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History of Italian Americans in Philadelphia

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Ethnicity in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a significant Italian American population. In 2022, the American Community Survey estimated that in the Philadelphia metropolitan region 287,703 residents were of entirely Italian ancestry and 839,275 had some Italian ancestry.[1]

History

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During the 18th Century Colonial Era of the United States, the few Italian immigrants to come to Philadelphia came in small numbers and from higher class backgrounds, and these few Italians were often considered to be accomplished in business, art, and music.[2] Some early Italian settlements appeared in South 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.[4] Donna J. Di Giacomo, author of Italians in Philadelphia, wrote that the first population was "in much smaller numbers" than the mass immigrant groups of the late 19th Century and 20th Century.[3] At the time, many educated Americans had a positive view of classical culture, and thus their view of Northern Italian immigrants was more positive.[5] Among the immigrants of this first period, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who immigrated in 1804, helped introduce Italian Opera in America.[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. There were 117 Philadelphia residents at the time known to have been born in Italy.[8] By the 1870 census this increased to 517, with 82% of them living in South Philadelphia.[7]

By the end of the 19th Century and the 20th Century, Italians immigrating to Philadelphia mainly came from peasant villages in Southern Italy and were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.[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. A significant number would return to Italy as so-called "birds of passage", though eventually many other poor Italian immigrants would stay in Philadelphia and establish communities, especially in South Philadelphia.[9] Immigrants in the later period mostly originated from Abruzzo, Avellino and Salerno in Campania, and Messina in Sicily.[3] The public had a very negative perception of the poorer, swarthy Southern Italians, especially as the media focused on crimes and bad behavior, resulting in harsh discrimination against Italians and the redlining of Italian neighborhoods.[5]

Demographics

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In the community's initial history (circa prior to the 1850s-1860s) about 67% of the residents were male, and about 67% were ages 15–44.[10] The pre-1870 Italian community did not include labor agents.[11] During that period Italians were concentrated in wards 2 through 5 in South Philadelphia.[10]

By the early 20th century the ratio between families with children and male workers decreased.[10]

The Ligurians held leadership roles within the Italian community during the 19th and 20th centuries.[4]

Geography

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The largest and oldest Italian community is located in South Philadelphia. Other neighborhoods with historical Italian settlements include East Falls, Germantown, and Manayunk. As of 2007 some Italian businesses still operate in Chestnut Hill.[12]

Italians began settling Germantown in 1880.[12] The Italian community in South Philadelphia was, at a later point, reduced in size due to Italians moving to South Jersey and other parts of the Greater Philadelphia area. Italians especially moved to Washington Township.[13] Di Giacomo wrote in 2007 that "the Germantown settlement is 98 percent gone today".[12]

Economy

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Philadelphia Italian Market

The Italian Market is located in South Philadelphia.[13] The Philadelphia area has a large number of Italian restaurants.[14]

Media

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Historically the Italian newspapers in Philadelphia included La Libera Parola, L'Opinione, and Il Popolo Italiano. The United Presbyterian Church publication was Vita. Ordine Nuovo was the newspaper of the Sons of Italy.[3]

Politics

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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.[4] In the 1920s and 1930s they took pride in Mussolini's achievement in restoring Italy's prestige. 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. When World War II broke out in 1939, they wanted the US to be neutral. A few days after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Italy declared war on the U.S.

Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime in Italy sought to build a base of popular support in the United States, focusing on the Italian community. His supporters far outnumbered his opponents, both inside the Italian American community, among all Catholics, and among the wider American leadership.[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."[17]

Organized crime

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Main article: Philadelphia crime family

The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia family based in South Philadelphia. This criminal organization primarily operates in various areas and neighborhoods in Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area (i.e. the Delaware Valley) and New Jersey, especially South Jersey. The family is notorious for its violence, due in particular to its succession of violent bosses and multiple mob wars. As the Bruno crime family under the 21-year reign of boss Angelo Bruno (1959–1980), the family enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity. A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York's Genovese crime family led to Bruno's murder in 1980. The killing marked the beginning of years of internal violence for control of the Philadelphia family, leading to a gradual decline in the family's stability.[18]

Religion

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Italians coming to Philadelphia were predominantly Catholic.[3] Di Giacomo wrote "The church was the focal point of neighborhood life. Nearly everything, from baptisms to funerals, played out in or around the church."[12] Some Italians were Protestant. The Protestants included Baptists, Presbyterians, Evangelicals, and Pentecostals. In South Philadelphia second and third generations of Protestants left at a much quicker rate compared to Catholics of the same generation.[12]

In 1852 St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi in South Philadelphia,[13] the first Italian Catholic parish in the United States, was founded by pre-mass immigration Italians.[3]

In 1898 Southern Italians who felt alienated from the St. Mary's Catholic Church due to their southern background and from the Irish St. Peter's Catholic Church founded the Our Lady of Good Counsel Church (Italian: La Chiesa Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio). In 1933 the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia closed Our Lady of Good Counsel. Di Giacomo wrote that "The church's constant activity is legendary to this day."[3]

One Italian church, St. Rita of Cascia (in South Philadelphia at Broad and Ellsworth Streets), is now a shrine. Other Italian Catholic churches include King of Peace and St. Nicholas of Tolentine.[3] The Presbyterian church had three Italian churches, with one in South Philadelphia, one in Germantown, and one in Overbrook.[12]

