Carlo Barsotti was an Italian-American newspaper and bank owner. He was born in
Pisa, Italy in 1850 and died in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, United States in 1927.
Biography
Barsotti emigrated from Italy to New York City in 1872. In 1879, he founded the ''
Il Progresso Italo-Americano ''Il Progresso Italo-Americano'' was an Italian-language daily newspaper in the United States, published in New York City from 1880 to 1988, when it was shut down due to a union dispute. In 1989, most journalists of ''Il Progresso'' reunited to crea ...
'' newspaper in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
with Vincenzo Polidori, which soon became the city's largest-circulation foreign-language newspaper.
In 1882 he opened the
Italian American Bank
Italian American Bank is a historic building built in 1907, and located on 460 Montgomery Street in San Francisco, California. The Italian American Bank building has been listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since April 6, 1980.
History ...
, with
Carlo Pavia as his general manager.
King
Umberto I
Umberto I ( it, Umberto Rainerio Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia; 14 March 1844 – 29 July 1900) was King of Italy from 9 January 1878 until his assassination on 29 July 1900.
Umberto's reign saw Italy attempt colo ...
of Italy rewarded him the distinction of the title Cavaliere in 1888. With numerous awards from the country of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and the
Italian Red Cross
The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff w ...
, he was a very notable Italian figure in late 19th century America.
[Brigham, Gertrude R. "The New Memorial to Dante in Washington", Art & Archeology, Archaeological Institute of America, Vol. 13, 1922, pp. 32-35.]
Barsotti used his newspaper as a tool to raise funds for monuments to great Italian figures, which were disseminated all over New York City's parks. Examples of his funding efforts are
Washington Square (
Giuseppe Garibaldi),
Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
(
Giovanni Da Verrazzano
Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France.
He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...
),
Verdi Square (
Giuseppe Verdi) and
Columbus Circle (
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
).
See also
*
Dante Park
References
External links
"That Statue of Dante in the Heart of Manhattan", by Tiziano Thomas Dossena, ''Bridgepugliausa.it'', 2011 “But for Columbus there would be no America”, by Tiziano Thomas Dossena, ''Bridgepugliausa.it'', 2011
1850 births
1927 deaths
Italian emigrants to the United States
Publishers (people) of Italian-language newspapers in the United States
19th-century American businesspeople
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