History of the Italian Americans in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a significant Italian American population. In 2010, the Philadelphia metropolitan region had the second-largest Italian-American population in the United States with more than 142,000 residents with Italian ancestry, and about 3,100 Italian immigrants.

History

During the 18th Century Colonial Era of the United States, the few Italian immigrants to come to Philadelphia came in small numbers and from higher class backgrounds, and these few Italians were often considered to be accomplished in business, art, and music.Juliani, p
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Some early Italian settlements appeared in South Philadelphia, Italian immigrants from this period predominantly originated from wealthier areas in Northern Italy and towns within Genoa Province, Liguria,Di Giacomo, p
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including Genoa and Chiavari, while only a small number came from Veneto.Luconi, Stefano (University of Florence). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). ''Italica'', 1 April 1999, Vol.76(1), pp. 121–122. CITED: p. 122. Donna J. Di Giacomo, author of ''Italians in Philadelphia'', wrote that the first population was "in much smaller numbers" than the mass immigrant groups of the late 19th Century and 20th Century. At the time, many educated Americans had a positive view of classical culture, and thus their view of Northern Italian immigrants was more positive.Varbero, Richard A. (State University of New York, New Paltz). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'', 1 July 1999, Vol.123(3), pp. 258–259. CITED: p. 258. "We learn that at first Philadelphians, like much of the English-speaking world, were receptive to the idea of Italy and its culture, visualizing the Italians as symbolic of classical culture. This attitude waned perceptibly as the less attractive features of nineteenth-century migrants emerged and newspapers focused on organ grinders, the exploiters of children, and the instances of violence involving Italians." Among the immigrants of this first period, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who immigrated in 1804, helped introduce Italian Opera in America.

In 1819 Silvio Pellico wrote in "Breve soggiorno in Milano di Battistino Barometro" that some Italian immigrants were going to Philadelphia.Luconi, Stefano (University of Florence). "Building Little Italy: Philadelphia's Italians before Mass Migration" (Book Review). ''Italica'', 1 April 1999, Vol.76(1), pp. 121–122. CITED: p. 121. Charles L. Flynn, Jr. of Assumption College stated in his book review of '' Building Little Italy'' that the Philadelphia Italian "community" didn't actually form until the 1850s and 1860s, when it achieved enough size to do so. There were 117 Philadelphia residents at the time known to have been born in Italy. By the 1870 census this increased to 517, with 82% of them living in South Philadelphia.

By the end of the 19th Century and the 20th Century, Italians immigrating to Philadelphia mainly came from peasant villages in Southern Italy and were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. During that era, most Italians came to the United States and worked as unskilled manual laborers, often saving money to send back home to family in the form of remittance. A significant number would return to Italy as so-called "birds of passage", though eventually many other poor Italian immigrants would stay in Philadelphia and establish communities, especially in South Philadelphia