The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-04-12
Some of the Sights of
St. Paul'S Little Italy

'Tmeeges! Buy imeeges, lady? Sella
cheap"
There are a few people In st. Paul
unfamiliar with this plaintive cry and
with the dark-skinned, pathetic eyed,
thin faced men who utter it. Perhaps
it is the weight of their great, image
laden baskets that imparts the air of
depression SO noticeable in those VEN
| ders of plaster of Paris madonnaS.
Perhaps it is Inconsistencies for sunny
| Tuscany. Perhaps it is the memory of
a sweetheart left behind. At any rate,
the courteous, insiStent cry carries a
special appeal and even though one
may consider the little purple white
| images the reverse of beautiful he can
not always resist the beseeching voice,
| the imploring eyes.
The Figurini, for this is the name by
which vendors of images are known
among the other Italians Of st. Paul
come from a little town in Tuscany
called Lucca, not very far from Flor
ence. There are not many Figurini In
st. Paul, not more than a dozen at
most, but they are the best represen-
| tatives Of their class. They live on
East Seventh street in the vicinity of
Rosabel and other Lower Town streets,
and any sunny day their dark-eyed
babies may be seen crawling or tod
ding about in front of the houses and
on the street. The men who are not
engaged in making and selling the plas-
ter of Paris and chalk figures are en-
ployed in laying floor pavements, es-
pecially such paVements as are mosaic
in form, for the art instinct is strong
even in these uneducated Tuscan peas
ants and they are seldom in need If
employment.
St Paurs little Italy, like Caesars
% nj 10 6iJTi6 n1 into nrfc
on East Seventh street are the Tus-
cans; the Campobasso people, Italians
from the instep of the Italian boot, live
on the flats under the high bridge and
the Sicilians are to be found near Rob-
ert and Summit. Over on the West
side flats there are a few Neopolitans,
but not many. Each class, of course
speaks a different dialect, so that a
Sicifian finds 1t very difficult to con-
verse with n Tuscan and both are I'M
able to understand their countrymen
from Southern Italy.
Many people have an idea that every
other Italian is an organ grinder. There
are more than 700 Italians in ST Paul
and Of this number there is only one
who owns a street organ. He is quite
prosperous, has horse to draw his
organ and his wife wears solid gold
earrings.
Life moves along rather lazily for
these children of little Italy. The men
are generally employed in some sort of
manual labor unless they own or work
in fruit store or keep a saloon-there
are seven italian salOonkeepers in st.
Paul. The women do the little house
work that is to be done and then pick
out sunny corner in their poor huts or
on their doorsteps. where they sit the
greater part Of the day, gossiping with
next door neighbors and watching their
babies play. There are always plenty
of babies. The wonder Is that so many
Of them survive the perils of baby
hood, for, to the stranger, life seems
jewellers on the flats"
All Italians, but especially those
Southern Italians who live under the
high bridge, revel in gay colors. The
walls of their homes are covered with
bright-hued pictures of Christ, the.Ma-
donna and the saints. These pic
lures are as much an expires sion of
their taste as Of their faith a tiny
room in one Of the huts under the high
bridge has as many as thirty Of these
pictures covering its walls
The place Of honor in every italian
LONE is held by picture or statuette
CT the Madonna del Carmipe, literally,
our Lady Of Mt. Carmel. Underneath
her picture or statuette tiny lamp
Is always kept lighted and frequently
there Is bunch OF paper flowers or
some other bit of decoration to do her
honor. Each family has It's patron
saint, but the Madonna del Carnline