Italy: The Greatest Achievements

By Peter Siklodi

Ancient RomeFounded as early as the 10th century B.C. in the

Italian Peninsula

Roman Republic: 508 B.C. One of the first Republics in the world, lasted 482 years

Roman Baths (Thermae): One of the first hot water baths.

Sewer System

Roman ColosseumBuilding started between 70 – 72 A.D. completed

in 80 A.D.

One of the greatest building achievements of the ancient Roman Empire

Still stands today in the center of Rome

Italian Renaissance

A period of great Cultural change

13th century to 1600

Spread throughout Europe

ItalyItalian Unification happened in 19th century

Fascist Italy (1922): Part of the Axis powers during WWII

Italian Reoublic (1947): First time women could vote

Italian Cars

Italian Cars: Maserati / Ferarri / Lamborghini / Alfa Romeo / Pagani / Bugatti

The MafiaSicilian Mafia started mid 19th century

Spread out to America

Most Active in New York metropolitan area

Italian Immigration to the United States

Italian Immigration to the United States

Before 1870, there was little Italian immigration to the United States.

However, over the next few decades, more Italians immigrated to the United States than any other Europeans. From 1890 to 1900 alone, over 650,000 Italians immigrated to the U.S.

There were several reasons for Italians to be dissatisfied with their living conditions, including economic problems, political corruption, overpopulation, poor wages, little work, and even natural disasters.

OverpopulationIn the 1870s, birth rates rose, and death

rates fell.

Italy became one of the most overcrowded countries in Europe, particularly the city Il Mezzorgiorno, the southern and poorest province of Italy.

Additionally, illiteracy in Southern Italy was 70% - more than 10 times that of England, France, and Germany.

Natural DisastersMt. Vesuvius and

Mt. Etna both erupted, burying entire towns.

In 1908, an earthquake and tidal wave swept through the Strait of Messina between Sicily and the Italian mainland, killing more than 100,000 people in the city of Messina alone.

Political and Economic and ProblemsPeople were plagued by low wages and high

taxes.

The government officials were in the North, and the South was hurt by taxes and high tariffs on northern industrial goods.

Southerners also had problems with cultivatable land due to problems created by erosion and deforestation.

Additionally, they lacked coal and iron ore needed by the industry.

As a result of these problems, many began to consider leaving Italy in search of better living conditions. Many turned to America.

They hoped to make money in America in order to return to Italy.

Suggestive of the intended impermanence of their new homes, Italians chose not to take up farming in the United States, but instead settled in urban areas such as New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, and Detroit, because a lot of work was available in those areas.

Two thirds of immigrants were men, and they were mostly uneducated, from rural parts of Italy. Their willingness to work long hours for little pay made them rival with the Irish for unskilled work available in industrial areas.

A 1978 investigation showed that since 1820, 5,294,000 Italians immigrated to the United States.

Although the majority of Italians who came to the United States intended to return to their homeland with money, only 40% actually returned.

Little Italy

Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its

large population of Italians Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian

stores and restaurants. 

How big is this place????

Historically, Little Italy on Mulberry Street, extends as far south as Canal Street, as far north as Bleecker, as far west as Lafayette and as far east as the Bowery.

What’s so great about Little Italy???

...THE FOOD!!!

Mulberry Street’s many Italian restaurants and Grand Street’s Italian food stores and fresh dairy products still draw crowds of tourists and locals alike. Casa Bella boasts that its pasta and baking are all done in house. But for a real taste of Italian-American history the mandatory stop is Lombardi’s established as the first pizzeria in America in 1905 with New York's issuance of the mercantile license.

What's so interesting about the location???

The Five Points is alleged to have sustained the highest murder rate of any slum in the world. According to New York legend, The Old Brewery, an overcrowded tenement housing 1,000 poor, is said to have had a murder a night for 15 years until its demolition in 1852.

Five Points was dominated by rival gangs like the Roach Guards, Dead Rabbits and Bowery Boys. According to Herbert Asbury's book "The Gangs of New York," police arrested 82,072 New Yorkers in 1862, or 10 percent of the city's population.

Before After

Today, the section of Mulberry Street between Broome and Canal Streets, is all that is left of the old Italian neighborhood. The street is lined with some two-dozen Italian restaurants popular with tourists, and locals. Unlike Chinatown, which continues to expand in all directions with newer Chinese immigrants, little remains of the original Little Italy.

In 2010, Little Italy and Chinatown were listed in a single historic district on the National Register of Historic Places.

Much of the neighborhood has been absorbed and engulfed by Chinatown, as immigrants from China moved to the area. What was once Little Italy has essentially shrunk into a single street which serves as a restaurant area and maintains some Italian residents. The northern reaches of Little Italy, near Houston Street, ceased to be recognizably Italian, and eventually became the neighborhood known today as NoLIta, an abbreviation for North of Little Italy.

Where to Eat??

Angelo’s Established in 1902

 Authentic Southern Italian meal at our legendary restaurant.

“After a century, we are often asked "What is the key to success?" Our response is a single word: "Consistency.”” 

Consistency day after day, year after year, decade after decade.

195 Grand Street, New York, NY

First celebrated on September 19 1926

TIME TO EAT!!! :D