The work I conducted had as its goal the construction of the processes that led to the evolution of some Italian American organizations from the late 1880s to the present. A preliminary study of the published bibliography was followed by a specific integrated study of the American territory.

At the procedural level, every moment was seized, every nuance useful to understand first the spirit of the citizens of New York and then the norms, customs and habits. The proactive spirit that has accompanied me on this journey has been guided by the continuous and constant discovery of unexpected and surprising hints as is commonly declined in American land enclosed in the concept of Serendipity.

The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute Queens College-CUNY, located in Manhattan, the central hub of New York City, which hosted me, provided me with useful hints and references as well as putting at my disposal all the facilities useful to my work (libraries, reviews, research and articles). The thesis research followed a clear and linear pattern. As a first step, I made use of research manuals on Italian American organizations and other texts consulted at the library of the aforementioned institute and those located at the Public Library of New York and other libraries. Subsequently, I carried out the work of interviewing and researching nine Italian American organizations in order to identify their associative and organizational modus operandi, as well as their relationships with institutions at various levels.

From the accounts of the referents of the same organizations, it was possible to analyze the connections between them as well as the social actions implemented and their impacts.

Preliminary research and interviews were conducted and processed towards the following organizations: NIAF (National Italian American Foundation), John D. Calandra Italian American Institute Queens College-CUNY, FIAO BROOKLYN (Federation of Italian American Organization), FIAO QUEENS, ILICA (Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance), Federation of Italian American Societies of New Jersey, AIAE Association Italian American Educators, Ieri Oggi Domani, and Militello Val di Catania Society Inc.

This work wants to represent, as far as possible, the starting point of a project that will see interaction and socio-economic and cultural cooperation between the USA and Calabria, in order to create bridges and strengthen those already existing.

In the 2000 US census, 15.7 million people declared themselves to be descendants of Italians: an increase of 7% compared to 14.7 million in 1990. The Italian American group, according to the consolidated data of the 1990 census and confirmed by the first elaborations of the 2000 census, retains an accentuated urban vocation (only 10% live in rural areas); 57% is concentrated in the Northeastern states, 14% in the West, 16% in the North Central and 13% in the Southern states.

Socio-economic integration seems largely confirmed in the latest census surveys: Italian-Americans are in line with the national average in terms of schooling and professionalism (though not at the highest levels), and exceed it in levels of employment and annual income. Moreover, the proportion of poor people within the Italian American group is the lowest among ethnic groups.

I will limit myself to summarizing the most significant characteristics of the Italian community in New York State, the most numerous and, in some respects, representative. In the state of New York there are a total of 18,976,457 inhabitants and over 7 million people employed. The following percentages refer to the working profile of the population of Italian descent, employed and aged 16 years and over: 1,277,411 people, 676,794 men, 600,617 women.

The process of Americanization that has affected the Italian community in America has assumed peculiar characteristics with respect to a deterministic application of the melting pot. A recent ethnographic study on the case of the Italian American community in Boston, reveals the existence of an "Italian American sub-culture", in which self-perception is experienced as a cultural mix where different identities (Italian, Italian American, American and regional) coexist, emerge in different contexts and are activated according to social interaction.

Significant in this regard is the "ethnic rebirth" evident through the revival of traditional organizations (think of the lodges of the historic Sons of Italy) and the blossoming of organizations destined to have great importance far beyond the restricted community sphere: think of the National Italian American Foundation, which is based in Washington and plays a high-level lobbying role, relating to institutions and the economic-financial world. On its website, NIAF reports the results of a survey of Italian ancestry in the 108^th US Congress (2003-05): 6 Senators and 23 Congressmen had Italian origins.

Through the history of the studies of Italian Americans, I was able to grasp the organizational aspects of the communities that still today, in the exercise of their lives and in the performance of their social action, re-propose not only Italian customs and traditions, but also creativity, problem solving skills, healthy inspiration and that concept common to all organizations that is recalled in three American words that encapsulate a philosophy of life and in some cases a mission to be pursued by some organizations as an obligation to the new generations: to give back.

I would like to thank for this Joan Migliori, Elisabetta Calello and Josephine Buscaglia Maietta who hosted me in her program Sabato Italiano.

This concept of giving back, full of meaning, is reported in interviews and emerges with a strong connotation in all organizations. The concept summarizes the almost moral duty to provide the same opportunity for growth and fulfillment that America has given to another person. It seems that many prominent players in Italian American organizations feel the duty to help someone in attempting through their network to create positive collaborative connections for the fulfillment of the individual within the American system.

This thesis also aims to build relationships between Calabria, the University of Calabria and the Italian American organizations interviewed and the broader audience that can be involved in the American territory. Relationships not aimed at a pre-established goal but with the will to create connections that can generate socio-economic impacts on our territory. Not only single initiatives but strong partnerships and permanent tables of shared planning on the model of other parts of Italy.