In 1882, a group of men left Roseto Valfortore (Valley of Roses), a town of 1,300 near the province of Foggia in the region of Puglia, to set sail for New York. The men spent their first night in America sleeping on the floor of a tavern on Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Italian neighborhood. They eventually found work in the slate mines of Bangor, Pa.

There, far from the opportunity they expected, they were confronted with prejudices as immigrants, tolerated substandard conditions, and often resided in homes that were nothing more than shacks. The Italians were considered uncultured and uneducated peasants. They faced much discrimination, especially in the field of employment.