This photo of La Gondola is courtesy of TripAdvisor
According to the US Census Bureau, it is possible that every 1 out of 10 Americans have some sort of Italian ancestry. About 15 million citizens identify as Italian-American, all of whom make up a part of the fifth largest ethnic group in North America. There are countless statistics on the presence of Italian blood in the United States. To learn more, you can visit the website for The National Italian American Foundation here.
According to
the NIAF, the states with the highest Italian American percentage demographics
are as follows:
California
-1,500,000
Connecticut
-650,000
Massachusetts
- 845,000
New Jersey -
1,500,000
New York -
2,900,000
Pennsylvania -
1,400,000
Rhode Island -
200,000
Florida -
800,000
Illinois -
730,000
Ohio - 640,000
Michigan -
412,000
Texas - 314,000
Maryland -
253,000
Here, two girls
from New England offer their take on growing up Italian American.
Victoria:
I grew up in
Providence, Rhode Island--easily one of the most authentic Italian-American
communities in the Northeast. There are countless eateries (such as the five-star restaurants on Federal Hill), but the bakeries, pizza parlors, and cafes all serve some of the best
pastas, pizzas, and zeppoli
a person could want. Venetian-style gondolas float up
and down the river daily. The local radio stations refer to Italy as “the old
country,” when discussing its national news. This shows how many residents
identify with the culture and its name.
Courtney:
I am a third
generation Italian-American born and raised in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. My great-grandfather, Augustino
Giacomozzi, came to America in 1918 and started a new life right here in
Fitchburg. The area of Fitchburg
that he settled was made up of predominately Italian immigrants and their
families and was known as “the patch.” The patch revolved around St. Anthony
Church. My great-grandfather and
other Italian immigrants built the church and eventually a school as well. The Italian culture was still very rich
during this time period because everybody that lived in this patch was either
Italian, or of Italian decent. It
was a very close-knit community where everybody knew each other. In those days you could walk down the
street and say “Ciao!” to everyone you saw.
Most Italian-Americans started their own businesses when they came to America, such as, bakeries, tailor shops, and convenience stores. My great-grandfather, however, found a job working for the city of Fitchburg instead of starting his own business. These businesses were a hot spot for the Italian-American community. People would stop by these shops just to socialize because that was the kind of community that existed there; everyone was friendly and everyone knew each other.
I feel as though the people of the patch were so close because they all shared a common characteristic of being from Italy. It was as if they knew each other their whole lives, and not just from the time they moved to America. There were even sections of the patch divided up by what region of Italy the families were from. Mi famiglia is from La Marche, and the majority of the area in which they lived was made up of other Marchigians. There’s even a social club called the Marconi Club right behind St. Anthony School that was established for local Marchigians to gather. The community that existed in Fitchburg which was created by the Italian-American culture was truly something of la dolce vita.
A picture from
the Feast of the Madonna della Cava celebrated by members
of the St. Anthony de
Padua Church in the heart of “the patch”
by Andrew Oughton, Victoria George, and Courtney Brooks
I would just like to say that I enjoyed learning about you families history and how italian culture has effected you in America. Overall I just wanted to say that I could relate to alot of what you guys said. Because I'am a Italian-american as well. With that being said just wanted to say again that this post was enjoyable to read and kept me very much entertained throughout. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post about the italian communities hear in our area. It's cool to know that there is enough passion kept by the italians that moved here to retain some of the old culture and lifestyles, and manifest itself here. Also kinda cool to think how 1/10 have italian ancestry.
ReplyDeletegreat post! I think you did a good job of talking about your experiences growing up in Italian Communities in the US. It was interesting to learn how the dynamic of the community was different from Irish communities that I grew up in. It seems like Italains are very friendly and have very strong family ties.
ReplyDeleteI thought your post about the Italian culture in the United State. It reminded me of my dad when he would tell me stories about him growing up in the italian community in New York, and how his community was so different from the other communities, like the jewish, Irish, etc. Also his american friends verses his family. The american families had all the "WASP" type of people with all the trinkets and doilies and such. His family was very simple in there livings, but all of my fathers family lived there with them. Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, etc.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post to read because it really was easy to relate to. I have family from Italy and it seems the more people i ask, the more i find that a majority of people have a least someone they know who is Italian. I also liked how you gave us your opinions on the matter because it brought it home so to speak.
ReplyDelete