Institutions

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The first Italian mutual aid society, the Società Italiana di Unione e Fratellanza, was organized in 1867.[4]

The Consulate-General of Italy in Philadelphia is located in Center City, Philadelphia.[19]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Quartullo, Joe. "Where did all the Italians go? Census analysis shows sharp population drops". Italian American Herald. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Juliani, p. 4.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Di Giacomo, p. 8.
  4. ^ a b c d Luconi, Stefano (University of Florence). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). Italica, 1 April 1999, Vol.76(1), pp. 121–122. CITED: p. 122.
  5. ^ a b Varbero, Richard A. (State University of New York, New Paltz). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 1 July 1999, Vol.123(3), pp. 258–259. CITED: p. 258. "We learn that at first Philadelphians, like much of the English-speaking world, were receptive to the idea of Italy and its culture, visualizing the Italians as symbolic of classical culture. This attitude waned perceptibly as the less attractive features of nineteenth-century migrants emerged and newspapers focused on organ grinders, the exploiters of children, and the instances of violence involving Italians."
  6. ^ Lorenzo Da Ponte residence in Philadelphia
  7. ^ a b Luconi, Stefano (University of Florence). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). Italica, 1 April 1999, Vol.76(1), pp. 121–122. CITED: p. 121.
  8. ^ Flynn, Charles L. (Assumption College) "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians Before Mass Migration" (Book Review). Italian Americana, 1 January 2000, Vol.18(1), pp. 110–111. CITED: p. 110.
  9. ^ Di Giacomo, p. 7-8.
  10. ^ a b c Zucchi, John (McGill University). "Richard Juliani, Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration.(Book review)." Labour/Le Travail, Spring, 2000, Issue 45, p. 327(2). CITED: p. 328.
  11. ^ Gabaccia, Donna R. (University of North Carolina at Charlotte). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration (review)." Journal of Social History, 1999, Vol.33(2), pp. 490–491. CITED: p. 491.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Di Giacomo, p. 9.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Di Giacomo, p. 11.
  14. ^ Sheehan, Jason. "The Best Italian Restaurants in Philadelphia." Philadelphia. June 29, 2012. Retrieved on May 30, 2015.
  15. ^ John Patrick Diggins, Mussolini and Fascism: The View From America (Princeton UP, 1972) pp. 58-60, 66, 68, 143.
  16. ^ Peter R. D'Agostino, Rome in America: Transnational Catholic Ideology from the Risorgimento to Fascism (U. of North Carolina Press, 2004) pp. 256–258.
  17. ^ Stefano Luconi, “Fascism and Italian-American Identity Politics.” Italian Americana 33#1(2015), pp. 6–24. online, quoting p. 7
  18. ^ Philips Jenkins, and Gary Potter. "The politics and mythology of organized crime: a Philadelphia case-study." Journal of Criminal Justice 15.6 (1987): 473-484.
  19. ^ "Welcome to the web site of the Consulate General of Italy in Philadelphia Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine." Consulate-General of Italy in Philadelphia. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.
  20. ^ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
  21. ^ a b "Harry Olivieri - Co-creator of the Philly Cheesesteak". The Guardian. 2006-08-21. Retrieved 2015-12-01.

Further reading

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Main article: Italian Americans § Bibliography
  • Biagi, Ernest L. The Italians of Philadelphia. (Carlton Press, 1967).
  • Di Giacomo, Donna J. Italians of Philadelphia. (Arcadia Publishing, 2007). heavily illustrated; online
  • Dickinson, Joan Younger. "Aspects of Italian immigration to Philadelphia." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 90.4 (1966): 445-465. online
  • Gertrude, M. Agnes. "Italian Immigration into Philadelphia." Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia 58.2 (1947): 133-143. online
  • Juliani, Richard N. Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians Before Mass Migration. Penn State Press, 2005. ISBN 0271028645, 9780271028644.
  • Juliani, Richard N. The Social Organization of Immigration: The Italians in Philadelphia (1980) excerpt and text search
  • Juliani, Richard N. Priest, Parish, and People: Saving the Faith in Philadelphia's Little Italy (2007)
  • Juliani, Richard N. "The Parish as an Urban Institution: Italian Catholics in Philadelphia." Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia 96.1/4 (1985): 49-65. online
  • Luconi, Stefano. From paesani to white ethnics: The Italian experience in Philadelphia (SUNY Press, 2001) online.
  • Luconi, Stefano. "Frank L. Rizzo and the whitening of Italian Americans in Philadelphia." in Are Italians White? ed, by Jennifer Guglielmo, and Salvatore Salerno (Routledge, 2003) pp. 177-191. online
  • Luconi, Stefano. "Machine politics and the consolidation of the Roosevelt majority: The case of Italian Americans in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia." Journal of American Ethnic History (1996): 32-59. online
  • Luconi, Stefano. "Bringing Out the Italian-American Vote in Philadelphia." Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 117.4 (1993): 251-285. online
  • Stanger-Ross, Jordan. Staying Italian: Urban Change and Ethnic Life in Postwar Toronto and Philadelphia. University of Chicago Press, January 15, 2010. ISBN 0226770761, 9780226770765.
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