Italians in New Orleans

[3][4] The number of Italians who immigrated in the late 19th century greatly exceeded those who had come before the American Civil War.

The end of the Civil War allowed the freed men the choice to stay or to go, many chose to leave for higher paying jobs, which in turn led to a perceived scarcity of labor resources for the planters.

Three steamships per month were running between New Orleans and Sicily by September 1881 at a cost of only forty dollars per person.

[7] Suspicion fell on Italians, whose growing numbers in the city made other native whites nervous and led to vicious anti-Italian prejudice.

[8] The use of the term "mafia" by local media in relation to the murder is the first-known usage of the word in print.

[5] After they first arrived, Italian immigrants generally took low-wage laboring jobs, which they could accomplish without being able to speak English.

The AICC houses the American Italian Museum, with exhibits about the history and contributions of Italian-Americans to the region.

Angelo Brocato's an Italian Ice cream parlor and bakery, established in 1905 by a Sicilian immigrant, is still in existence today.

Central Grocery , an Italian-American grocery store in New Orleans where the muffuletta started in America. In 1906, Salvadore Lupo, owner of the Central Grocery, invented the muffuletta sandwich to feed fellow Sicilian immigrates. New Orleans has a historical Italian-American population. As of 2023 those identifying as of Italian descent were the largest ethnic group of Europeans in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area , numbering around 300,000. [ 1 ]
Angelo Brocato's