginated the concept of branch banking to serve the Italian American community inSan Francisco. He founded the Bank of Italy, which later became theBank of America. His bank also provided financing to the film industry developing on the West Coast at the time, including the financing for Walt Disney's 1937 filmSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated motion picture to be made in the United States.  Other companies founded by Italian Americans—such asGhirardelli Chocolate Company,Progresso,Planters Peanuts,Contadina,Chef Boyardee, Italian Swiss Colony wines, andJacuzzi—became nationally known brand names in time. An Italian immigrant, Italo Marciony (Marcioni), is credited with inventing the earliest version of anice cream conein 1898. Another Italian immigrant,Giuseppe Bellanca, brought with him in 1912 an advanced aircraft design, which he began producing. One of Bellanca's planes, piloted by Cesare Sabelli and George Pond, made one of the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flights in 1934.Several families, including theGrucci,Zambelli, andVitalefamilies, brought with them expertise in fireworks displays, and their preeminence in this field has continued to the present day.
Following in the footsteps ofConstantino Brumidi, others were commissioned to help create Washington's impressive monuments. An Italian immigrant,Attilio Piccirilli, and his five brothers carved theLincoln Memorial, which they began in 1911 and completed in 1922. Italian construction workers helped build Washington's Union Station, considered one of the most beautiful stations in the country. Work on Union Station began in 1905 and was completed in 1908. The six statues that decorate the station's facade were carved by Andrew Bernasconi between 1909 and 1911. Two Italian American master stone carvers,Roger Morigiand Vincent Palumbo, spent decades creating the sculptural works that embellishWashington National Cathedral.
Italian conductors contributed to the early success of theMetropolitan Operaof New York (founded in 1880), but it was the arrival of impresarioGiulio Gatti-Casazzain 1908, who brought with him conductorArturo Toscanini, that made the Met internationally known. Many Italian operatic singers and conductors were invited to perform for American audiences, most notably, tenorEnrico Caruso. The premiere of the operaLa Fanciulla del Weston December 10, 1910, with conductor Toscanini and tenor Caruso, and with the composerGiacomo Pucciniin attendance, was a major international success as well as an historic event for the entire Italian American community.Francesco Fanciulli(1853–1915) succeededJohn Philip Sousaas the director ofUnited States Marine Band, serving in this capacity from 1892 to 1897.
Italian Americans became involved in entertainment and sports.Rudolph Valentinowas one of the first great film icons.Dixielandjazz music had a number of important Italian American innovators, the most famous beingNick LaRoccaofNew Orleans, whose quintet made the first jazz recording in 1917. The first Italian American professional baseball player,Ping Bodie(Francesco Pizzoli), began playing for theChicago White Soxin 1912.Ralph DePalmawon theIndianapolis 500in 1915.
Italian Americans became increasingly involved in politics, government, and the labor movement.Andrew Longinowas elected governor of Mississippi in 1900.Charles Bonapartewas secretary of the Navy and later attorney general in theTheodore Rooseveltadministration, and he founded theFederal Bureau of Investigation.
Joe Petrosinowas aNew York City Police Department(NYPD) officer who was a pioneer in the fight againstorganized crime. Crime-fighting techniques that Petrosino pioneered are still practiced by law enforcement agencies.Salvatore A. Cotillowas the first Italian American to serve in both houses of the New York State Legislature and the first who served as Justice of the New York State Supreme Court.
Fiorello La Guardiawas elected to Congress from New York in 1916. He served as mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1946 as a Republican. A 1993 survey of historians, political scientists and urban experts conducted by Melvin G. Holli of theUniversity of Illinois at Chicagosaw La Guardia ranked as the best American big-city mayor to serve between the years 1820 and 1993.
Numerous Italian Americans were at the forefront in fighting for worker's rights in industries such as the mining, textiles, and garment industries, the most notable among these beingArturo Giovannitti,Carlo Tresca, andJoseph Ettor.
An American teacher who had studied in Italy,Sarah Wool Moore, was so concerned withgriftersluring immigrants into rooming houses or employment contracts in which the bosses got kickbacks that she pressed for the founding of the Society for the Protection of Italian Immigrants (often called the Society for Italian Immigrants). The society published lists of approved living quarters and employers. Later, the organization began establishing schools in work camps to help adult immigrants learn English.Wool Moore and the society began organizing schools in the labor camps that employed Italian workers on various dam and quarry projects in Pennsylvania and New York. The schools focused on teaching phrases that workers needed in their everyday tasks.Because of its success in helping immigrants, the society received a commendation from the commissioner of emigration for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1907.
The United States enteredWorld War Iin 1917. The Italian American community wholeheartedly supported the war effort and its young men, both American born and Italian born, enlisted in large numbers in the American Army.It was estimated that during the two years of the war (1917–18) Italian American servicemen made up approximately 12 percent of the total American forces, a disproportionately high percentage of the total.An Italian-born American infantryman,Michael Valente, was awarded theMedal of Honorfor his service. Another 103 Italian Americans (83 Italian born) were awarded theDistinguished Service Cross, the second highest decoration.Italian Americans also accounted for more than 10 percent of war casualties World War I, despite making up less than 4 percent of the U.S. population.
The war, together with the restrictiveEmergency Quota Actof 1921 andImmigration Act of 1924, heavily curtailed Italian immigration. Total annual immigration was capped at 357,000 in 1921 and lowered to 150,000 in 1924. Quotas were allotted on a national basis in proportion to a nationality's existing share of the population. TheNational Origins Formula, which sought to preserve the existing demographic makeup of the United States and generally favored northwestern European immigration, computed Italians to be the fifth-largest national origin of the U.S. population in 1920, to be assigned 3.87 percent of annual quota immigrant spots.Despite implementation of the quota, the inflow of Italian immigrants remained between 6 or 7 percent of all immigrants.And when the restrictive quota system was abolished by theImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Italians had already grown to be the second largest immigrant group in America, with 5,067,717 immigrants from Italy admitted between 1820 and 1966—constituting 12 percent of all immigrants to the United States—more than fromGreat Britain(4,711,711) and fromIreland(4,706,854).
In the interwar period, jobs as policemen, firemen, and civil servants became increasingly available to Italian Americans. Others found employment as plumbers, electricians, mechanics, and carpenters. Women found jobs as civil servants, secretaries, dressmakers, and clerks. With better-paying jobs, Italian Americans moved to more affluent neighborhoods outside of the Italian enclaves. TheGreat Depression(1929–1939) had a major impact on the Italian American community and temporarily reversed some of the earlier gains made. Many unemployed men and some women found jobs on President Franklin Roosevelt'sNew Dealwork programs, such as theWorks Progress Administrationand theCivilian Conservation Corp.
By 1920, numerous Little Italys had stabilized and grown considerably more prosperous as workers were able to obtain higher-paying jobs, often in skilled trades. In the 1920s and 1930s, Italian Americans contributed significantly to American life and culture, politics, music, film, the arts, sports, the labor movement, and business.
In politics,Al Smith(Anglicized form of the Italian surname Ferraro) became the first governor of New York of Italian ancestry—although the media characterized him as an Irish. He was the first Catholic to receive a major party presidential nomination, as Democratic candidate for president in 1928. He lost Protestant strongholds in the South but energized the Democratic vote in immigrant centers across the entire North.Angelo Rossiwas mayor of San Francisco from 1931 to 1944. In 1933–34,Ferdinand Pecoraled a Senate investigation of theWall Street Crash of 1929, which exposed major financial abuses, and spurred Congress to rein in the banking industry.Pecora's work later inspired a play,The Reckoning: Pecora for the Public.Liberal leaderFiorello La Guardiaserved as Republican and Fusion mayor of New York City from 1934 to 1945. On the far left,Vito Marcantoniowas first elected to Congress in 1934 from New York.Robert Maestriwas mayor ofNew Orleansfrom 1936 to 1946.
TheMetropolitan Operacontinued to flourish under the leadership ofGiulio Gatti-Casazza, whose tenure continued until 1935.Rosa PonselleandDusolina Giannini, daughters of Italian immigrants, performed regularly at the Metropolitan Opera and became internationally known.Arturo Toscaninireturned in the United States as the main conductor of theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra(1926–1936) and introduced many Americans to classical music through hisNBC Symphony Orchestraradio broadcasts (1937–1954).Ruggiero Ricci, a child prodigy born of Italian immigrant parents, gave his first public performance in 1928 at the age of 10 and had a long international career as a concert violinist.
Popular singers of the period includedRuss Columbo, who established a new singing style that influencedFrank Sinatraand other singers that followed. On Broadway,Harry Warren(Salvatore Guaragna) wrote the music for42nd Street, and received threeAcademy Awardsfor his compositions. Other Italian American musicians and performers, such asJimmy Durante, who later achieved fame in movies and television, were active invaudeville.Guy Lombardoformed a popular dance band, which played annually onNew Year's Evein New York City'sTimes Square.
The film industry of this era includedFrank Capra, who received threeAcademy Awardsfor directing andFrank Borzage, who received two Academy Awards for directing.  Italian American cartoonists were responsible for some of the most popular animated characters:Donald Duckwas created byAl Taliaferro,Woody Woodpeckerwas a creation ofWalter Lantz(Lanza),Casper the Friendly Ghostwas co-created byJoseph Oriolo, andTom and Jerrywere co-created byJoseph Barbera. The voice ofSnow Whitewas provided byAdriana Caselotti, a 21-year-old soprano.
In public art,Luigi Del Biancowas the chief stone carver atMount Rushmorefrom 1933 to 1940.Simon Rodia, an immigrant construction worker, built theWatts Towersover a period of 33 years, from 1921 to 1954.
In sports,Gene Sarazen(Eugenio Saraceni) won both theProfessional Golf AssociationandU.S. Open Tournamentsin 1922.Pete DePaolowon the Indianapolis 500 in 1925.Tony LazzeriandFrank Crosettistarted playing for theNew York Yankeesin 1926.Tony Canzoneriwon the lightweight boxing championship in 1930, andRocky Marcianois the only undefeated heavyweight champion in history.Lou Little(Luigi Piccolo) began coaching theColumbia Universityfootball team in 1930.Joe DiMaggio, who was destined to become one of the most famous players in baseball history, began playing for the New York Yankees in 1936.Hank Luisettiwas a three timeAll-Americanbasketball player atStanford Universityfrom 1936 to 1940.Louis Zamperini, the Americandistance runner, competed in the1936 Olympicsand later became the subject of the bestselling bookUnbrokenbyLaura Hillenbrand, published in 2010 and a 2014 movie of the same title.
Italian American businessmen specialized in growing and selling fresh fruits and vegetables, which were cultivated on small tracts of land in the suburban parts of many cities.The produce was trucked into the nearby cities and often sold directly to the consumer through farmers' markets. In California, theDiGiorgio Corporationwas founded, which grew to become a national supplier of fresh produce in the United States. Italian Americans in California were leading growers of grapes and producers of wine. Many well known wine brands, such asMondavi,Carlo Rossi, Petri, Sebastiani, andGalloemerged from these early enterprises. Italian American companies were major importers of Italian wines, processed foods, textiles, marble, and manufactured goods.
Italian Americans continued their significant involvement in the labor movement during this period. Well-known labor organizers includedCarlo Tresca,Luigi Antonini,James Petrillo, andAngela Bambace.
Italianorganized crimeemerged in the late 19th century in New York as an offshoot of theSicilian Mafia. It evolved into a separate entity partially independent of the original Mafia in Sicily, and it eventually encompassed or absorbed other Italian gangsters and crime groups (such as theAmerican Camorra) active in the United States and Canada that were not ofSicilianorigin.
Al Caponewas the nation's most infamous organized crime boss in the 1920s. He attained notoriety during theProhibition eraas the co-founder and boss of theChicago Outfit. Their most famous single crime was theSaint Valentine's Day Massacreof 1929, when Capone's men, dressed as policemen, massacred seven members of a rival gang. Capone's seven-year reign as acrime bossended when he went to federal prison at the age of 33. Some ethnic Americans viewed him a hero, seeing him as the epitome of self-made success, a defender of American ideals, a family man, and a philanthropist. His stature helped them justify their own violations of the prohibition laws against liquor.
Benito Mussolini'sFascist regime in Italysought to build a base of popular support in the United States, focusing on the Italian community. His supporters far outnumbered his opponents, both inside the Italian American community and among all Catholics, as well as among the wider American leadership.)
According to Stefano Luconi, in the 1920s and 1930s "numerous Italian Americans became US citizens, registered for the vote, and cast their ballots in order to lobby Congress and the Presidency on behalf of fascism and to support Mussolini's goals in foreign policy."
