The departure, the journey on the steamship, the arrival in the other world. The awe in front of the skyscrapers, the hard work, the daily sacrifice. Little Italy reassembled in mutual aid societies, the white, red and green cockade pinned on the lapel of the jacket. Racism and the Black Hand. Fascism, anti-fascism.
Integration and new citizens with dual passports. In the end, for many, success and pride. “It is the will to succeed that is the connotation that holds everything together, a value stronger than any difficulty, fueled in each by a sense of redemption,” explains scholar Mario Avagliano, author with Marco Palmieri of Italiani d’America (“Italians of America”) published by Mulino.
