Utah Italians
Encyclopedia
Utah Italians include the descendants of immigrants from Italy
, and a small number of recent immigrants from Italy. More and more Utah Italians of the third and fourth generations are trying to reconnect to the rich heritage of their country of origin, also to gain a better perspective of their American identity. The state of Utah
has been a smaller but important factor in the history of Italian American
s in the U.S.
Differently from the northern Europe
an nations, Italy provided very few immigrants for the first “wave” of Mormon converts to Utah in the 1850-1880. Only a small group of about 50 Waldensians
from an area near Turin
came to the Salt Lake Valley in that early period. They had been converted by the missionary efforts of Joseph Toronto
and Lorenzo Snow
, who later became the President of the LDS Church. The name of those Waldensian families, such as Bertoche, Beus, Cardon, Chatelain, and Malan, today are of historical importance, because their descendants are very numerous, and are deeply intertwined with the development of Utah. The second wave of immigrants, from 1890 to 1920s, is the most important, because it involved thousands of people from every region of Italy, but especially from the southern regions of Calabria
and Sicily
, and the northern regions of Piedmont
and Trentino. The new immigrants settled in the Counties of Salt Lake
, Carbon
and Weber
, where most of the railroad and mining jobs were available. A Little Italy
soon spread in the west side of Salt Lake City around the Rio Grande
station, with stores selling Italian food and merchandise. The Catholic parish where Italians met was St Patrick, located in their neighborhood. In the 1950s Little Italy was cut in the middle by the construction of the freeway, and from then on it decayed rapidly. Lately, a little revival is taking place in the area, after the opening of a cluster of stores dealing with Italian food, and a restaurant in the 1990s. For a few years, an Italian Center has organized lectures, classes of language, and other cultural events in a room provided by one of the stores. The Italian Festival Ferragosto is also held every August in that historic area. A very successful farmers' market
, similar to the Italian ones, helps to create a Mediterranean
atmosphere.
, in the Midwest
, in California
, and in Florida
. However, the significant number of Italian Americans in Utah have adjusted well to its culture, and contribute to the economic and social development of the state.
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.
) in 1937. Today it is called the Trentini Club. The Italian American Civic League was founded in 1934 and it is still active today. It's the oldest remaining Italian club in Utah and is also a non-profit organization. Italian American Lawyers Association was founded a few years ago. They have monthly meetings.
is the only educational institution in Utah that has a B.A. program in Italian Language
and Culture. They also offer a Study Abroad program in Florence
and Rome
. The University of Utah
offers a minor in Italian language, and a Study Abroad program in Siena
(see below under "External Links"). Through OSHER, a beginning language course is also offered. 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.
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. Instead, there are a few websites listed below.
Concerning scholarly publications, Phil Notarianni has written several articles about the Italian immigrants in Utah.
Recently, Mike Homer has published a book on foreign visitors to Utah, and one of his chapters is dedicated to Italian travelers.
. 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.
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.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and a small number of recent immigrants from Italy. More and more Utah Italians of the third and fourth generations are trying to reconnect to the rich heritage of their country of origin, also to gain a better perspective of their American identity. The state of Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
has been a smaller but important factor in the history of Italian American
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
s in the U.S.
Differently from the northern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an nations, Italy provided very few immigrants for the first “wave” of Mormon converts to Utah in the 1850-1880. Only a small group of about 50 Waldensians
Waldensians
Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions, primarily in North-Western Italy. There is considerable uncertainty about the earlier history of the Waldenses because of a lack of extant source...
from an area near Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
came to the Salt Lake Valley in that early period. They had been converted by the missionary efforts of Joseph Toronto
Joseph Toronto
-Biography:Toronto was born in Sardinia and was a sailor in the Mediterranean Merchant Marines and on trans-Atlantic freighters. While in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843, Toronto met Latter Day Saint missionaries, read the Book of Mormon , and was baptized by George B...
and Lorenzo Snow
Lorenzo Snow
Lorenzo Snow was the fifth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1898 to his death. Snow was the last president of the LDS Church in the nineteenth century.-Family:...