According to Fraser Ottanelli, Rome also worked to enhance Italy's reputation through a series of highly visible moves. They included participating in theCentury of Progress(1933–1934) world fair in Chicago; supportingItalo Balbo'sdramatic transatlantic flights; and donating a statue to Chicago. A small minority of Italian Americans who fervently opposed fascism did not support Rome's moves. They promoted an unsuccessful measure in Congress that condemned Italy's meddling in U.S. internal affairs and called for the revocation of U.S. citizenship from people who swore allegiance to Mussolini.Alberto Tarchiani, Italy's first ambassador to the United States afterWorld War II, requested the removal of any displays that honored the fascist regime, but with little success. Many memorials remain in the 21st century.
As a member of theAxis powers,fascist Italydeclared waron the United States on December 11, 1941, four days afterJapanattacked Pearl Harbor. As a consequence,Executive Order 9066called for the compulsory relocation of more than 10,000 Italian Americans and restricted the movements of more than 600,000 Italian Americans nationwide.They were targeted despite a lack of evidence that Italians were conducting spy or sabotage operations in the United States.
Although the great majority of Italian Americans admired Mussolini in the 1930s, very few if any demonstrated any desire to transfer fascist ideology to America.When Italy entered the war on the side ofNazi Germanyin 1940, "most Italian Americans distanced themselves from Fascism."
Anti-fascist Italian expatriates in the United States founded theMazzini SocietyinNorthampton, Massachusetts, in September 1939 to work toward ending fascist rule in Italy. These political refugees from Mussolini's regime disagreed among themselves whether to ally with communists and anarchists or to exclude them. The Mazzini Society joined with other anti-fascist Italian expatriates in the Americas at a conference inMontevideo, Uruguay in 1942. They unsuccessfully promoted one of their members,Carlo Sforza, to become the post-fascist leader of a republican Italy. The Mazzini Society dispersed after thefall of Mussolinias most of its members returned to Italy.
Between 750,000 and 1.5 million people of Italian descent are thought to have served in the U.S. armed forces during the war, about 10 percent of the total, and 14 Italian Americans received the Medal of Honor for their service.Among these was Sgt.John Basilone, one of the most decorated and famous servicemen inWorld War II, who was later featured in the HBO seriesThe Pacific. Army Ranger ColonelHenry Mucciled one of the most successful rescue missions in U.S. history—the 1945 mission that freed 511 survivors of theBataan Death Marchfrom a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines. In the air, Capt.Don Gentilebecame one of the war's leading aces, with 25 German planes destroyed. Film director, producer, and writerFrank Capramade a series of wartime documentaries known asWhy We Fight, for which he received the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal in 1945 and the Order of the British Empire Medal in 1962.
Biagio (Max) Corvo, an agent of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS), drew up plans for the invasion of Sicily and organized operations behind enemy lines in the Mediterranean region during World War II. He led the Italian Secret Intelligence branch of the OSS, which was able to smuggle hundreds of agents behind enemy lines, supply Italian partisan fighters, and maintain a liaison between Allied field commands and Italy's first post-fascist Government. Corvo was awarded theLegion of Meritfor his efforts during the war.Other Italian Americans such as Edward E. Boccia ≤https://ghostarmy.org/roster/Edward-Eugene-Boccia/≥served in the Ghost Army  ≤https://ghostarmy.org/≥. The Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Company Special, composed of visual arts students, architects, designers, and other creatives, carried out 25 battlefield deceptions in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and Italy and were all awarded theCongressional Medal of Honor.
The work ofEnrico Fermiwas crucial in developing theatom bomb. Fermi, aNobel Prizelaureate nuclear physicist, who immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1938, led a research team at theUniversity of Chicagothat achieved the world's first sustainednuclear chain reaction, which clearly demonstrated the feasibility of an atom bomb. Fermi later became a key member of the team atLos Alamos Laboratorythat developed the first atom bomb. He was subsequently joined at Los Alamos byEmilio Segrè, one of his colleagues from Italy, who was also destined to receive the Nobel Prize in physics.
Three United States World War II destroyers were named after Italian Americans:USSBasilone(DD-824)was named for Sgt. John Basilone;USSDamato(DD-871)was named for CorporalAnthony P. Damato, who was awarded theMedal of Honorposthumously for his valor during World War II; andUSSGherardi(DD-637)was named for Rear AdmiralBancroft Gherardi, who served during theMexican–American Warand theAmerican Civil War.
World War IIended the mass unemployment and relief programs that characterized the 1930s, opening up new employment opportunities for large numbers of Italian Americans, who significantly contributed to the nation's war effort. Much of the Italian American population was concentrated in urban areas where the new war materiel plants were located. Many Italian American women took war jobs, such as Rose Bonavita, who was recognized by President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a personal letter commending her for her performance as an aircraft riveter. She, together with a number of other women workers, provided the basis of the name, "Rosie the Riveter", which came to symbolize the millions of American women workers in the war industries.Chef Boyardee, the company founded byEttore Boiardi, was one of the largest suppliers of rations for U.S. and allied forces during World War II. For his contribution to the war effort, Boiardi was awarded a gold star order of excellence from theUnited States War Department.
From the onset of the Second World War, and particularly followingPearl Harbor attack, Italian Americans were increasingly placed under suspicion. Groups such as The Los Angeles Council of California Women's Clubs petitionedGeneral John L. DeWittto place all enemy aliens in concentration camps immediately, and the Young Democratic Club of Los Angeles went a step further, demanding the removal of American-born Italians and Germans—U.S. citizens—from the Pacific Coast.These calls, along with substantial political pressure from Congress, resulted in PresidentFranklin D. RooseveltissuingExecutive Order No. 9066, as well as theDepartment of Justiceclassifying unnaturalized Italian Americans as "enemy aliens" under theAlien and Sedition Act. Thousands of Italians were arrested, and hundreds of Italians were interned in military camps, some for up to two years.As many as 600,000 others were required to carry identity cards identifying them as "resident aliens." Thousands more on the West Coast were required to move inland, often losing their homes and businesses in the process. A number of Italian-language newspapers were forced to close.Two books,Una Storia Segretaby Lawrence Di Stasi and Uncivil Liberties by Stephen Fox, as well as a movie,Prisoners Among Us, document these World War II developments.
On November 7, 2000,Bill Clintonsigned the Wartime Violation of Italian American Civil Liberties Act.This act ordered a comprehensive review by theattorney generalof the United States of the treatment of Italian Americans during the Second World War. The findings concluded that
In 2010, California officially issued an apology to the Italian Americans whose civil liberties had been violated.
Italians continued to immigrate to the United States, and an estimated 600,000 arrived in the decades following the war. Many of the new arrivals had professional training or were skilled in various trades. After the end of World War II, a small number ofIstrian ItaliansandDalmatian Italiansalso emigrated to the United States during theIstrian-Dalmatian exodus, leaving their homelands, which were lost by Italy and annexed byYugoslaviaafter theTreaty of Peace with Italy, 1947.Notable Istrian-Dalmatian exiles who emigrated to the United States areMario AndrettiandLidia Bastianich.
The post-war period was a time of great social change for Italian Americans. Many aspired to a college education, which became possible for returning veterans through theGI Bill. Since the 1960s, a lot of people left Italy and went to North America (mostly), South America, and Europe. European migration was seasonal and permanent.With better job opportunities and better educated, Italian Americans entered mainstream American life in great numbers. The Italian enclaves were abandoned by many who chose to live in other urban areas and in the suburbs. Many married outside of their ethnic group, most frequently with other ethnic Catholics, but increasingly also with those of diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds.According to Dr.Richard D. Alba, director of theCenter for Social and Demographic Analysis at the State University of New York at Albany, 8 percent of Americans of Italian descent born before 1920 had mixed ancestry, but 70 percent of them born after 1970 were the children of intermarriage. In 1985, among Americans of Italian descent under the age of 30, 72 percent of men and 64 percent of women married someone with no Italian background.Numerous Italian Americans arepeople of color, including many people of mixed African-African and white Italian ancestry. Notable Black Italian-Americans include Pittsburgh Steeler running backFranco Harris.
Italian Americans took advantage of the new opportunities that generally became available to all in the post-war decades. They made many significant contributions to American life and culture.
Numerous Italian Americans became involved in politics at the local, state, and national levels in the post-war decades. Those who became U.S. senators includedJohn Pastoreof Rhode Island, who was the first Italian American elected to the Senate in 1950;Pete Domenici, who was elected to the U.S. Senate from New Mexico in 1972 and served six terms;Patrick Leahy, who was elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont in 1974 and served until 2023; andAlfonse D'Amato, who served as U.S. senator from New York from 1981 to 1999.Nancy Pelosiwas both the first woman and the first Italian American Speaker of the House.Anthony Celebrezzeserved for five two-year terms as mayor of Cleveland, from 1953 to 1962 and, in 1962, PresidentJohn F. Kennedyappointed him as United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the Department of Health and Human Services).Benjamin Civilettiserved as the United States Attorney General during the last year and a half of the Carter administration, from 1979 to 1981.Frank Carlucciserved as the United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989 in the administration of PresidentRonald Reagan.
Scores of Italian Americans became well known singers in the post-war period, includingFrank Sinatra,Mario Lanza,Perry Como,Dean Martin,Tony Bennett,Frankie Laine,Bobby Darin,Julius La Rosa,Connie Francis, andMadonna. Italian Americans who hosted popular musical/variety TV shows in the post-war decades included Perry Como (1949–1967), piano virtuosoLiberace(1952–1956), Jimmy Durante (1954–1956), Frank Sinatra (1957–1958), and Dean Martin (1965–1974). Broadway, musical stars includedRose Marie,Carol Lawrence,Anna Maria Alberghetti,Sergio Franchi,Patti LuPone,Ezio Pinza, andLiza Minnelli.
In music composition,Henry ManciniandBill Contireceived numerous Academy Awards for their songs and film scores. Classical and operatic composersJohn Corigliano,Norman Dello Joio,David Del Tredici,Paul Creston,Dominick Argento,Gian Carlo Menotti, andDonald Martinowere honored withPulitzer PrizesandGrammy Awards.
Numerous Italian Americans became well known in movies, both as actors and directors, and many were Academy Award recipients.  Movie directors includedFrank Capra,Francis Ford Coppola,Michael Cimino,Vincente Minnelli,Martin Scorsese, andBrian De Palma.
Italian Americans were active in professional sports as players, coaches, and commissioners.  Well-known professional baseball coaches in the post-war decades includedYogi Berra,Billy Martin,Tony La Russa,Tommy Lasorda, andJoe Torre. In professional football,Vince Lombardiset the standard of excellence for all coaches to follow.A. Bartlett Giamattibecame president of the National Baseball League in 1986 and commissioner of Baseball in 1989.Paul Tagliabuewas commissioner of the National Football League from 1989 to 2006.
In college football,Joe Paternobecame one of the most successful coaches ever. Seven Italian American players won theHeisman Trophy:Angelo BertelliofNotre Dame,Alan AmecheofWisconsin,Gary BebanofUCLA,Joe BellinoofNavy,John CappellettiofPenn State,Gino Torretta, andVinny TestaverdeofMiami.
In college basketball, a number of Italian Americans became well-known coaches in the post-war decades, includingJohn Calipari,Lou Carnesecca,Rollie Massimino,Rick Pitino,Jim Valvano,Dick Vitale,Tom Izzo,Mike Fratello,Ben Carnevale, andGeno Auriemma.
Italian Americans became nationally known in other diverse sports.Rocky Marcianowas the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion from 1952 to 1956;Ken Venturiwon both the British and U.S. Open golf championships in 1956;Donna Caponiwon the U.S. Women's Open golf championships in 1969 and 1970;Linda Frattiannewas the woman's U.S. figure skating champion four years in a row, from 1975 to 1978, and world champion in 1976 and 1978;Willie Mosconiwas a 15-time World Billiard champion;Eddie Arcarowas a 5-time Kentucky Derby winner;Mario Andrettiwas a 3-time national race car champion;Mary Lou Rettonwon the all-around gold medal in Olympic woman's gymnastics;Matt Biondiwon a total of 8 gold medals in Olympic swimming; andBrian Boitanowon a gold medal in Olympic men's singles figure skating.
Italian Americans founded many successful enterprises, both small and large, in the post-war decades, includingBarnes & Noble,Tropicana Products,Zamboni,Transamerica,Subway,Mr. Coffee, andConair Corporation. Other enterprises founded by Italian Americans wereFairleigh Dickinson University, theEternal Word Television Network, and theSyracuse Nationalsbasketball team – later to become thePhiladelphia 76ers.Robert Panarawas a co-founder of theNational Technical Institute for the Deafand founder of theNational Theater of the Deaf. Recognized as a pioneer in deaf culture studies in the United States, he was honored with a commemorative U.S. stamp in 2017.
Eight Italian Americans became Nobel Prize laureates in the post-war decades:Mario Capecchi,Renato Dulbecco,Riccardo Giacconi,Salvatore Luria,Franco Modigliani,Rita Levi Montalcini,Emilio G. Segrè, andCarolyn Bertozzi.
Italian Americans continued to serve with distinction in the military, with 4 Medal of Honor recipients in theKorean Warand 11 in theVietnam War,includingVincent R. Capodanno, a Catholic chaplain.
