Italians in NYC

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Italians in NYC
By Lisa Ponath and Anna Guarro
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History

• First italian to settle in NY was Pietro Cesare
  Alberti, a Venetian sailor (2.6, 1635)?
• Throughout the 1800s Italians arrived in small
  numbers
• From 1890 to 1900, 655,888 immigrants arrived in
  the U.S.
• Italian immigration peaked from 1900 until 1914
  when World War I made such a intercontinental
  movement possible
• By 1978, 5.3 mio Italians had immigrated, 2 mio
  arrived between 1900 and 1914

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Reasons for migration

• Poor economic conditions, overpopulation, natural
  disaster
• Il Mezzogiorno southern and poorest provinces
  of Italy
• 1900 illiteracy rate was 70 , ten times as high
  as in England, France, Germany
• Italian government was dominated by northeners ?
  high taxes for and protective tariffs on
  industrial goods for southeners

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• Many immigrants never planned to stay in the U.S.
  permanently they wanted to earn money and go back
  to Italy
• Overall 20 - 30 returned to Italy
• Headed for cities where labour was needed and
  wages were realtively high
• Were likely to take heavy construction jobs
• About ½ of all late 19th century Italian
  immigrants were manual workers.

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Italian family arriving in NY in 1905
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• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vQXQUVerMGCM

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Life in NYC

• Northern Italians settled in Greenwich Village
  and what is now Soho
• particularly Neapolitans, Sicilian and
  Calabrians, populated Little Italy.
• Most lived in poverty
• They were ill-housed and coarsely fed
• Adapted themselves very well to bad conditions
• Had plenty of society
• Worked and waited

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Little Italy Then

• Italian immigrants lived in slums
• Historically, Little Italy extended as far south
  as Bayard Street, as far north as Bleecker, as
  far west as Lafayette and as far east as the
  Bowery.
• Most of the neighborhood has been absorbed by
  Chinatown, as immigrants from China and other
  East Asian countries moved to the area.

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Little Italy Then
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Little Italy Today

• About 5000 Italians live in Little Italy today
• Other Italians live in Brooklyn, Queens or the
  Bronx
• Between Mulberry Street and Grand-Street
• Sandwiched between China Town and NoLiTa

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• New York 3,254,298
• New York 14.4

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Little Italy Today
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Little Italy Today

• Around 60 Italian restaurants
• North America's oldest pizzeria Lombardis
• Lots of Italian Food stores and groceries
• Some Italian Clothing stores (Shoes)?

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Little Italy Today
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Little Italy Today
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Little Italy Today
http//de.youtube.com/watch?vUdD48yxgJJU
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Little Italy Today

• Famous sights in Little Italy Police Building
  and Old St. Patrick's cathedral
• Old St. Patrick's cathedral was the seat of the
  Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until St.
  Patricks Cathedral opened in 1879
• Was build in 1809
• Hosted the memorial service for John F. Kennedy
  in 1999

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Little Italy Today
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Little Italy Today

• San Gennaro Feast
• Oldest and best known Italian festival in the US
• Also celebrated at Little Italy
• At the end of September, lasts 10 days
• More than 1,5 million of people come to Little
  Italy to celebrate

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Little Italy Today

• Activities for the entire family
• Streets are decorated in green, white, red
• Outdoor dining facilities
• Musicians
• Steets are closed to vehicular traffic
• Religious processions and parades
• Professional canelloni eating contest

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Little Italy Today

• Highlight Celebratory Mass as the Statue of
  Saint is carried from its permanent home in Most
  Precious Blood Church at Baxter Street
• Italian Music concert
• First feast was celebrated in 1926
• Feast grow from a one day party to a 11 days
  gala
• Feast is presented by figli di San Gennaro
  (children of San Gennaro)?

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Little Italy Today

• Annual celebration of Patron Saint of Naples
• Tradition of the Italian immigrants who
  celebrate the day when Saint Gennaro was martyred
  for the faith
• Died in 305
• Famous for the reputed miracle of the annual
  liquefaction of his blood (first reported in
  1379)?
• Blood is safely stored in small capsules in a
  reliquary

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The Italian Mafia in NYC

• The Five Families are the five major
  Italian-American Mafia crime families which have
  dominated organized crime in New York City since
  the 1930s.
• were responsible for the establishment of The
  Commission, a council which demarcated territory
  between the previously warring factions and
  governs Mafia activities in the U.S.
• powerhouse of the Sicilian Mafia in the US

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• Bonanno Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano
  (Salvatore Montagna is the acting boss)
• Gambino Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo and
  Jackie "Nose" D'Amico
• Colombo Carmine "Junior" Persico (Thomas Gioeli
  is the acting boss)
• Genovese Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo
• Lucchese Vittorio "Vic" Amuso (Steven
  "Wonderboy" Creais the acting boss)

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• Famous Mafia boss John Gotti met his accomplices
  in Little Italy's Ravenite Social Club (now a
  shoe store)?
• John Gotti was the boss of the Gambino Crime
  Family, one of NY's five Mafia families
• Comitted several crimes, 13 murders,
  racketeering, hijacking, illegal gambling...
• Died in prison in 2002

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Little Italy Today
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• To this day, italian Americans are frequently
  associated with organized crime (pervasive media
  stereotyping, gangster movies, television
  series)?
• The National American Foundation have asserted
  that the American Mafia in the U.S.?only few
  thoundand individuals
• Italian American population climbed to 17.8
  mio only 6 of the population had to do with
  organized crime

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Bibliography
- Chevron, Doris. Marco Polo Reiseführer New
York. 15th edition. Ostfildern Falk Atlas,
2008 - Eisenschmidt, Rainer. Borowski, Birgit.
Bildatlas New York. 2nd edition. Ostfildern HB
Verlag - www.littleitalynyc.com -
www.newyork.de/index.cfm?PID1871 -
www.italian-american.com - www.sangennaro.org -
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Januarius -
www.youtube.com
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....Arrivederci Raggazzi!!! ...Grazie per la
vostra attenzione!...Thanks for your
attention!...Good Bye!