History of Italian Americans in Philadelphia

In contrast to the vast majority of Italian immigrants to Philadelphia that arrived much later and originated from impoverished areas of Southern Italy, Italian immigrants from this period predominantly originated from wealthier areas in Northern Italy and towns within Genoa Province, Liguria,[3] including Genoa and Chiavari, while only a small number came from Veneto.

[6] In 1819 Silvio Pellico wrote in "Breve soggiorno in Milano di Battistino Barometro" that some Italian immigrants were going to Philadelphia.

[7] Charles L. Flynn, Jr. of Assumption College stated in his book review of Building Little Italy that the Philadelphia Italian "community" didn't actually form until the 1850s and 1860s, when it achieved enough size to do so.

[2] During that era, most Italians came to the United States and worked as unskilled manual laborers, often saving money to send back home to family in the form of remittance.

[14] Historically the Italian newspapers in Philadelphia included La Libera Parola, L'Opinione, and Il Popolo Italiano.

[3] The early Italian immigrants had little desire to be active in political life in either the U.S. or Italy since they focused on their work.

His government tried to mobilize Italian Americans to become US citizens and pressure Washington to support Italy's foreign policy, especially in the Spanish Civil War.

[15][16]) According to Stefano Luconi, in the 1920s and 1930s "numerous Italian Americans became US citizens, registered for the vote, and cast their ballots in order to lobby Congress and the Presidency on behalf of fascism and to support Mussolini's goals in foreign policy.

The family is notorious for its violence, due in particular to its succession of violent bosses and multiple mob wars.

A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York's Genovese crime family led to Bruno's murder in 1980.

"[3] One Italian church, St. Rita of Cascia (in South Philadelphia at Broad and Ellsworth Streets), is now a shrine.

[12] The first Italian mutual aid society, the Società Italiana di Unione e Fratellanza, was organized in 1867.