Utah Italians are the descendants of immigrants from

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 ...

, along with recent immigrants from Italy, who live in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

History

Demographics

According to the 2000 census, 57,500 people in Utah claimed some Italian ancestry, with about 3,000 being recent immigrants. The percentage of Italian Americans in Utah is about 2.3 percent. Nationally, their percentage is calculated around 5.6 percent, with the majority living in the

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

, in the Midwest, in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Notable Italians in Utah

Fortunato Anselmo Fortunato Anselmo (October 1, 1883 – July 15, 1965) was the Vice Consul of Italy of Salt Lake City from the 1920s to the beginning of World War II and again from 1950 to 1965. Well respected for his volunteer work in favor of the new Italian immig ...

was the Vice Consul of Italy of Salt Lake City from the 1920s to the beginning of the World War II. He was very respected for his volunteer work in favor of the new Italian immigrants. *

Mario Capecchi Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 6 October 1937) is an Italian-born molecular geneticist and a co-awardee of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method to create mice in which a specific gene is turned off, known as knock ...

is the 2007 Nobel Prize winner for Medicine. *

Joseph Toronto __NOTOC__ Joseph Toronto (born Giuseppe Taranto) (June 25, 1818 – July 6, 1883) was the first Italian convert to the Latter Day Saint movement and was one of the first missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) ...

was the first Italian who came to Utah with the first pioneers in 1848. He was the "President's (Brigham Young) herdsman." In 1850 he accompanied Lorenzo Snow in the first Italian Mormon mission in the Turin area, where they converted a few Waldensians. He has many notable descendants in Utah.

Organizations

Past

The main goal of the early

fraternal organizations A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood; dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members. Service clubs, lineage so ...

were to provide funding for sick days to members, because at that time there was no coverage for workers. The most important were: Fratellanza Minatori, founded at Sunnyside in 1902. Italian Americanization Club, was based in Salt Lake City, starting from 1919. Società Cristoforo Colombo, operated in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Castle Gate for several years, starting in 1897.

Present

The Italian American Civic League was founded in 1934 and it is still active today. It is the oldest remaining Italian club in Utah and is also a non-profit organization. The Friendly Club was founded in Ogden by a group of northern Italians from the region of

Trentino Trentino ( lld, Trentin), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento, is an autonomous province of Italy, in the country's far north. The Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, an autonomous region ...

(north of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

) in 1937. Today it is called the Trentini Club. Italian American Lawyers Association was founded a few years ago. They have monthly meetings.

Education

As of today,

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

is the only educational institution in Utah that has a B.A. program in Italian Language and Culture. They also offer a program in Florence and Rome. The University of Utah offers a minor in Italian language, along with a program in Siena. Through OSHER, a beginning language course is also offered. East High School (Salt Lake City, Utah), East High School in Salt Lake City offers a short beginning course. Nationally, Italian is the fourth most taught language in schools and colleges, after Spanish, French, and German.

Media

In the early years of Italian immigration, several newspapers appeared, such as ''Il Minatore'', edited by Mose Paggi, ''La Gazzetta Italiana'', by G. Milano, ''La Scintilla'', by Alfonso Russo and G. Milano, and ''Il Corriere d'America'', by Frank Niccoli and Alfonso Russo. Copies of these newspapers, as well as old pictures, and taped and transcribed interviews of prominent Italians are kept at the Special Collection of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah. Recently, the ''In Piazza'' magazine was published from 1998 to 2004. As of today, there are no Italian paper periodicals published in Utah.

Utah Italians

Over the years Italy has provided Utah with thousands of people. Some came for religious motivations and most for better economic opportunities. Four thousand came as prisoners of war and a few remained in Utah after the World War II ended. Eight of them rest in a Salt Lake City cemetery after being killed by a Border guard, camp sentinel. A few hundred Utah soldiers fought in Italy against the Germans and the Fascists and several died. Regarding the number of people, for many years the balance has been in favor of Italy. But starting from the late 1960s, many Mormon missionaries from Utah are active in the major Italian cities. During the past forty years, several thousand of them have spent up to two years in Italy. As a result of their efforts, about 20,000 Italians have converted to Mormonism. Some of them have married former Mormon missionaries. LDS chapels and congregations are present in most Italian cities. The Genealogical Society of Utah has microfilmed a large percentage of Italy’s Catholic Church and Civil Records. This project is ongoing.

Trade and tourism

Italy is one of the top 25 of Utah's trading partners. Gold is the major product exported to Italy, followed by computer electronics and software. According to official data, Utah is visited every year by about 12,000 Italians.

Notes

External links

Festa Italiana SLC official website
*[http://frenital.byu.edu/home.php BYU Program (French-Italian Department)]
Official website of the Italian American Civic League Italian Center of the West YOUTUBE domainItalian in Utah, a websiteUniversity of Utah Italian Program (Language Department)Utah Italy, a new growing websiteUtah Organization of Honorary Consulates
{{Italian diaspora Italian-American culture in Utah, Italian-American culture by state European American culture in Utah, Italians