At the close of the 20th century, 31 men and women of Italian descent were serving in the U.S. House and Senate, 82 of the 1,000 largest U.S. cities had mayors of Italian descent, and 166 college and university presidents were of Italian descent.An Italian American,Antonin Scalia, was serving as aU.S. Supreme Courtjustice, who was later joined bySamuel Alitoin 2006. More than two dozen Italian Americans were serving in the Catholic Church as bishops. Four—Joseph Bernardin,Justin Rigali,Anthony Bevilacqua, andDaniel DiNardo—had been elevated to Cardinals.
Italian Americans have served with distinction in all of America's wars, and over 30 have been awarded the Medal of Honor. A number of Italian Americans have served as top-ranking generals in the military, includingAnthony Zinni,Raymond Odierno,Carl Vuono, andPeter Pace, the latter three having also been appointedChief of Staffof their respective services. Over two dozen of Italian descent have been elected as state governors including, most recently,Paul Cellucciof Massachusetts,John Baldacciof Maine,Janet Napolitanoof Arizona, andDonald Carcieriof Rhode Island.
Italian Americans have influenced theAmerican cultureand society in a variety of ways, such asfoods,coffees, and desserts; wine production (in California and elsewhere in the United States); popular music, starting in the 1940s and 1950s and continuing into the present;operatic, classical, and instrumental music;jazz;fashion and design;cinema, literature, andItalianate architecture, in homes, churches, and public buildings;Montessori schools;Christmas crèches; fireworks displays;and sports (e.g.,bocceandbeach tennis).
The historical figure ofChristopher Columbusis commemorated onColumbus Dayand is reflected in numerous monuments, city names, names of institutions, and the poetic name, "Columbia,"for the United States itself. Italian American identification with the Genoese explorer, whose fame lay in his grand voyages departingEuropeand crossing theAtlantic Oceanto make discoveries in theNew World, playing an important role inAmerican historyand identity, but was of negligible significance to thehistory of Italy—typifying Italian Americans' limited sense of nationalism and generally loose attachment toItalyitself as a foreign country. This identification contrasts, for example, to the preoccupations ofIrish Americanswith the political situation inIrelandthroughout the 20th century andAmerican Jews' deep personal investment in the fate ofIsrael.
In the 1930s, Italian Americans voted heavilyDemocratic.Carmine DeSapioin the late 1940s became the first to break the Irish Catholic hold onTammany Hallsince the 1870s. By 1951, more than twice as many Italian American legislators as in 1936 served in the six states with the most Italian Americans.Since 1968, voters have split about evenly between the Democratic (37 percent) and theRepublican(36 percent) parties.TheU.S. Congressincludes Italian Americans who are leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties. In 2007,Nancy Pelosi(D-CA) became the first woman and Italian AmericanSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives. FormerRepublicanNew York City mayorRudy Giulianiwas a candidate for the U.S. presidency in the2008 election, as was Colorado CongressmanTom Tancredo.Rick Santorumwon many primaries in his candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. In the2016 election, Santorum and New Jersey governorChris Christieran for the Republican nomination, as didTed CruzandGeorge Pataki, who both have a smaller amount of Italian ancestry.Mike Pompeo, American politician, diplomat, businessman, and attorney, served as the 70thUnited States secretary of statefrom 2018 to 2021.Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida since 2019, is of Italian ancestry.
Geraldine Ferrarowas the first woman on a major party ticket, running forvice presidentas a Democrat in 1984. Two justices of theSupreme Courthave been Italian Americans,Antonin ScaliaandSamuel Alito. Both were appointed by Republican presidents, Scalia byRonald Reaganand Alito byGeorge W. Bush.
TheItalian American Congressional Delegationcurrently includes 30 members of Congress who are of Italian descent. They are joined by more than 150 associate members, who are not Italian American but have large Italian American constituencies. Since its founding in 1975, the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) has worked closely with the bicameral and bipartisanItalian American Congressional Delegation, which is led by co-chairs Rep.Bill Pascrellof New Jersey and Rep.Pat Tiberiof Ohio.
The NIAF hosts a variety of public policy programs, contributing to public discourse on timely policy issues facing the nation and the world. These events are held onCapitol Hilland other locations under the auspices of NIAF's Frank J. Guarini Public Policy Forum and its sister program, the NIAF Public Policy Lecture Series. NIAF's 2009 public policy programs on Capitol Hill featured prominent Italians and Italian Americans as keynote speakers, includingLeon Panetta, director of theCIA, andFranco Frattini, minister of foreign affairs for the Republic of Italy.
By the 1890s,Italian Americans in New York Citywere mobilizing as a political force. They helped electFiorello La Guardia(a Republican) as mayor in 1933, and helped reelect him in 1937 and 1941. They rallied forVincent R. Impellitteri(a Democrat) in 1950, andRudolph W. Giuliani(a Republican) in 1989 (when he lost), and in 1993 and 1997 (when he won). All three Italian Americans aggressively fought to reduce crime in the city; each was known for his good relations with the city's powerful labor unions.La Guardia and Giuliani have had the reputation among specialists on urban politics as two of the best mayors in American history.DemocratBill de Blasio, the third mayor of Italian ancestry, served as the 109thmayor of New York Cityfor two terms, from 2014 to 2021.Mario Cuomo(a Democrat) served as the 52ndgovernor of New Yorkfor three terms, from 1983 to 1995. His sonAndrew Cuomowas the 56th governor of New York and previously served as secretary of housing and urban development from 1997 to 2001 and as the attorney general of New York from 2007 to 2010.
However, in contrast to other ethnic groups, Italian Americans demonstrate a marked lack ofethnocentrismand long history of politicalindividualism, eschewing ethnicbloc voting, preferring to vote on the basis of individual candidates and issues, embracing maverick political candidates over ethnic loyalties. Popular New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia in fact underperformed among his own demographic; in 1941, La Guardia even lost the Italian vote to his Irish opponentWilliam O'Dwyer. In 1965, when New York Democrats backedMario Procaccino, an Italian-born candidate for city comptroller, Procaccino lost the Italian vote and won his election only because of support in Jewish voter precincts. In the1973 New York City mayoral election, the son of Italian immigrantsMario Biaggifailed to unite Italian voters as an ethnic bloc the way his Jewish opponentAbraham Beamecould do to win the Democratic primary.
In the1962 Massachusetts gubernatorial election, incumbent Italian American GovernorJohn Volpelost his re-election campaign by a razor-thin 0.2 percent—a final margin that could be more than sufficiently explained by Volpe polling only 51 percent among the state's significantpopulation of Italian Americans, roughly half of whom voted for old-lineAnglo-Saxon ProtestantEndicott Peabodyover a fellow ethnic.
The pragmatic maverick streak of Italian American voters, reacting to individual candidates and circumstances, emerged clearly amid theurban race riots of the 1960s. Black RepublicanEdward Brookewon more than 40 percent of the Italian vote running for theU.S. SenatefromMassachusetts. And a majority of Italian voters living in mostly white ruralUpstate New Yorkbacked black Democratic nomineeBasil A. Patersonfor lieutenant governor ofNew Yorkin1970—butnotItalian voters who lived in racially diverse metroNew York City. In urban environments, race relations deteriorated severely over Italian American support forlaw and orderpolicies againsturban riotsand crime. In the1968 presidential election,independentGeorge Wallacewon 21 percent of the Italian vote inNewark, New Jersey, 29 percent of the Italian vote inCleveland, Ohio, and more than 10 percent of the Italian American vote nationwide—compared to 8 percent among non-SouthernWhitesas a whole—presaging the rightward shift of Italian Americans away from theDemocratic Party, first asReagan Democrats, then ultimately realigning with theRepublican Party.
Italian Americans have played a prominent role in the economy of the United States, and have founded companies of great national importance, such asBank of America(byAmadeo Gianniniin 1904),Qualcomm,Subway,Home Depot, andAirbnbamongmany others. Italian Americans have also made important contributions to the growth of the U.S. economy through their business expertise.  Italian Americans have served as CEO's of numerous major corporations, such as the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation byLee Iacocca, IBM Corporation bySamuel Palmisano, Lucent Technologies byPatricia Russo, the New York Stock Exchange byRichard Grasso, Honeywell Incorporated byMichael Bonsignore, and Intel byPaul Otellini.  EconomistFranco Modiglianiwas awarded theNobel Prize in Economics"for his pioneering analyses ofsavingand offinancial markets."EconomistEugene Famawas awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2013 for his contribution to the empirical analysis of portfolio theory, asset pricing, and theefficient-market hypothesis.
About two-thirds of America's Italian immigrants arrived during 1900–1914. Many were of agrarian backgrounds, with little formal education and industrial skills, who became manual laborers heavily concentrated in the cities. Others came with traditional Italian skills as tailors; barbers; bricklayers; stonemasons and stone cutters; marble, tile, and terrazzo workers; fishermen; musicians; singers; shoemakers and shoe repairers; cooks and bakers; carpenters; grape growers; wine makers; silk makers; and dressmakers and seamstresses. Others came to provide for the needs of the immigrant communities, notably doctors, dentists, midwives, lawyers, teachers, morticians, priests, nuns, and brothers. Many of the skilled workers found work in their specialty, first in the Italian enclaves and eventually in the broader society. Traditional skills were often passed down from father to son and from mother to daughter.
By the second generation, approximately 70 percent of the men hadblue-collarjobs, and the proportion was down to approximately 50 percent in the third generation, according to surveys in 1963.By 1987, the level of Italian American income exceeded the national average, and since the 1950s, it grew faster than any other ethnic group except the Jews.By 1990, according to the U.S. census, more than 65 percent of Italian Americans were employed as managerial, professional, orwhite-collarworkers. In 1999, the median annual income of Italian-American families was $61,300, while the median annual income of all American families was $50,000.
AUniversity of Chicagostudyof 15 ethnic groups showed that Italian Americans were among those groups having the lowest percentages of divorced people, unemployed people, people on welfare, and people incarcerated. On the other hand, they were among those groups with the highest percentages of two-parent families, elderly family members still living at home, and families who eat together on a regular basis.
Italian Americans have been responsible for major breakthroughs in virtually all fields of science, including engineering, medicine, and physics. Physicist and Nobel Prize laureateEnrico Fermiwas the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, theChicago Pile-1, and among the leading scientists involved in theManhattan Projectduring World War II. One of Fermi's main collaborators,Franco Rasetti, was awarded theCharles Doolittle Walcott Medalby theNational Academy of Sciencesfor his contributions to Cambrian paleontology.Federico Faggindeveloped the first microchip and microprocessor.Robert Galloled research that identified a cancer-causing virus.Anthony Fauciin 2008 was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedomfor his work on theAIDSrelief programPEPFAR.AstrophysicistRiccardo Giacconiwas awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources. VirologistRenato Dulbeccowon the 1975Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicinefor his work ononcoviruses. PharmacologistLouis Ignarrowas co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for demonstrating the signaling properties of nitric oxide. MicrobiologistSalvador Luriawon the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1969 for his contribution to major discoveries on the replication mechanism and the genetic structure of viruses. PhysicistWilliam Daniel Phillipsin 1997 won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions tolaser cooling. PhysicistEmilio Segrèdiscovered the elementstechnetiumandastatine, and theantiproton, a subatomic antiparticle, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1959. Nine Italian Americans, including a woman, have gone into space as astronauts:Wally Schirra,Dominic Antonelli,Charles Camarda,Mike Massimino,Richard Mastracchio,Ronald Parise,Mario Runco,Albert Sacco, andNicole Marie Passonno Stott.Rocco Petronewas the third director of the NASAMarshall Space Flight Center, from 1973 to 1974.
Italian women who arrived during the period of mass immigration had to adapt to new and unfamiliar social and economic conditions. Mothers, who had the task of raising the children and providing for the welfare of the family, commonly demonstrated great courage and resourcefulness in meeting those obligations, often under adverse living conditions. Their cultural traditions, which placed the highest priority on the family, remained strong as Italian immigrant women adapted to these new circumstances.
To assist the immigrants in the Little Italys, who were overwhelmingly Catholic, PopeLeo XIIIdispatched a contingent of priests, nuns, and brothers of theMissionaries of St. Charles Borromeoand other orders. Among these was SisterFrancesca Cabrini, who founded dozens of schools, hospitals, and orphanages. She was canonized as the first American saint in 1946.
Married women typically avoided factory work and chose home-based economic activities such as dressmaking, taking in boarders, and operating small shops in their homes or neighborhoods. Italian neighborhoods also proved attractive tomidwives, women who trained in Italy before coming to America.Many single women were employed in the garment industry as seamstresses, often in unsafe working environments. Many of the 146 who died in theTriangle Shirtwaist Factory firein 1911 were Italian American women.Angela Bambacewas an 18-year-old Italian American organizer for theInternational Ladies Garment Workers Unionin New York who worked to secure better working conditions and shorter hours for women workers in the garment industry.
