Books/Italians in New Orleans
Photo Album of Success
By Vincent P. Cuccia

The cover of " Italians in New Orleans"

We all know the Italian immigrants’ story: they got off the boat at Ellis Island and moved to Brooklyn, Boston, Bayonne and Philadelphia. That’s simple enough. But what about New Orleans? Italian Americans in New Orleans—who’d have thought? But New Orleans, the home of Creole and the French quarter, is also home to some of the most interesting struggles and achievements by Italian Americans, including the most notorious mass lynching in United States’ history. Italians in New Orleans is a fascinating study by editors Joseph Maselli, the editor of the Italian American Digest, and Dominic Candeloro,  Executive Director of the American Italian Historical Association. This photo album chronicles the struggles against discrimination

the social and religious practices, the political protests, the familial survival and the success of a community that gets little attention.
Maselli and Candeloro edited this scrapbook of history as part of the Images of America series, published by Arcadia. The series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country through photographs that depict the past that shaped the character of the community today. Maselli and Candeloro have brought the Italian character of New Orleans to life by compiling photographs, birth certificates, news articles, and cartoons from an invaluable source, the American Italian Renaissance Foundation and the Maselli Museum and Research Library.
The book begins with portraits of the first Italians to explore the Mississippi region and continues to 1995 with a magnificent photograph of workmen installing the Monument of the Immigrant in the French Quarter’s Woldenberg Park.
One of the first explorers to the region was Enrico de Tonti (1650-1730). Tonti was in the service of France, but was Neapolitan by birth. He was the first white man to reach the Gulf of Mexico by way of the Mississippi. Tonti would later settle and develop the area.
Other famous Italian Americans of New Orleans include Angelo Socolo, the “Father of the Rice Industry.” Another famous native was Marguerite Piazza, the world famous opera singer who was the first Queen of the Virgilians, which was formed in response to the Mardi Gras Carnival Krewes’ refusal of membership to Italian Americans. There was also Pal Moran (Paul Francis Miorana) who fought seven world championship-boxing matches. And of course, there is Louis Prima, one of the greatest jazz musicians of all time.
There are local heroes as well, such as, Nancy Zito, the first president of the Elenian Club, the first all Italian Ladies club established in the early 30’s.
The chapters are arranged chronologically with a small introduction to the times and the subjects, and each photograph comes with a small biography. The book covers such subjects as mass migration and the Civil War: the establishment of mutual aid societies: Italian and Sicilian Catholicism: Italian Americans in politics: and of course the notorious lynching.
For those who do not know about the New Orleans lynching, this chapter will prove to be most interesting. A number of Italian Americans were accused and arrested for the murder of the local police chief. At the news of the not guilty verdict, hysteria took hold of a crowd of several thousand citizens, who stormed the jail where the former suspects were held. On March 14, 1891, eleven Italian Americans were dragged into the streets, beaten and hanged. Maselli adds, “Public opinion around America generally endorsed the action of the mob, applauding the citizens’ efforts to stop the mafia. Italian-American publications and organizations protested in vain.”
Italians in New Orleans is beautifully put together. It makes a perfect addition to any library and can be enjoyed by both children and adults. It is nice to have a book that extols the achievements of heroes and not the actions of villains.
For information on how to purchase Italians in New Orleans, contact American Italian Renaissance Foundation at P.O. Box 2392 New Orleans, La 70176.