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Milwaukee's Italian Heritage
9781596298361
Regular price $21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
The shores of Lake Michigan might seem a far cry from the coastline of the Mediterranean, even for a country famous for its opera singers. Nevertheless, enough Italians responded to the call--and returned home to repeat it confidently to brothers, brides and strangers--to create a thriving community in Milwaukee. Historians often emphasize Milwaukee's German heritage, content to relegate the story of Italian migration to New York or Chicago, but Anthony Zignego passionately explores the ways in which Italians shaped the Brew City and were shaped by it in turn. From the Gardetto family to the enterprising women of the Third Ward to Festa Italiana, Zignego presents a portrait of the immigrant experience with personal stories and interviews with "ordinary" immigrants and Milwaukeeans, explaining the community's traditions and dispelling some of its myths. Milwaukee's Italian Heritage highlights the struggles and triumphs that have always made immigration an opening clause and concluding question in the American story.
Italian Milwaukee
9780738533537
Regular price $24.99 Sale price $17.49 Save 30%
Milwaukee's Italian families have a distinguished heritage, one that began in a great rush to the city shortly before the turn of the 19th century. Seeking a way out of the economic misery of their homeland, tens of thousands of Italians made their way to the Midwest, lured by the promise of Milwaukee's well-paying factory and service industry jobs. The emigres brought their colorful traditions and culture with them, making themselves at home in close-knit neighborhoods. Arrivals from various villages settled into specific blocks, with a widespread Sicilian contingent living in the old Third Ward, while Italians from the north settled in Bay View. Others moved into the Brady Street area. Not afraid to work, at first the Italians were railroad employees, fruit peddlers, refuse collectors, shopkeepers, tavern owners, or skilled craft workers in the masonry and stone trades. Today, the descendants of those first arrivals make up an extraordinary share of Milwaukee's business leaders, politicians, clergy, restaurateurs, and educators, while others have become police officers and military personnel. The Italian Community Center and Festa Italiana continue to provide marvelous opportunities to socialize.