The American scene in the 1920s featured a widespread expansion of women's roles, starting with the vote in 1920 and including new standards of education and employment for women and control of their own sexuality. "Flappers" raised the hemline and lowered the old restrictions in women's fashion. The Italian American media disapproved. It demanded the holding of the line regarding traditional gender roles in which men controlled their families. Many traditional patriarchal values prevailed among Southern European male immigrants, although some practices, such as the dowry, were left behind in Europe. The community spokesmen were shocked at the notion of a woman marking her secret ballot. They ridiculed flappers and proclaimed that feminism was immoral. They idealized an old male model of Italian womanhood. Mussolini was popular with readers and subsidized some papers, so when he expanded the electorate to include some women voting at the local level, the Italian American editorialists applauded him, arguing that the true Italian woman was, above all, a mother and a wife and, therefore, would be reliable as a voter on local matters, but only in Italy. Feminist organizations in Italy were ignored, as the editors purposely associated emancipation with Americanism and transformed the debate over women's rights into a defense of the Italian American community to set its own boundaries and rules.The ethnic papers featured a woman's page that updated readers on the latest fabrics, color combinations, and accessories such as hats, shoes, handbags, and jewelry. Food was a major concern, and recipes were presented that adjusted to the availability of ingredients in the American market. Food supplies, which were limited in Italy by poverty and strict import controls, were abundant in America, so new recipes were needed.
In the second and third generations, opportunities expanded as women were gradually accepted in the workplace and as entrepreneurs. Women also had much better job opportunities because they had a high school or sometimes college education and because they were willing to leave the Little Italys and commute to work.During World War II, large numbers of Italian American women entered the workforce in factories providing war materiel, while others served as auxiliaries or nurses in the military services.
After World War II, Italian American women acquired an increasing degree of freedom in choosing a career and seeking higher levels of education.  Consequently, the second half of the 20th century was a period in which Italian American women excelled in virtually all fields of endeavor. In politics,Geraldine Ferrarowas the first woman vice presidential candidate,Ella Grassowas the first woman elected as a state governor, andNancy Pelosiwas the first woman Speaker of the House. In 1980,Mother Angelica(Rita Rizzo), a Franciscan nun, founded theEternal Word Television Network(EWTN), a network viewed regularly by millions of Catholics.JoAnn Fallettawas the first woman to become a permanent conductor of a major symphony orchestra (with both theVirginia Symphony Orchestraand theBuffalo Philharmonic Orchestra).Penny Marshall(Masciarelli) was one of the first women directors in Hollywood.Catherine DeAngelis, M.D., was the first woman editor of theJournal of the American Medical Association.Patricia Fili-Krushelwas the first woman president of ABC Television.Bonnie Tiburziwas the first woman pilot in commercial aviation history.Patricia Russowas the first woman to become CEO ofLucent Technologies.Karen Ignagnihas, since 1993, been the CEO of American Health Insurance Plans, an umbrella organization representing all majorHMOsin the country.Nicole Marie Passonno Stottwas one of the first women to go into space as an astronaut.Carolyn Porco, a world recognized expert in planetary probes, is the leader of the imaging science team for theCassiniprobe, which orbitedSaturn.
The National Organization of Italian American Women(NOIAW), founded in 1980, is an organization for women of Italian heritage committed to preserving Italian heritage, language, and culture by promoting and supporting the advancement of women of Italian ancestry.
The works of a number of Italian American authors and poets, born of immigrant parents, were published in the first half of the 20th century.Pietro Di Donato, born in 1911, was a writer best known for his novel,Christ in Concrete, which was hailed by critics in the United States and abroad as a metaphor for the immigrant experience in America.Frances Winwar, born Francesca Vinciguerra in 1907 in Sicily, came to the United States at age 10. She is best known for her series of biographies of 19th-century English writers. She was also a frequent translator of classic Italian works into English and published several romantic novels set during historical events.John Ciardi, born in 1916, was primarily a poet. Among his works is a highly respected English-language rendition ofDante Alighieri'sDivine Comedy.John Fante, born in 1909, was a novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter.
Later in the century, a growing number of books by recognized Italian American authors, such asDon DeLillo,Paul Gallico(Poseidon Adventure),Gilbert Sorrentino,Gay Talese,Camille Paglia, andMario Puzo(The Fortunate Pilgrim) found a place in mainstream American literature.  Other notable 20th-century authors includedDana Gioia, executive director of theNational Endowment for the Arts;John Fusco, author ofParadise Salvage; Tina DeRosa; andDaniela Gioseffi, winner of the John Ciardi Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry, and The American Book Award; andJosephine Gattuso Hendin(The Right Thing to Do). Poets Sandra (Mortola) Gilbert andKim Addoniziowere also winners of the John Ciardi Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry fromItalian Americana, as was writerHelen Baroliniand poetMaria MazziottiGillan.These women have authored many books depicting Italian American women in a new light. Helen Barolini'sThe Dream Book: An Anthology of Writings by Italian American Women(1985) was the first anthology that pulled together the historic range of writing from the late 19th century to the 1980s. It exhibited the wealth of fiction, poetry, essays, and letters and paid special attention to the interaction of Italian American women with American social activism.Italian American poetsLawrence FerlinghettiandGregory Corsoplayed a prominent role in theBeat Generation. Ferlinghetti was also the co-founder ofCity Lights Bookstore, a San Francisco bookstore and publishing company that published much of the work of other Beat Generation writers.Many of these authors' books and writings are easily found on the internet, as, for example, on an archive of contemporary Italian American authors, as well as in bibliographies online at Stonybrook University's Italian American Studies Department in New Yorkor at the Italian American Writers Association website.
A scholarly literature has also emerged that critiques the literary output. Common themes include conflicts between marginal Italian American and mainstream culture, and tradition-bound immigrant parents opposed by their more assimilated children.Mary Jo Bonaprovided the first full-length scholarly analysis of the literary tradition. She is especially interested in showing how authors portrayed the many configurations of family relationships, from the early immigrant narratives of journeying to a new world, through novels that stress intergenerational conflicts, to contemporary works about the struggle of modern women to form nontraditional gender roles.
Among the scholars who have led the renaissance in Italian American literature are professorsRichard Gambino,Anthony Julian Tamburri,Paolo Giordano, andFred Gardaphé. The latter three foundedBordighera Pressand editedFrom the Margin: An Anthology of Italian American Writing(Purdue University Press). At Brooklyn College, Dr. Robert Viscusi founded the Italian American Writers Association and is an author and American Book Award winner himself. As a result of the efforts of magazines likeVoices in Italian Americana;Ambassador, a publication of the National Italian American Foundation; andItalian Americana, edited by Carla Simonini, Italian Americans have been reading more works of their own writers. A supplemental website at www.italianamericana.com to the journalItalian Americana, edited by novelistChristine Palamidessi Moore, also offers historical articles, stories, memoirs, poetry, and book reviews.Dana Gioia, was poetry editor ofItalian Americanafrom 1993 to 2003, followed by poetMichael Palma, who also selects poems forItalian Americana's webpage supplement.Lawrence Ferlinghetti,Daniela Gioseffi, andPaul Mariani, are among the internationally known authors who have been awarded the John Ciardi Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry during Michael Palma's tenure as poetry editor. Daniela Gioseffi, withAlfredo de Palchi, founded the Annual $2,000 Bordighera Poetry Prizeto further the names of Italian American poets in American literature. As of 1997, 12 books have been published in the bilingual series from Bordighera Press.
In the field of academic cinema studies,Peter Bondanella,Peter Brunette, andFrank P. Tomasulohave made significant contributions to film scholarship as authors, editors, and educators.
Italian Americans have written not only about the Italian American experience but, indeed, the human experience.  Some of the most popular inspirational books have been authored by Italian Americans—notably, those ofOg Mandino,Leo Buscaglia, and Antoinette Bosco.A series of inspirational books for children has been written byTomie dePaola. Contemporary best-selling fiction writers includeDavid Baldacci,Kate DiCamillo,Richard Russo,Adriana Trigiani, andLisa Scottoline.
The majority of Italian Americans areCatholics, although Catholic affiliation among Italian American adults has fallen from 89 percent in 1972 to 56 percent in 2010 (-33 percentage points).By 1910, Italian Americans had founded 219 Catholic churches and 41 parochial schools, served by 315 priests and 254 nuns, 2 Catholic seminaries, and 3 orphanages.Four hundred Italian Jesuit priests left Italy for the American West between 1848 and 1919. Most of these Jesuits left their homeland involuntarily, expelled by Italian nationalists in the successive waves of Italian unification that dominated Italy. When they came to the West, they ministered to Native Americans in the Northwest, Irish-Americans in San Francisco, and Mexican Americans in the Southwest. They also ran the nation's most influential Catholic seminary, in Woodstock, Maryland. In addition to their pastoral work, they founded numerous high schools and colleges, includingRegis University,Santa Clara University, theUniversity of San Francisco, andGonzaga University.
In some Sicilian American communities, primarilyBuffaloandNew Orleans,Saint Joseph's Day(March 19) is marked by parades and celebrations, including traditional "St. Joseph's tables," where meatless dishes are served for the benefit of the communities' poor.Columbus Dayis also widely celebrated, as are the feasts of some regional Italianpatron saints. InBoston's North End, the Italian immigrants celebrate the "Feast of all Feasts,"Saint Anthony's Feast. Started in 1919 by Italian immigrants from Montefalcione, a small town near Naples, Italy, the feast is widely considered the largest and most authentic Italian religious festival in the United States. More than 100 vendors and 300,000 people attend the feast over a three-day period in August.San Gennaro(September 19) is another popular saint, especially among Neapolitans.Santa Rosalia(September 4), is celebrated by immigrants fromSicily. Immigrants fromPotenzacelebrate theSan Rocco's Day (August 16) feast at the Potenza Lodge inDenverthe third weekend of August. San Rocco is the patron saint of Potenza, as isSan Gerardo. Many still celebrate the Christmas season with aFeast of the Seven Fishes. TheFeast of the Assumptionis celebrated inCleveland's Little Italy on August 15. On this feast day, people will pin money on aBlessed Virgin Marystatue as a symbol of prosperity. The statue is then paraded through Little Italy to Holy Rosary Church. For almost 25 years, Cleveland BishopAnthony Pillaparticipated in the parade and mass to celebrate his Italian heritage. Bishop Pilla retired in April 2006.
While most Italian American families have a Catholic background, about 19 percent self-identified asProtestantin 2010.In the early 20th century, about 300 Protestant missionaries worked in urban Italian American neighborhoods. Some have joined theEpiscopal Church, which still retains much of the Catholicliturgicalform. Some have converted toevangelicalchurches.Fiorello La Guardiawas raised Episcopalian; his father was Catholic, and his mother was from the small but significant community ofItalian Jews. There is a smallcharismaticdenomination, known as theChristian Church of North America, which is rooted in the ItalianPentecostal Movementthat originated inChicagoin the early 20th century. A group of Italian immigrants inTrenton, New Jersey, andWakefield, Massachusetts, built their own small Baptist chapel and converted to theBaptistdenomination.The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite), a denomination of theLatter Day Saint movement, which is headquartered inMonongahela, Pennsylvania, counts significant numbers of Italian Americans in its leadership and membership.The town ofValdese, North Carolina, was founded in 1893 by a group of Italians ofWaldensianreligion, originally from theCottian Alpsin Italy.
The Jewish emigration from Italy was never of a magnitude that resulted in the formation of Italian Jewish communities in the United States.  Religious Italian Jews integrated into existing Jewish communities without difficulty, especially inSephardiccommunities, and those who were secular found Jewish secular institutions in the United States ready to welcome them. Despite their small numbers, Italian American Jews have had a great influence on American life,starting withLorenzo Da Ponte(bornEmanuele Conegliano), Mozart's former librettist, opera impresario and the first professor of Italian atColumbia Collegein New York, where he lived from 1805 to his death in 1838.
From a religious point of view, the figure of greatest influence is RabbiSabato Morais, who, at the end of the 19th century, was the leader of the large Sephardic community of Philadelphia. In 1886, he became one of the founders of theJewish Theological Seminary of Americain New York, where he became its first dean. Two other Italian Jews achieved prominence in the United States in the first half of the 20th century:Giorgio Polaccowas the principal conductor of theMetropolitan Opera House(1915–1917) and theChicago Civic Opera(1921–1930), andFiorello La Guardiawas a member of the U.S. Congress (1917–1919 and 1923–1933) and a popular mayor of New York (1934–1945). A descendant on his mother's side of the great Italian rabbiSamuel David Luzzatto, La Guardia could address his constituency in both Italian andYiddish.