, who later became the President of the LDS Church. The name of those Waldensian families, such as Bertoche, Beus, Cardon, Chatelain, and Malan, today are of historical importance, because their descendants are very numerous, and are deeply intertwined with the development of Utah. The second wave of immigrants, from 1890 to 1920s, is the most important, because it involved thousands of people from every region of Italy, but especially from the southern regions of Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and the northern regions of Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
and Trentino. The new immigrants settled in the Counties of Salt Lake
Salt Lake County, Utah
Salt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It had a population of 1,029,655 at the 2010 census. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. It occupies Salt Lake Valley, as well as parts of the surrounding mountains, the Oquirrh Mountains to the west...
, Carbon
Carbon County, Utah
Carbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. Named for the major coal deposits in the area, the county seat and largest city, is Price. Carbon County is the second largest natural gas producer in Utah , with 94 billion cubic feet produced in 2008. As of 2010 the population was...
and Weber
Weber County, Utah
Weber County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah, occupying a stretch of the Wasatch Front, part of the eastern shores of Great Salt Lake, and much of the rugged Wasatch Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the population was 196,533, an increase of 24.1% over its population in 1990. By...
, where most of the railroad and mining jobs were available. A Little Italy
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
soon spread in the west side of Salt Lake City around the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
station, with stores selling Italian food and merchandise. The Catholic parish where Italians met was St Patrick, located in their neighborhood. In the 1950s Little Italy was cut in the middle by the construction of the freeway, and from then on it decayed rapidly. Lately, a little revival is taking place in the area, after the opening of a cluster of stores dealing with Italian food, and a restaurant in the 1990s. For a few years, an Italian Center has organized lectures, classes of language, and other cultural events in a room provided by one of the stores. The Italian Festival Ferragosto is also held every August in that historic area. A very successful farmers' market
Farmers' market
A farmers' market consists of individual vendors—mostly farmers—who set up booths, tables or stands, outdoors or indoors, to sell produce, meat products, fruits and sometimes prepared foods and beverages...
, similar to the Italian ones, helps to create a Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
atmosphere.
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. In fact, the majority live in the NortheastNortheastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. However, the significant number of Italian Americans in Utah have adjusted well to its culture, and contribute to the economic and social development of the state.
Past
- Fortunato Anselmo. He 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.
- Joseph Barboglio, founder of the HelperHelper, UtahHelper is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States about 120 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and northwest of the city of Price. It is also known as the "Hub of Carbon County". The population was 2,025 at the 2000 census....
State Bank in the 1920s. - Frank Bonacci. He was the first Italian to be elected to the Utah State LegislatureUtah State LegislatureThe Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 Representatives, and the Utah Senate, with 29 State Senators...
, in 1932. In that capacity, he sponsored the bill for the foundation of the College of Eastern Utah in PricePrice, UtahPrice is a city in Carbon County, Utah, United States. The city is home to the USU-College of Eastern Utah, as well as the large USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum affiliated with the college. Price is located within short distances from both Nine Mile Canyon and the Manti-La Sal National Forest...
, Carbon County. In his early years he was a dedicated unionTrade unionA trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
organizer. - Monsignor Alfredo Giovannoni was for many years the parish priestPriesthood (Catholic Church)The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
who was in charge of the pastoral care of the Italian immigrants from the 1920s to the 1950s. He worked first in Helper, and then in Salt Lake City. - Frank Granato was the founder of Granato Importing Company in the 1948. Today it is an important business dedicated to Italian food in Utah.
- Joseph TorontoJoseph Toronto-Biography:Toronto was born in Sardinia and was a sailor in the Mediterranean Merchant Marines and on trans-Atlantic freighters. While in Boston, Massachusetts in 1843, Toronto met Latter Day Saint missionaries, read the Book of Mormon , and was baptized by George B...
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.
Present
- Dominic Albo is professor of surgery at the University of Utah. His ancestors came from CalabriaCalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
in Southern Italy. - Mario CapecchiMario CapecchiMario Renato Capecchi is an Italian-born American molecular geneticist and a co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method for introducing homologous recombination in mice employing embryonic stem cells, with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies...
