Rome's Italian Heritage

Rome's Italian Heritage. . More than 2,000 Italians immigrated to Rome between 1890 and 1929. They found work in the expanding factories of East Rome and encouraged their families and friends to move here. Generations later, this neighborhood is still a cultural center for the Italian-American community., Land of Opportunity , At the beginning of the twentieth century, Rome was booming. On the east side of the city, large new copper and brass factories were replacing the earliest mills. Craftsmen and laborers were also being recruited for construction projects. The New York State Barge Canal and Delta Dam were both built between 1905 and 1915., The majority of East Rome's Italians originally came from Staletti, Piedmonti D'Alife, Tocco Casauria, Aviliano, Alatri and San Felice - all in the southern part of Italy., "Paesani" (people from the same Italian village) maintained their connections in this new country with mutual aid societies. The Galliano Club and the Protezione Toccolana di Beneficenza are still active on East Dominick Street., (photo captions) , . (bottom) Italian shops at 136-138 East Dominick Street, circa 1951, where Fort Stanwix National Monument now stands. , . (background) Map of the city of Rome, 1907 New Century Atlas of Oneida County