UnderMussolini'sRacial Lawsof 1938, Italian Jews, who had lived in Italy for over two millennia, were stripped of most of their civil liberties. Finding refuge in the United States as a result of the fascist persecutions during the 1930s and 1940s, roughly 2,000 Italian Jews landed in America and continued their work in a wide range of fields.Many achieved international importance, includingGiorgio Levi Della Vida,Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco,Vittorio Rieti,Bruno Rossi,Emilio Segre,Giorgio Cavaglieri,Ugo Fano,Robert Fano,Guido Fubini,Eugene Fubini, andSilvano Arieti. Of particular importance also are the contributions of the Italian Jewish women Maria Bianca Finzi-Contini, Bianca Ara Artom, andGiuliana Tesoro, who opened the fields of university and scientific research to Italian American women. After the war, four Italian American Jews received the Nobel Prize:Franco Modigliani,Emilio Segre,Salvador Luria, andRita Levi Montalcini. Also of significance are the contributions of communication specialistAndrew Viterbi, journalist and writerKen Auletta, and economistGuido Calabresi. The international recognition of the work ofPrimo Leviand other Italian-Jewish authors, such asGiorgio BassaniandCarlo Levi, has increased the interest in the United States in Italian Judaism, as demonstrated by the opening in 1998 of thePrimo Levi Centerof New York.
During the era of mass immigration, rural families in Italy did not place a high value on formal education since they needed their children to help with chores as soon as they were old enough. For many, this attitude did not change upon arriving in America, where children were expected to help support the family as soon as possible.This view toward education steadily changed with each successive generation.  The 1970 census revealed that those under age 45 had achieved a level of education comparable to the national average,and within six decades of their peak immigration year, Italian Americans as a whole had equaled the national average in educational attainment.Presently, according to Census Bureau data, Italian Americans have an average high school graduation rate, and a higher rate of advanced degrees compared to the national average.Italian Americans throughout the United States are well represented in a wide variety of occupations and professions, from skilled trades, to the arts, to engineering, science, mathematics, law, and medicine, and include a number ofNobel prizewinners.
There are two Italian international schools in the United States,La Scuola Internationalin San Francisco, andLa Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconiin New York City.
According to the Sons of Italy News Bureau, from 1998 to 2002 the enrollment in collegeItalian languagecourses grew by 30%, faster than the enrollment rates forFrenchandGerman.Italian is the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in U.S. colleges and universities behind Spanish, French, and German. According to the U.S. 2000 Census, Italian (including Sicilian) is the sixth most spoken language in the United States (tied with Vietnamese) after English with over 1 million speakers.
As a result of the large wave of Italian immigration to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Italian and Sicilian were once widely spoken in much of the U.S., especially in northeastern andGreat Lakesarea cities likeBuffalo,Rochester,Detroit,Chicago,ClevelandandMilwaukee, as well asSan Francisco,St. LouisandNew Orleans. Italian-language newspapers exist in many American cities, especially New York City, and Italian-language movie theatres existed in the U.S. as late as the 1950s.L'Ideais a bilingual quarterly published in Brooklyn since 1974.Arba Sicula(Sicilian Dawn) is a semiannual publication of the society of the same name, dedicated to preserving theSicilian language. The magazine and a periodic newsletter offer prose, poetry and comment in Sicilian, with adjacent English translations.
Today, prizes like the Bordighera Annual Poetry Prize,founded by Daniela Gioseffi, Pietro Mastrandrea and Alfredo di Palchi, with support from the Sonia Rraiziss-Giop Foundation and Bordighera Press, which publishes the winners in bilingual editions, have helped to encourage writers of the diaspora to write in Italian. Chelsea Books in New York City and Gradiva Press onLong Islandhave published many bilingual books due to the efforts of bilingual writers of the diaspora like Paolo Valesio,Alfredo de Palchi,and Luigi Fontanella. Dr. Luigi Bonaffiniof the City University of New York, publisher ofThe Journal of Italian Translationat Brooklyn College, has fostered Italian dialectic poetry throughout Italy and the U.S.Joseph Tusianiof New York and New York University,a distinguished linguist and prize-winning poet born in Italy, paved the way for Italian works of literature in English and has published many bilingual books and Italian classics for the American audience, among them the first complete works ofMichelangelo's poems in English to be published in the United States. All of this literary endeavor has helped to foster the Italian language, along with Italian opera, of course, in the United States. Many of these authors and their bilingual books are located throughout the internet.
Author Lawrence Distasi argues that the loss of spoken Italian among the Italian American population can be tied to U.S. government pressures during World War II. During World War II, in various parts of the country, the U.S. government displayed signs that read, "Don't Speak the Enemy's Language". Such signs designated the languages of theAxis powers, German, Japanese and Italian, as "enemy languages". Shortly after the Axis powers declared war on the U.S., many Italian, Japanese and German citizens were interned. Among the Italian Americans, those who spoke Italian, who had never become citizens and who belonged to groups that praisedBenito Mussolini, were most likely to become candidates for internment. Distasi claims that many Italian language schools closed down in theSan Francisco Bay Areawithin a week of the U.S. declaration of war on the Axis powers. Such closures were inevitable since most of the teachers in Italian languages were interned.
Despite previous decline, Italian and Sicilian are still spoken and studied by those of Italian American descent and it can be heard in various American communities, especially among older Italian Americans. The official Italian taught in schools isStandard Italian, which is based on 14th century literaryFlorentine.However, the "Italian" with which Italian Americans are generally acquainted is often rooted in theRegional ItalianandItalo-Dalmatian languagestheir immigrant ancestors brought from Italy to American, primarilysouthern ItalianandSicilian dialectsof pre-unification Italy.
Despite it being the fifth most studied language in higher education (college and graduate) settings throughout America,the Italian language has struggled to maintain being anAP course of studyin high schools nationwide. It was only in 2006 that AP Italian classes were first introduced, and they were soon dropped from the national curricula after the spring of 2009.The organization which manages such curricula, theCollege Board, ended the AP Italian program because it was "losing money" and had failed to add 5,000 new students each year. Since the program's termination in the spring of 2009, various Italian organizations and activists have attempted to revive the course of study. Most notable in the effort is Margaret Cuomo, sister ofNew York GovernorAndrew Cuomo. She provided the impetus for the program's birth in 2006 and is currently attempting to secure funding and teachers to reinstate the program. It is also worth noting that Italian organizations have begun fundraisers to revive AP Italian. Organizations such as the NIAF andOrder Sons of Italy in Americahave made strides in collecting money, and are prepared to aid in the monetary responsibility any new AP Italian program would bring with it.
Web-based Italian organizations, such as ItalianAware,have begun book donation campaigns to improve the status and representation of Italian and Italian American literature in theNew York public libraries. According to ItalianAware, theBrooklyn Public Libraryis the worst offender in New York City.It has 11 books pertaining to the Italian immigrant experience available for checkout, spread across 60 branches. That amounts to one book for every six branches inBrooklyn, which (according to ItalianAware) cannot supply the large Italian/Italian American community in the borough. ItalianAware aimed to donate 100 books to the Brooklyn Public Library by the end of 2010.
Italian American pidgin or Italian American slang is apidgin languagethought to have developed in the early 1900s in American cities with a large Italian population, primarilyNew YorkandNew Jersey. It soon spread to manyItalian communitiesacross cities and metropolitan areas in both theU.S.andCanada. It is not a language in its own right but is a mix of the variousItalian dialectsandAmerican English.
Italian Americans have profoundly influenced the eating habits of America. Italian American TV personalities, such asMario Batali,Giada DeLaurentiis,Rachael Ray,Lidia Bastianich, andGuy Fierihave hosted popular cooking shows featuring Italian cuisine.
While heavily influenced by and sharing common dishes withItalian cuisine, especially theNeapolitanandSiciliantraditions of typical Italian immigrants to the United States, Italian American cuisine differs in several respects. The greater availability of meat in quantity led to new staples such asspaghetti and meatballs, whilepizzaevolved regionally into styles as diverse asChicago-style deep dishandNew York thin crust.
One of the most characteristic and popular of Italian American cultural contributions has been their feasts. Throughout the United States, wherever one may find an "Italian neighborhood" (often referred to as "Little Italy"), one can find festive celebrations such as the well-knownFeast of San Gennaroin New York City, the uniqueOur Lady of Mount Carmel "Giglio" Feastin theWilliamsburgsection ofBrooklyn, New York, Italian feasts involve elaborate displays of devotion to Jesus Christ andpatron saints. On the weekend of the last Sunday in August, the residents of Boston'sNorth Endcelebrate the "Feast of all Feasts" in honor ofSt. Anthony of Padua, which was started over 300 years ago inMontefalcione, Italy. Perhaps the most widely known isSaint Joseph's feast day on March 19. These feasts are much more than simply isolated events within the year. Feast (Festain Italian) is an umbrella term for the various secular and religious, indoor and outdoor activities surrounding a religious holiday. Typically, Italian feasts consist of festive communal meals, religious services, games of chance and skill and elaborate outdoor processions consisting of statues resplendent in jewels and donations. The celebration usually takes place over the course of several days, and is communally prepared by a church community or a religious organization over the course of several months.
Currently, there are more than 300 Italian feasts celebrated throughout the United States. Notable is Festa Italiana, held inMilwaukeeevery summer. These feasts are visited each year by millions of Americans from various backgrounds who come together to enjoy Italian music and food delicacies. In the past, as to this day, an important part of Italian American culture centers around music and cuisine.
Numerous American television personalities are of Italian descent. Talk-show hosts includeJay Leno,Jimmy Kimmel,Kelly Ripa,Maria Bartiromo,Adam Carolla,Neil Cavuto,Kelly Monaco,Jai Rodriguez,Annette Funicello,Victoria Gotti,Tony Danza,Giuliana DePandi,Giuliana Rancic, Bruno Cipriani.
Generoso Pope(1891–1950), the owner of a chain of Italian language newspapers in major cities, stands out as the epitome of the Italian American ethnic political broker. He boughtIl Progresso Italo-Americanoin 1928 for $2 million; he doubled its circulation to 200,000 in New York City, making it the largest Italian-language paper in the country. He purchased additional papers in New York andPhiladelphia, which became the chief source of political, social, and cultural information for the community. Pope encouraged his readers to learn English, become citizens, and vote; his goal was to instill pride and ambition to succeed in modern America. A conservative Democrat who ran the Columbus Day parade and admired Mussolini, Pope was the most powerful enemy of anti-Fascism among Italian Americans. Closely associated withTammany Hallpolitics in New York, Pope and his newspapers played a vital role in securing the Italian vote forFranklin D. Roosevelt's Democratic tickets. He served as chairman of the Italian Division of the Democratic National Committee in 1936, and helped persuade the president to take a neutral attitude overItaly's invasion of Ethiopia. He broke with Mussolini in 1941 and enthusiastically supported the American war effort. In the late 1940s Pope supported the election ofWilliam O'Dwyeras mayor in 1945 andHarry S. Trumanas president. His business concerns continued to prosper under New York's Democratic administrations, and in 1946 he added the Italian-language radio stationWHOMto his media holdings. In the early years of theCold War, Pope was a leadinganti-Communistand orchestrated a letter-writing campaign by his subscribers to stop the Communists from winning theItalian elections in 1948.
Voters did not always vote the way editorials dictated, but they depended on the news coverage. At many smaller papers, support for Mussolini, short-sighted opportunism, deference to political patrons who were not members of the Italian-American communities, and the necessity of making a living through periodicals with a small circulation, generally weakened the owners of Italian-language newspapers when they tried to become political brokers of the Italian American vote.
James V. Donnaruma purchased Boston'sLa Gazzetta del Massachusettsin 1905.La Gazzettaenjoyed a wide readership in Boston's Italian community because it emphasized detailed coverage of local ethnic events and explained how events in Europe affected the community. Donnaruma's editorial positions, however, were frequently at odds with the sentiments of his readership. Donnaruma's conservative views and desire for greater advertising revenue prompted him to court the favor of Boston'sRepublicanelite, to whom he pledged editorial support in return for the purchase of advertising space for political campaigns.La Gazzettaconsistently supported Republican candidates and policy positions, even when the party was proposing and passing laws to restrict Italian immigration. Nevertheless, voting records from the 1920s–1930s show that Boston's Italian Americans voted heavily for Democratic candidates.
Carmelo Zitotook over theSan FrancisconewspaperIl Corriere del Popoloin 1935. Under Zito, it became one of the fiercest foes of Mussolini's fascism on the West Coast. It vigorously attacked Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia and its intervention in theSpanish Civil War. Zito helped form the Italian-American Anti-Fascist League and often attacked certain Italian prominenti like Ettore Patrizi, publisher ofL'ItaliaandLa Voce del Popolo. Zito's paper campaigned against alleged Italian pro-Fascist language schools of San Francisco.
In 1909, Vincenzo Giuliano, an immigrant from Calabria, Italy and his wife Maria Oliva foundedLa Tribune Italiana d'America, known today asThe Italian Tribune, which circulates throughout southeastern Michigan.  A second newspaper founded by a Catholic order of priests,La Voce del Popoloalso served the Metro Detroit community until the 1920s, when that newspaper merged withLa Tribuna Italiana d'America.  Upon Giuliano's death in the 1960s, his family continued the paper.