, is the 2007 Nobel Prize winner for Medicine. - Mike Homer is an Attorney at law, Utah history author, and current President of the Utah Historical Society. He is a descendant of a Waldensian family, the Bertochs.
- Giovanni Maschero is the Vice-Consul of Italy of Salt Lake City since 1989.
- Philip Notarianni is the Director of the Utah Historical Society, and the major expert of the history of the Italian immigration in Utah.
- Ronald Yengich has been one of the top criminal lawyers in Utah for the past twenty years.
- Sam GranatoSam GranatoSamuel Frank "Sam" Granato is a small business owner and chairman of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2010 United States Senate election in Utah.Granato was defeated by Mike Lee, his Republican opponent....
is the son of Frank Granato and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010. He is currently owner and president of Frank Granato Importing Company and the chairman of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
Past
The main goal of the early fraternal organizationsBenefit society
A benefit society or mutual aid society is an organization or voluntary association formed to provide mutual aid, benefit or insurance for relief from sundry difficulties...
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
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
and Castle Gate
Castle Gate, Utah
Castle Gate is a ghost town located in Carbon County in eastern Utah, USA. Castle Gate was a mining town approximately southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah. The name of the town was derived from a rock formation near the mouth of Price Canyon...
for several years, starting in 1897.
Present
The Friendly Club was founded in Ogden by a group of northern Italians from the region of Trentino (north of VeniceVenice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
) in 1937. Today it is called the Trentini Club. The Italian American Civic League was founded in 1934 and it is still active today. It's the oldest remaining Italian club in Utah and is also a non-profit organization. Italian American Lawyers Association was founded a few years ago. They have monthly meetings.
Education
As of today, Brigham Young UniversityBrigham Young University
Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...
is the only educational institution in Utah that has a B.A. program in Italian Language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
and Culture. They also offer a Study Abroad program in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
offers a minor in Italian language, and a Study Abroad program in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
(see below under "External Links"). Through OSHER, a beginning language course is also offered. 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.
Publications and 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 LibraryJ. Willard Marriott Library
J. Willard Marriott Library is the library of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was named for J. Willard Marriott, the founder of Marriott International. The library building is over and houses over 3 million volumes. The University of Utah Press is a division of the Marriott...
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. Instead, there are a few websites listed below.
Concerning scholarly publications, Phil Notarianni has written several articles about the Italian immigrants in Utah.
Recently, Mike Homer has published a book on foreign visitors to Utah, and one of his chapters is dedicated to Italian travelers.
Overview
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 camp sentinelBorder guard
The border guard, frontier guard, border patrol, border police, or frontier police of a country is a national security agency that performs border control, i.e., enforces the security of the country's national borders....
. 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
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
. Some of them have married former Mormon missionaries. LDS chapels and congregations are present in most Italian cities. The Genealogical Society of Utah
Genealogical Society of Utah
The Genealogical Society of Utah , established in 1894, does business as FamilySearch International, which is the genealogical arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
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. GoldGold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
is the major product exported to Italy, followed by computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
electronics and software.
According to official data, Utah is visited every year by about 12,000 Italians.
See also
- Cultural assimilationCultural assimilationCultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...
- ImmigrationImmigrationImmigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
- Italian Americans
- MulticulturalismMulticulturalismMulticulturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
- National and ethnic cultures of UtahNational and Ethnic Cultures of UtahNational and ethnic cultures are an important element of diversity in cities and states. These cultures make cities and states more cosmopolitan and better prepared for the challenges of economic globalization. -Introduction:...
External links
- A website dedicated to the history of the LDS Church in Italy - Created by a Utah Italian
- BYU Program (French-Italian Department)
- Official website of the Italian American Civic League
- Italian Center of the West YOUTUBE domain
- Italian in Utah, a website sponsored by the Ferragosto Festival
- Italy Utah Cooperation Center, official website of a nonprofit organization that supports bilateral relations between Italy and Utah
- University of Utah Italian Program (Language Department)
- Utah History Encyclopedia
- Utah Italy, a new growing website
- Utah Organization of Honorary Consulates