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Towards the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th, one New York immigrant community was terrorized by their own people. Italian immigrants arriving in America in search of a better life were treated as subhuman. On top of that, a secret society known as the Black Hand, which was a loose organization of Italian criminals, terrorized the n...

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The iconic Mr. Peanut celebrated his 100th birthday back in 2016, and the sweeping celebration that Planters threw was a testament to his enduring popularity as a mascot. (Daily Meal named him among the most iconic food mascots of all time.) While everyone recognizes the monocle-wearing, anthropomorphized peanut today, the story behind his creation...

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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,...

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At first glance, elephants and Seattle seem an unlikely pairing. Why would the world’s largest land mammal, found in Asia and Africa, have so intrigued residents of the Pacific Northwest? Yet two Seattle companies have used this massive animal for decades to advertise their businesses. The more recognizable was the rotating hot-pink elephant with i...

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Although most Italian immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries settled in the nation’s large cities to meet the demands of industry, many others had a different experience, settling in rural areas to work in mines and quarries, build railroads and to farm. Each of these experiences were likely unique due to differences in time, industry...

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Louis Trubiano's long-sought-after retirement project started years ago with his maternal grandfather, Luigi Pica, who came here from Italy in 1914, worked at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy his whole adult life and was extremely proud of his American citizenship, granted in 1930. "He was very stoic, a solid, hard-working guy," Trubiano said. Pic...

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Urban life was often filled with hazards for the new immigrant, and housing could be one of the greatest dangers. In the early 1900s more than half the population of New York City, and most immigrants, lived in tenement houses: narrow, low-rise apartment buildings that were usually grossly overcrowded by their landlords, according to the Library of...

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When I was 24 years old, I spontaneously decided to move to Italy from my hometown of New York City. I was tired of life in the city and wanted to slow down and experience something different. I was studying to be an opera singer and even had a big break when I was invited to sing as a soloist at a concert for one of the then-leading tenors of the...

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My father was ashamed of his Italian heritage. I hate to say that, but it’s true.  Allow me to start at the beginning: His mother, Assunta Bevevino, immigrated to the United States from Calabria, Italy, in the early 20th century, along with countless other Europeans. I believe she was in her teens. She married his father, Phillip Paone, who was Ame...

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Join with leaders of Italian American organizations from around the country and officers and members of the Native American Guardian’s Association (“NAGA”) at the next monthly Zoom meeting to collaborate in opposing cancel culture. Appropriately dubbed “Solidarity Sessions – Bridging Cultures Against Cancel Culture” the monthly virtual sessions fos...

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