Roseto is a borough in Northampton County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The population of Roseto was 1,567 at the 2010 census. Roseto is part of the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

metropolitan area, which has a population of 861,899 and is the 68th most populated

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

in the U.S. as of the 2020 census. Roseto is known in the fields of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

for the Roseto effect, wherein the close-knit

Italian American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

community exhibited half the national average rate of heart disease in the mid-20th century. This finding helped to establish that stress can contribute to heart disease.

History

Roseto, meaning " Rose garden" in Italian, is named for the village of Roseto Valfortore. Neighboring communities were settled primarily by those of German, English, and Welsh descent. The first Italian immigrants from Roseto Valfortore, Italy arrived in 1882 to work in the local slate quarries. The Wind Gap and Delaware Railroad opened a line through the town in 1883. It was operated by the

Central Railroad of New Jersey The Central Railroad of New Jersey, also known as the Jersey Central or Jersey Central Lines , was a Class I railroad with origins in the 1830s. It was absorbed into Conrail in April 1976 along with several other prominent bankrupt railroads of ...

until 1905, after which it was merged into the

Lehigh and New England Railroad The Lehigh & New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety, the first being the New York, Ontari ...

, which abandoned the line in 1955. Roseto was incorporated as a borough in 1912.

Geography

Roseto is located at (40.880576, -75.217345). According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the borough has a total area of , 0% of it being water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 1,653 people, 640 households, and 476 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 2,634.5 people per square mile (1,013.1/km²). There were 670 housing units at an average density of 1,067.8 per square mile (410.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.85%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.36% Asian, 0.18%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.18% from other races, and 0.42% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 1.94% of the population. There were 640 households, out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.6% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.04. In the borough, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $39,813, and the median income for a family was $45,833. Males had a median income of $36,563 versus $21,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the borough was $17,419. About 5.7% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Site of academic studies

Roseto and its inhabitants were the scene of a study by folklorist

Carla Bianco Carla Bianco is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor. Career Of Italian descent, Carla Bianco grew up singing at family parties, and began writing songs at the age of 10 on the piano. In 1990, she worked with Jellybean Benitez of ...

in the early 1970s. She compared Roseto, Pennsylvania to the mountain town where its name and most of its original settlers had come from, Roseto Valfortore in the

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

region of southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Bianco calculated that "95 percent of its present 1,600 inhabitants are still descendants of Roseto Valfortore". A local doctor also noticed positive health rates in Roseto, leading to a study that identified the Roseto effect in public health.Grossman, Ron; Leroux, Charles (October 11, 1996). "A New 'Roseto Effect': 'People Are Nourished By Other People'". ''Chicago Tribune''. Roseto, Pa. Retrieved January 18, 2014.

Public education

Roseto is served by

Bangor Area School District The Bangor Area School District is a midsized, public school district located in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It covers approximately , serving the Boroughs of Bangor, East Bangor, Po ...

. Students in grades nine through 12 attend

Bangor Area High School Bangor Area High School is a four-year public high school located in Bangor, Pennsylvania in Northampton County, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is the only high school in the Bangor Area School District. ...

in Bangor. Faith Christian School is also located in the borough.

References

External links

{{authority control Boroughs in Northampton County, Pennsylvania Boroughs in Pennsylvania Italian-American culture in Pennsylvania Little Italys in the United States Populated places established in 1883