Italian-American organizations include:
In 1944, the creation of the American Relief for Italy, Inc (ARI) functioned as an umbrella organization until 1946. The ARI collected, shipped, and distributed over $10 million of relief materials donated by other Italian organizations and individuals from all over Italy. Catholic charities, labor unions, cultural clubs, and fraternal organizations all responded in helping to raise money for the ARI. These relief materials were donated to Italians in need and helped to provide humanitarian assistance. All remaining donations were distributed to Italian soldiers at war. This organization was one of the first steps in the lengthy process of political and economic stabilizations in postwar Italy.
Throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, the American Committee on Italian Migration (ACIM) was one of the largest, most active Italian American organizations in the United States. They gave assistance to Italian immigrants living in the United States threatened by political instability and provided recovery for those in need. Frequently, money and supplies were sent back home to those who were unable to migrate or were in the process of migrating to the United States. Most of these people were the women and children Italian men left behind in hopes of starting a new life in America. The ACIM grew rapidly with hundreds of thousands of members being both donors and beneficiaries.
The National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC) worked with ACIM on legislative campaigns and immigration projects. In 1951, members from NCWC, ACIM, as well as other Italian Americans joined in efforts to create an organization that specifically benefited and focused on assisting Italian immigrants. After a vast effort in 1953, the Refugee Relief Act (RRA) was passed allowing the entrance of over two hundred thousand Italian immigrants into the United States. The RRA provided these Italian immigrants with many opportunities to start their new life in America. Job opportunities, a place to live, and proper education for immigrants children were provided.
The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF)– a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. – works to represent Italian Americans, spread knowledge of the Italian language, foster U.S./Italy relations and connect the greater Italian American community. Additionally, two major Italian American fraternal and service organizations,Order Sons of Italy in AmericaandUnico National, actively promote knowledge of Italian American history and culture.
The Italian Heritage and Culture Committee – NY, Inc. was founded in 1976, and has organized special events, concerts, exhibits and lectures celebrating Italian culture in New York City. Each year it focuses on a theme representative of the history and culture of Italy and Italian Americans.
The Italic Institute of Americais dedicated to fostering and preserving knowledge of the classical Italian heritage of American society, through the Latin language and Greco-Roman-Etruscan civilization, as well as five centuries of contributions to American society by Italians and their descendants.
There are several museums in the United States, dedicated to Italian American culture:
During the period of mass immigration to the United States, they were often victims of prejudice, economic exploitation, and sometimes even violence, particularly in the South.  In the 1890s, more than 20 Italians werelynched.The hostility was often directed toward the Southern Italians and Sicilians who began immigrating to the United States in large numbers after 1880.
A journalist asked a West Coast construction boss if the Italian was a white man, to which the boss replied: "No sir, an Italian is a Dago".This response reflected the xenophobic attitude of the time defining the idea of Whiteness in the United States. There was a social hierarchy within the various white American communities in which a different degrees of "whiteness" was associated with each group. Some European immigrants, such as Italians, were considered less white than the early European settlers and, therefore, were less accepted in American society.
Italian stereotypes abounded as a means of justifying the maltreatment of the immigrants. The print media greatly contributed to the stereotyping of Italians with lurid accounts of secret societies and criminality. Between 1890 and 1920, Italian neighborhoods were often depicted as violent and controlled by criminal networks. Two highly publicized cases illustrate the impact of these negative stereotypes:
In 1891,eleven Italian immigrantsinNew Orleanswere lynched due to their alleged role in the murder of the police chiefDavid Hennessy. This was one of the largest masslynchingsin U.S. history. The lynching took place after nine of the immigrants were tried for the murder and acquitted. Subsequently, a mob broke into the jail where they were being held and dragged them out to be lynched, together with two other Italians who were being held in the jail at the time, but had not been accused in the killing.
In 1920, two Italian immigrants,Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, were accused of robbery and murder inBraintree, Massachusetts. Many historians agree that they were given a very unfair and biased trial because of theiranarchisticpolitical beliefs and their Italian immigrant status. During the next few years, sporadic protests were held in major cities all around the world calling for their release, especially after Portuguese migrant Celestino Madeiros confessed to committing the crime absolving them of participation. The Supreme Court refused to upset the verdict, and Massachusetts GovernorAlvan T. Fullerdenied the men clemency. In spite of worldwide protests, Sacco and Vanzetti were eventually executed in 1927.
While the vast majority of Italian immigrants brought with them a tradition of hard work and were law-abiding citizens, as documented by police statistics of the early 20th century in Boston and New York City which show that Italian immigrants had an arrest rate no greater than that of other major immigrant groups,a very small minority brought a very different custom. This criminal element preyed on the immigrants of the Little Italies, using intimidation and threats to extract protection money from the wealthier immigrants and shop owners, and were also involved in a multitude of other illegal activities. When the Fascists came to power in Italy, they made the destruction ofthe Mafia in Sicilya high priority. Hundreds fled to America in the 1920s and 1930s to avoid prosecution.
Prohibition, which went into effect in 1920, proved to be an economic windfall for those in the Italian American community already involved in illegal activities, and those who had fled from Sicily. This entailed smuggling liquor into the country, wholesaling it, and then selling it through a network of outlets. While other ethnic groups were also deeply involved in these illegal ventures, and the associated violence, Chicago mobsterAl Caponebecame the most notorious figure of the Prohibition era. Though eventually repealed, Prohibition had a long-term effect as the spawning ground for later criminal activities.
In the 1950s, the scope ofItalian American organized crimebecame well known though a number of highly publicized congressional hearings that followed a police raid on a top-levelmeeting of racketeersinApalachin, New York. With advanced surveillance techniques, theWitness Protection Program, theRacketeer Influenced & Corrupt Organizations Act, and vigorous and sustained prosecution the power and influence of organized crime were greatly diminished in the decades that followed. Two Italian American prosecutors,Rudy GiulianiandLouis Freeh, were instrumental in bringing this about. Freeh was later appointed director of the FBI, while Giuliani would serve two terms as Mayor of New York City.
From the earliest days of the movie industry, Italians have been portrayed as violent criminals and sociopaths.This trend has continued to the present day. The stereotype of Italian Americans is the standardized mental image which has been fostered by the entertainment industry, especially through commercially successful movies likeThe Godfather,Goodfellas, andCasino; and TV programs such asThe Sopranos.This follows a known pattern in which it is possible for the mass media to effectively create universally recognized, and sometimes accepted, stereotypes.
A highly publicized protest from the Italian-American community came in 2001 when the Chicago-based organization AIDA (American Italian Defamation Association) unsuccessfully suedTime Warnerfor distribution ofHBO's seriesThe Sopranos.
TheDreamWorksanimated film,Shark Tale, was widely protested by virtually all major Italian-American organizations as introducing the mob genre and negative stereotyping into a children's movie.In spite of the protests, which started during its early production, the movie was produced and released in 2004.
In 2009,MTVlaunched a reality show,Jersey Shore,which promptedsevere criticismfrom Italian American organizations such as the National Italian American Foundation,Order Sons of Italy in America, and Unico National for its stereotypical portrayal of Italian Americans.
In 2019,Made in Staten Islandlasted just three episodes, also onMTV, before a public outcry fromresidents of the boroughin general, and Italian-American residents therein in particular, forced the show's cancellation.
The effective stereotyping of Italian Americans as being associated with organized crime was shown by a comprehensive study of Italian American culture on film, conducted from 1996 to 2001 by the Italic Institute of America.The findings showed that over two-thirds of the more than 2,000 films studied portray Italian Americans in a negative light. Further, close to 300 movies featuring Italian Americans as criminals have been produced sinceThe Godfather, an average of nine per year.According to the Italic Institute of America:
In actuality, according to recent FBI statistics,Italian American organized crime members and associates number approximately 3,000; and, given an Italian American population estimated to be approximately 18 million, the study concludes that only one in 6,000 is active in organized crime (0.007% of Italian-Americans).
Little Italieswere, to a considerable extent, the result ofItalophobia. Theethnocentrismandanti-Catholicismexhibited by the earlier Anglo-Saxon and northern European settlers helped to create an ideological foundation for fixing foreignness on urban spaces occupied by immigrants.Communities of Italian Americans were established in most major industrial cities of the early 20th century, such asBaltimore, Maryland;New York City, New York;Newark, New Jersey;Boston, Massachusetts;Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;Hartford, Connecticut;Waterbury, Connecticut;New Haven, Connecticut;Providence, Rhode Island;St. Louis, Missouri;Chicago, Illinois;Cleveland, Ohio;Buffalo, New York; andKansas City, Missouri.New Orleans, Louisiana was the first site of immigration of Italians into America in the 19th century, before Italy was a unified nation-state. This was beforeNew York Harborand Baltimore became the preferred destinations for Italian immigrants. In sharp contrast to theNortheast, most of theSouthern states(with the exception ofCentralandSouth Floridaand theNew Orleans area) have relatively few Italian-American residents. During the labor shortage in the 19th and early 20th centuries, planters in theDeep Southdid attract some Italian immigrants to work assharecroppers, but they soon left the extreme anti-Italian discrimination and strict regimen of the rural areas for the cities or other states. The state of California has had Italian-American residents since the 1850s. By the 1970s, gentrification ofinner cityneighborhoods and the arrival of new immigrant groups caused a sharp decline in the old Italian-American and otherethnic enclaves.Many Italian Americans moved to the rapidly growing Western states, including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and California. Today, New York and New Jersey have the largest numbers of Italian Americans in the U.S. while smaller Northeastern cities such as Pittsburgh, Providence and Hartford have the highest percentage of Italian Americans in their metropolitan areas.
The New York-based daily newspaperIl Progresso Italo-Americanohad a national audience and reflected the views of the leadership of the community. It was published 1880–1988.
New York City is home to the largest Italian-American population in the country and the second-largest Italian population outside of Italy. Several Little Italy enclaves exist inNew York City, includingLittle Italy, Manhattan; theLower East Sidein general;Italian Harlem,Morris Park,Belmont,Bensonhurst,Howard Beach,Ozone Park,Carroll Gardens,Greenwich Village,Middle Village,Italian Williamsburg,Bay Ridge, and theSouth ShoreofStaten Island. Historically, Little Italy on Mulberry Street in Manhattan extends as far south as Canal Street, as far north asBleecker, as far west asLafayetteand as far east as theBowery.The neighborhood was once known for its large population of Italians.Today, it consists of Italian stores and restaurants.The Italian immigrants congregated alongMulberry Streetin Manhattan'sLittle Italyto celebrateSan Gennaroas the Patron Saint ofNaples. TheFeast of San Gennarois a large street fair, lasting 11 days, that takes place every September along Mulberry Street between Houston and Canal Streets.The festival is as an annual celebration ofItalian cultureand the Italian-American community. Today, much of the neighborhood has been absorbed and engulfed byChinatown, as immigrants from China moved to the area.Arthur Avenuein theBelmontsection of New York City's northernmostborough,The Bronx, is one of the many neighborhoods considered the Bronx's "Little Italy", withMorris Park,Pelham Bay,Throggs Neck, and other Bronx neighborhoods also serving as centers of Italian-American culture.Robert De Niro's directing debut,A Bronx Tale, takes place within Little Italy, however, it was largely filmed inAstoria, Queens.The seriesThird Watchwas initially based on Arthur Avenue, with the first episode referring to the firehouse as "Camelot", based on its location at the intersection of King Street and Arthur Avenue. The 1973 filmThe Seven-Ups, starringRoy Scheider, was filmed on Arthur Avenue and Hoffman Street. In 2003, a scene from the HBO seriesThe Sopranoswas shot in Mario's Restaurant. Leonard, ofJames Frey'sA Million Little Pieces, grew up in this area. Much of the novelUnderworldtakes place near Arthur Avenue.The author,Don DeLillo, himself grew up in that neighborhood.
Bensonhurst used to be heavily Italian-American, and it used to be considered the main "Little Italy" of Brooklyn. Since the late 1990s, most Italians have moved to Staten Island. The Italian-speaking community remains over 20,000 strong, according to thecensus of 2000. However, the Italian-speaking community is becoming "increasingly elderly and isolated, with the small, tight-knit enclaves they built around the city slowly disappearing as they give way to demographic changes".Its main thoroughfare, 18th Avenue (also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard) between roughly 60th Street and Shore Parkway, is lined with predominantly small, Italian family-owned businesses—many of which have remained in the same family for several generations. 86th Street is another popular local thoroughfare, lined by the arches of the elevated BMT West End Subway Line. The 18th Avenue Station was popularized in opening credits ofWelcome Back, Kotter. Rosebank inStaten Islandwas another one of NYC's main areas of Italian immigrants since the 1880s, and their descendants have continued as its predominant ethnic group, exemplified by the location of theGaribaldi Memorialin the community. In recent years, the town has experienced an influx of other ethnic groups, including Eastern Europeans, various Latin nationalities as well as Asians, particularly from the Philippines. Today, the South Shore of Staten Island is the most heavily populated Italian area in the City of New York.  Over 95% of the South Shore is Italian. The neighborhoods of the South Shore with large percentages of Italians are Huguenot, Annadale, Eltingville, and Tottenville. Howard Beach in the Queens is also home to a large Italian population.
During the beginning of the Cold War, immigration into the United States from Italy was almost impossible. The American government did not want foreigners entering during an intense period of history, especially those immigrating to New York City. Americas were frightened that these immigrants could be terrorists, thus preventing Italians from gaining citizenship. As the Cold War continued, organization groups such as the Italian American Organization and the American Committee on Italian Migration (ACIM) started to form. They created vast efforts to provide assistance and aid to Italian immigrants coming into the United States. Throughout the Cold War, these organizations increased rapidly with many American Italian members as well as many new coming Italians. ACIM also took a leading role in directing the efforts of other Italian American and Catholic organizations that helped contribute to Italian immigration. These organizations provided new migrants with housing, clothing, access to job interviews, and education for children. Italians already living in America volunteered by making house visits to those immigrants who have just settled down in their new homes. These house visits made the intense and rigorous migration journey easier while allowing the Italian American community within New York City to grow. Immediately after the Cold War period, Italian Americans further consolidated and solidified their status as members of the American mainstream.
Philadelphia's Italian American community is the second-largest in the United States. Italian Americans compose 21% of South Philadelphia's 163,000 people, and the area has numerous Italian stores and restaurants. Philadelphia is well known for itsItalian Marketin South Philadelphia. The Italian Market is the popular name for the South 9th Street Curb Market, an area of Philadelphia featuring many grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, and butcher shops, many with an Italian influence. The "outdoor" market features bright, colorful metal awnings that cover the sidewalks where vendors of fruit, vegetables, fish, and housewares conduct business year round. Ground floor shops in traditional Philadelphia rowhouses line the street. Owners originally lived above their shops, and many still do.
South Philadelphia has produced many well-known Italian American popular singers and musicians, including:Tony Mottola(famous for the "Tony Mottola" or "Danger" Chord),Frankie Avalon,Bobby Rydell,Mario Lanza,Al Martino,Jim Croce,Fabian Forte,Joey DeFrancesco,Buddy DeFranco,Fred Diodati(lead singer ofThe Four Aces),Buddy Greco,Charlie Ventura,Eddie Lang,Joe Venuti, Mark Valentino andVinnie Paz, Vincent "Jimmy Saunders" LaSpada.
TheNorth EndinBostonsince the early 20th century became the center of theItaliancommunity of Boston. It is still largely residential and well known for its small, authentic Italian restaurants and for the first Italian cafe,Caffe Vittoria. The influx of Italian inhabitants has left a lasting mark on the area; many seminal Italian American.Prince Pasta was begun by three Sicilian immigrants Gaetano LaMarco, Giuseppe Seminara, and Michele Cantella. Pastene was formed by Sicilian immigrant Luigi Pastene. Both companies have grown into million-dollar-a-year businesses, and continue to be successful to the present day. To fully understand the sheer size of the Italian immigrant population, one must look back at the groups that preceded them. The Irish, at their peak, numbered roughly 14,000 and the Jews numbered 17,000. The Italians, however, peaked at over 44,000.
In its heyday,Seventh AvenueinNewarkwas one of the largest Little Italy neighborhoods in the U.S., with a population of 30,000, in an area of less than a square mile. The center of life in the neighborhood wasSt. Lucy's Church, founded by Italian immigrants in 1891. Throughout the year, St. Lucy's and other churches sponsored processions in honor of saints that became community events. The most famous procession was the Feast of St. Gerard, but there were also great feasts for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Snow, the Assumption, and St. Rocco.Joe DiMaggioloved the restaurants of Seventh Avenue so much that he would take theNew York Yankeesto Newark to show them "real Italian food".Frank Sinatrahad bread from Giordano's Bakery sent to him every week until his death, no matter where in the world he was.New York YankeescatcherRick Ceronealso grew up in the First Ward. One of the nation's largest Italian newspapers,The Italian Tribune, was founded on Seventh Avenue. Seventh Avenue produced stars such asJoe PesciandFrankie Valliof theFour Seasons. CongressmanPeter Rodino, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee during its impeachment proceedings againstRichard Nixonwas a native of the First Ward as well. Seventh Avenue was notoriously devastated byurban renewalefforts during the 1950s. Eighth Avenue was obliterated by the city council, scattering the Italian American residents. Most of its businesses never recovered. The construction ofInterstate 280also served to cut the neighborhood off from the rest of the city. After the devastating urban renewal, some of the First Ward's Italians stayed in the neighborhood, while others migrated to other Newark neighborhoods likeBroadway,Rosevilleandthe Ironbound.
The neighborhood around Chicago's Taylor Street has been called theport of callfor Chicago's Italian American immigrants.Taylor Street's Little Italy was home toHull House, an earlysettlement house, founded byJane AddamsandEllen Starrin 1889. Chicago's Italian American experience begins with the mass migration from the shores of southern Italy, the Hull House experiment, the Great Depression, World War II, and the machinations behind the physical demise of a neighborhood by theUniversity of Illinoisin 1963.
Italian Americans dominated the inner core of the Hull House neighborhood, 1890s–1930s.One of the first newspaper articles about Hull House (Chicago Tribune, May 19, 1890) is an invitation, written in Italian, to the residents of the Hull House neighborhood signed, "Le Signorine, Jane Addams and Ellen Starr".
The 1924 historic picture,Meet the "Hull House Kids", was taken by Wallace K. Kirkland Sr., one of the Hull House directors. It served as a poster for Jane Addams and the Hull House Settlement House. All twenty kids were first generation Italian Americans...all with vowels at the end of their names.
As suburbs grew in the post-World War II era, Chicago's Italian American population spread from the central city, such as toElmwood Park.Harlem Avenue, "La Corsa Italia", is lined with Italian stores, bakeries, clubs and organizations. The Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, in nearbyMelrose Park, has been a regular event in the area for more than one hundred years. The near-west suburbs of Melrose Park,Schiller Park,Franklin Park,River Grove,Norridge,Chicago Heights, andHarwood Heightsare also home to many Italian Americans. West suburbanStone Parkis home of Casa Italia, an Italian American cultural center.
Northwest of Chicago, the city of Rockford has a large population of Italian Americans. Other historical Italian American communities in Illinois include Peoria, Ottawa, Herrin, Quad Cities and the Metro East suburbs of Saint Louis, Missouri.
Italians first came toMilwaukee,Wisconsin, in the late 19th century. Then in the 19th and 20th centuries large numbers of Italian immigrants began to come in mainly from Sicily and southern Italy. Brady Street, the historic Third Ward and the east side of Milwaukee is considered the heart of Italian immigration to the city, where as many as 20 Italian grocery stores once existed on Brady Street alone. Every year the largest Italian American festival in the United States,Festa Italiana, takes place in Milwaukee. Italian Americans number at around 16,992 in the city, but inMilwaukee Countythey number at 38,286.There is also an Italian newspaper calledThe Italian Timesprinted by the Italian Community Center (ICC).
Italian immigrants from the northern Italian region of Lombardy came to St. Louis in the late 19th century and settled in the region calledThe Hill. As the city grew, immigrants from Southern Italy settled in a different neighborhood north of Downtown St Louis. Professional baseball playersJoe Garagiolaand his boyhood friend,Yogi Berra, grew up on The Hill. Americans of Italian descent in St. Louis have contributed to local cuisine, i.e. Imo's Pizza andtoasted ravioli. As of 2021 there are approximately 2,000 native born Italians living in St. Louis, few of whom live in The Hill neighborhood. Italians today live mostly throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region. The Italian Community of St. Louis (Comunita' Italiana di St. Louis), an organization that promotes the Italian language and culture, has several popular events which includeCarnevalewhich occurs every February andFerragostowhich occurs each August. The St. Louis Italian Language Program also exists on the Hill at Gateway Science Academy on Fyler Avenue.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Italian American community in California (and on the West Coast), with 95,300 people identifying as Italian American.San PedroisLos Angeles'sLittle Italy, which is estimated to contain some 45,000 Italian-Americans. Most worked as fisherman during the first half of the 20th century. The traditional center of Los Angeles' Italian American community was the area north of the historicLos Angeles Plaza. It survived somewhat intact until the construction ofLos Angeles Union Station, in 1939. The station was built in the center of Los Angeles'Old Chinatown, displacing half of the total Chinese community. The Chinese were allowed to relocate to Little Italy, where they quickly outnumbered the Italian community. Only a few relic-businesses survive, such asSan Antonio Winery(the only winery, out of 92, to survive prohibition).TheItalian American Museum of Los Angelesopened in 2016 in the historic Italian Hall.Lincoln Heights, northeast of Little Italy, also was a center of the Italian-American population in Los Angeles.
According to the1940 census, 18.5% of all European immigrants were Italian, the largest in the city.North BeachisSan Francisco's Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population. TheAmerican Planning Association (APA)has named North Beach as one of ten 'Great Neighborhoods in America'.
The first ethnic Italian in Detroit was Alphonse Tonty (Italian name: Alfonso Tonti), a Frenchman with an Italian immigrant father. He was the second-in-command ofAntoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who established Detroit in 1701. Tonti's child, born in 1703, was the first ethnic European child born in Detroit. Tonti became the commander of the Detroit fort after Cadillac left to return to France.
In order to preserve the fur trade, the French administrators and the British administrators discouraged immigration, so the Italian population had slow growth. Growth in immigration increased after Detroit became a part of the United States and theErie Canalhad been constructed. Armando Delicato, author ofItalians in Detroit, wrote that Italian immigration to Detroit "lagged behind other cities in the East".
In 1904 the City of Detroit had 900 Italians. In Metro Detroit there were several thousand ethnic Italians by 1900. The concentrations of the population lived inEastern Marketand east of the area presently known asGreektown. Of those Italians in 1900 most originated fromGenoa,Lombardy, andSicily. Some Italians stayed in Detroit temporarily before traveling onwards to mines in northern Michigan.
The increase in the automobile industry resulted in the increase of the Italian population in the 20th century. By 1925, the number of Italians in the City of Detroit increased to 42,000. The historical center of Detroit's Italian-American community was in an area along Gratiot Avenue, east ofDowntown Detroit. During that period, Italian immigrants and their children lived throughout the City of Detroit, and several neighborhoods had concentrations of Italian immigrants. There were larger numbers of southern Italians than those from the north. Armando Delicato, author ofItalians in Detroit, wrote that "Unlike many other American cities, no region of Italy was totally dominant in this area". Steve Babson, author ofWorking Detroit: The Making of a Union Town, wrote that "Many northern Italians, coming from an urban and industrialized society, had little in common with local Sicilians, who came from the rural and clannish south." In Detroit's history, within the crafts Italians concentrated on tileworking.
During World War II,Fort Wayne (Detroit)served as home to Italianprisoners of war (POWs)captured during theNorth African campaign. After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the POWs were given the opportunity to work as servants, cooks, and janitors. At the end of the war many chose to remain and settle in Detroit.
As of 1951, Detroit had about 150,000 Italians.
The National Italian American Foundation estimated that in 1990,Metro Detroithad 280,000 ethnic Italians. As of 2005 the closest remaining largeLittle Italynear Detroit was Via Italia inWindsor, Ontarioand there was a group of remaining Italian shops and restaurants along Garfield Road inClinton Township. In 2005 Delicato wrote that "Unlike some other national groups, like the Poles, who still look toHamtramck, or the Mexicans, who haveMexicantown, Italian Detroiters no longer have a geographical center".
Cleveland'sLittle Italy, also known as Murray Hill, is the epicenter of Italian culture inNortheast Ohio, acombined statistical areareporting 285,000 (9.9%)Italian Americans.Little Italy took root when Joseph Carabelli, immigrating in 1880, saw the opportunity for monument work in Cleveland'sLake View Cemeteryand established what soon became the city's leading marble and granite works. Most fresco and mosaic work in Cleveland was accomplished by Italian artist immigrants.Local Cleveland industrial billionaireJohn D. Rockefellertook a special liking to the Italian immigrants of the neighborhood and commissioned the building of the community center Alta House, named after his daughterAlta Rockefeller Prentice, in 1900. In 1906, Italian immigrant Angelo Vitantonio invented the first hand-crank pasta machine, which made pasta much easier to produce by eliminating the need to flatten and cut it by hand.Some other famous Italian Americans from Northeast Ohio includedAnthony J. Celebrezze(49th Mayor of Cleveland),Ettore "Hector" Boiardi(Chef Boyardee),Frank Battisti(Federal Judge), andDean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti inSteubenville, Ohio.
Ohio's largest outdoor Italian American street festival, theFeast of the Assumption(Festa dell'assunzione), takes place the weekend of August 15 every year and draws over 100,000 people to the Little Italy neighborhood.The festival is sponsored by the congregation ofHoly Rosary Church, which was founded in 1892 with the current church built in 1905.
Attracted by employment in its growingrailroadandmeat packingindustries, Italians primarily fromCalabriaandSicilyimmigrated to Kansas City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kansas City'sCalabresemainly passed through the port of New York, sometimes stopping in industrial cities likePittsburghalong the way, en route to their final destination in the Midwest. Meanwhile, Kansas City's Sicilian community generally came through the port of New Orleans, staying there for a decade or more before bringing their families north. In Kansas City, these communities settled close to one another, often overlapping: the Sicilians taking root in what is now known as the River Market andColumbus Parkneighborhoods, and the Calabrese mainly settling in the adjacent "Old Northeast" area.
Economics in Louisiana and Sicily combined to bring about what became known as the Great Migration of thousands of Sicilians. The end of the Civil War allowed the freed men the choice to stay or to go, many chose to leave for higher paying jobs, which in turn led to a perceived scarcity of labor resources for the planters. Northern Italy enjoyed the fruits of modern industrialization, while southern Italy and Sicily suffered destitute conditions under the system of absentee landowners. The peasant was still essentially the serf in the system. Emigration not only offered peasants a chance to move beyond subsistence living, it also offered them a chance to pursue their own dreams of proprietorship as farmers or other business owners. On March 17, 1866, the Louisiana Bureau of Immigration was formed and planters began to look to Sicily as a possible solution to their labor needs. Steamship companies advertisements were very effective in recruiting potential workers. Three steamships per month were running between New Orleans and Sicily by September 1881 at a cost of only forty dollars per person.
In 1890 the ethnic Irish chief of police,David Hennessywas assassinated. Suspicion fell on Italians, whose growing numbers in the city made other whites nervous. TheMarch 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchingswere the largest ever mass lynchings in Louisiana history. The use of the term "mafia" by local media in relation to the murder is the first-known usage of the word in print.
Italian immigrants first came to the area aroundSyracuse, New York(a city named forSiracusa, Sicily) in 1883 after providing labor for the construction of theWest Shore Railroad. At first, they were quite transient and came and went, but eventually settled down on theNorthside.By 1899, the Italian immigrants were living on theNorthsideof the city in the area centered around Pearl Street.The Italians all but supplanted the Germans in that area of the city and had their own business district along North State and North Salina Streets.By September 2009,Syracuse's Little Italydistrict received millions of dollars of public and private investment for new sidewalks, streetscapes, landscaping, lighting and to set up a "Green Train" program, which trains men to work in green construction and renovation industries.In recent years, the neighborhood is a mix of Italian shops, restaurants and businesses that cater to the area's South Asian and African population. Although the neighborhood is far less Italian than in past years, banners throughout the district still readLittle Italy.By 2010, demographics showed that 14.1% of the population in Syracuse was Italian descent.
Federal HillinProvidence, Rhode Island, is best known for its Italian American community and abundance of restaurants. The first two decades of the 20th century witnessed heavy Italian American immigration into Federal Hill. Though the area today is more diverse, Federal Hill still retains its status as the traditional center for the city's Italian American community. The neighborhood features a huge square dedicated to Giuseppe Garibaldi, a monumental gateway arch decorated with La Pigna sculpture (a traditional Italian symbol of welcome, abundance, and quality) and a DePasquale Plaza used for outdoor dining. Providence's annualColumbus Dayparade marches down Atwells Avenue.
The community ofYbor CityinTampa, Floridais acigar-centriccompany townfounded in 1885 and originally populated by a unique mix ofSpanish,Cuban,Jewish, and Italian immigrants, with most of the Italians coming from a small group of villages in southwestern Sicily. At first, Italians found it difficult to find employment in the insular andguild-likecigar industry, which had moved to Tampa from Cuba and Key West and was dominated by Hispanic workers. Many founded businesses to serve cigar workers, most notably small grocery stores in the neighborhood's commercial district supplied by Italian-owned vegetable and dairy farms located on open land east of Tampa's city limits.The immigrant cultures in town became better integrated as time went by; eventually, approximately 20% of the workers in the cigar industry were Italian Americans. The tradition of local Italian-owned groceries continued, however, and a handful of such businesses founded in the late 1800s were still operating into the 21st century.Many descendants of Sicilian immigrants eventually became prominent local citizens, such as mayorsNick NuccioandDick Greco.
Birmingham, Alabama, was representative of smaller industrial centers. Most Italians in the early 20th century came to work in the burgeoning iron and coal industries. Dorothy L. Crim founded the Ensley Community House in the Italian district in 1912 at the behest of the Birmingham City Mission Board. From 1912 to 1969, Ensley House eased the often difficult transition to American life by providing direct assistance such as youth programs and day care services, social clubs, and 'Americanization' programs.
Historically,Little ItalyinSan Diegowas the home toItalianfishermenand their families. Many Italians moved to San Diego fromSan Franciscoafter the1906 San Francisco earthquakein search oftunaand other deep-sea sport and commercial fish.WhenInterstate 5was constructed through Little Italy in the early 1970s, 35% of the neighborhood was destroyed and during the same time the California tuna industry was declining, which caused the neighborhood to suffer nearly 30 years of decline.With the creation of the Little Italy Association in 1996, the neighborhood has gone throughgentrificationand has seen a renaissance as Community Benefit District specializing in Italian food, boutique shopping and maintenance that makes this shopping district the place to live in Downtown San Diego. Prior to gentrification, the neighborhood was mainly composed of low-density commercial businesses andsingle-family detached homes. Currently, the neighborhood is mainly composed of residential units, mostly mid-rises, high-rises, and lofts, with ground floor retail stores and a few commercial buildings.
Tens of thousands of Italians came toWest Virginiaduring the late 1800s and early 1900s to work in the coal camps. As pick-and-shovel miners, Italians hold most of the state's coal production records. One Carmine Pellegrino mined 66 tons of coal by hand in a 24-hour period.Italian miners created thepepperoni roll, a popular snack throughout the region. Many of these immigrants left for larger cities once they earned enough money, but some of their descendants remain, particularly in the north central counties. The communities ofClarksburg,Wheeling, andBluefieldeach hold their own annual Italian Heritage Festival. Fairmont puts on a street festival every December that pays homage to theFeast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian tradition of eating seafood dishes on Christmas Eve instead of meat. The seniorU.S. senatorfrom West Virginia,Joe Manchin, is of Italian descent.
There was a historical trend of immigration of Italians into theU.S. stateofArkansasin the 19th and 20th centuries.
Austin Corbin, the owner of theSunnyside PlantationinChicot County, within theArkansas Deltaregion, decided to employ Italians there during the post-Reconstructionperiod. TheMayor of Rome,Don Emanuele Ruspoli, connected to Corbin, found potential employees who originated inEmilia-Romagna,Marche, andVeneto, convincing them to go to Sunnyside. 98 families boarded theChateau YqueminGenoawithNew Orleansas the destination. In November 1895, the ship docked in the United States, and the surviving passengers traveled onward to Sunnyside. The climate and drinking water conditions were difficult. A descendant of these Italians, Libby Borgognoni, stated that 125 of them died during the first year of operations. Corbin had misrepresented the nature of the plantation to the potential employees. Italians came to Sunnyside even after Corbin's death in 1896.
Italians later moved from the Arkansas Delta to theOzarks, establishingTontitown.
Italians began to settle in Baltimore during the late 1800s. Some Italian immigrants came to thePort of Baltimoreby boat. The earliest Italian settlers in Baltimore were sailors fromGenoa, the capital city of the Italian region ofLiguria, who arrived during the 1840s and 1850s. Later immigrants came fromNaples,Abruzzo,Cefalù, andPalermo. These immigrants created the monument toChristopher ColumbusinDruid Hill Park.Many other Italians came by train after entering the country throughNew York City'sEllis Island. Italian immigrants who arrived by train would enter the city through thePresident Street Station. Because of this, Italians largely settled in a nearby neighborhood that is now known asLittle Italy.
Little Italy comprises six blocks bounded by Pratt Street to the North, theInner Harborto the South, Eden Street to the East, and President Street to the West. Other neighborhoods where large numbers of Italians settled includeLexington,Belair-Edison, and Cross Street. Many settled alongLombard Street, which was named after the Italian town ofGuardia Lombardi. The Italian community, overwhelminglyRoman Catholic, established a number of Italian American parishes such asSt. Leo's Churchand Our Lady of Pompeii Church. The Our Lady of Pompeii Church holds the annual Highlandtown Wine Festival, which celebrates Italian-American culture and benefits the Highlandtown community association.
TheAugust 2016 Central Italy earthquakeaffected Baltimore's Italian community, as many Baltimore Italian-Americans have friends or relatives living inItaly. Most Italians in Baltimore are ofSouthernorCentral Italiandescent, especially fromAbruzzo, a region of Southern Italy close to the epicenter of the earthquake. St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Little Italy held a vigil and sent prayers to the victims and survivors of the earthquake.
Italians have settled in the state of Mississippi since colonial times, although numbers have increased over the years. Since the 18th and mainly the 19th century, Italian settlers have been located in cities and towns across Mississippi. In 1554, Mississippi began to have a real Italian presence, because of the Hernando de Soto expedition. The first Italians who visited Mississippi came in explorations conducted by the French and Spanish governments.
In the 19th century, many Italians entered the United States inNew Orleansand traveled onwards to Mississippi.Over 100 immigrants lived in Mississippi as theAmerican Civil Warstarted. In the late 19th century, Italian immigration increased in the United States, which made a tremendous impact on the area.Some of them went to work in the so-called "Mississippi Delta" in the cotton plantations, and even helped the development of thebluesmusic with theirmandolins.
Large numbers of Italians first came to Colorado in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some settled in industrialPuebloor inWelby, which was then a farming community, but the largest Italian community in twentieth century Colorado was inNorthwest Denver, or as it was known at the time, "the North Side" or "North Denver."
Italians first put down roots there because St. Patrick's Catholic Church, a largely Irish-descended congregation, already existed in the neighborhood. In 1894, the Italian community on the North Side formed its own Catholic church called Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.The community remained strong through the early twentieth century, but in the decades after World War II, many Italian-Americans left Denver proper. Today,  descendants of the old North Side Italian-American community are spread acrossmetro Denver, particularly in its inner northwestern suburbs likeWheat Ridge,WestminsterandArvada.The Sons of Italy's Denver-area lodge is on 32nd Avenue in Wheat Ridge.Many Italian Americans without deep roots in Colorado have also settled in the Denver area and other parts of the state throughout the last decades of the twentieth century and in the new millennium.
Reminders of the old Italian community in Northwest Denver are few and far between today. Many of the remaining landmarks are on 38th Avenue. One is Gaetano's, a storied Italian American eatery on 38th Avenue and Tejon Street once owned by theSmaldone family, which was involved in bootlegging in Denver.Many members of the Italian-American community in Northwest Denver could trace their roots toPotenza, a comune inBasilicata. A fraternal organization called the Potenza Lodge was founded in 1899 and still exists today on the corner of Shoshone Street and 38th Avenue.Leprino Foods, a company founded by a Denver Italian-American which makes mozzarella cheese and other dairy products, has its global headquarters on 38th Avenue across Shoshone Street from the Potenza Lodge.
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel is still important to some Italian-American families with roots in Northwest Denver, but there are Catholic churches with sizable Italian-American populations spread throughout the Denver area today.
There is a significant Italian American community inLas Vegas.
In the2000 U.S. census, Italian Americans constituted the fifth largestancestry groupin America with about 15.6 million people, 5.6% of the total U.S. population.As of 2006, the U.S. census estimated the Italian American population at 17.8 million persons, or 6% of the population,constituting a 14% increase over the six-year period.
In 2010, theAmerican Community Surveyenumerated Americans reporting Italian ancestry at nearly 17.6 million, 5.8% of the U.S. population; in 2015, 17.3 million, 5.5% of the population. A decade thereafter, in 2020, theU.S. Census Bureaurecorded slightly more than 16.5 million Americans reporting full or partial Italian ancestry, about 5.1% of the U.S. population.As ancestry is self-reported, the decline in Italian identification in the 21st century may merely reflect growingAmericanizationandcultural assimilationof Italian Americans into the broader identity ofWhite Americans, with younger generations increasingly intermixed with otherEuropean Americans: the number of Americans who reported being solely of Italian ancestry alone fell by 928,044—from 7,183,882 in 2010 to 6,652,806 in 2015 to 5,724,762 in 2020.However, by contrast, the number of Americans who reported being of Italian ancestry mixed with another ancestry grew by 436,334—from 10,387,926 in 2010 to 10,632,691 in 2015 to 10,824,260 in 2020.
U.S. states number and percentage Italian American in 2020
The top 20 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Italian ancestry are:
52.1% of Italian Americans work in management, business, science, and arts occupations, but the community also has a large population working in sales and office occupations.
Chicago Press, 1943) focus on gangs in "Cornerville" (Boston's North End).