Divided yet United

A map of 10 of the societies in the greater Hartford Area.

There are over 40 Italian clubs in the greater Hartford area. Why is the community so divided? This fact is particularly interesting because most of the Italian families in the area are all from different areas of Sicily. These different societies mainly represent different towns in the province of Siracusa (Syracuse).

Floridian Ladies Society member Alfina Rizza comments on this divide in the community.

“There are so many societies just in Hartford and the funny thing is that most of them are from different parts of Sicily, towns that are right next to each other and they all do the same thing at their club meetings, said Rizza. I am not sure why, at the risk of stereotyping, I think Italians always had this thing about their town being better than others and wanting to be in control and not compromising too much,” said Rizza.

The clubs are also divided by interests such as different saints, education, and calcio (soccer). Some have been established to help improve the community and promote community service such as UNICO. Others give out scholarships such as the Sons of Italy, and those such as the Floridian Ladies Society are strictly social.

 

Cianfaglione, “Back in 1960 ‘s to 7o’s when the Italians came to Conn. they emigrated by the thousands from different regions and towns. Entire families and paisans (fellow townsmen) came together to form different groups because they did not know the language or the area. They adopted the idea of let us stay together within our own people. Italians today do participate on a larger scale in groups such as NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) and the Sons of Italy. Now we participate together as a whole and as separate groups,” said President of the COM.IT.ES. N.Y Conn. Quintino.

Though at first the community seems to be divided by various categories, there are organizations such as the Sons of Italy, NAIF , and UNICO that bring together Italians from many areas of Italy. These groups also unite when it comes to participating in Columbus Day ceremonies. As the generations begin to age and some of the smaller societies begin to disappear, the community should become even closer.

Italian-Americans North v. South (Connecticut v. Florida) and Radio Italia

The Italian-American community is represented in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  The northeast has the highest percentages of Italians in the United States. Connecticut has the second largest percent of Italians in the country with 18.6% of the state population. New Haven County is home to 201,069 Italians and Hartford County is home to 134,654. When it was speculated that Conn. may have edged out Rhode Island to be first, the Italian community in Providence spoke out. Those in the Northeast community are very passionate about their culture.

Many southern states also have large numbers of Italian-American residents. Florida has 1,003, 977 Italian-American residents. Although Fla has more Italian-American residents than Ct, it appears that the idea of Italian heritage and culture seems stronger up north.

Phyllis Summa, a resident of both Fla. and Conn. agrees that the Italian culture is stronger in the northeast. According to the Order of the Sons of Italy they have 16 events in Connecticut and six in Florida for 2010.

“Up north there are activities every weekend in the community, but in florida there are more neighborhood activities versus cultural activities. Italians in Conn. are much more connected and intertwined. When my husband and I lived in Conn., we went to an event at least once a month, I think we have only been to a handful of cultural events since living in Florida. There are only a few Italian clubs in Florida like the Sons of Italy, Summa Said.”

Why does it seem that the community is more united and involved in the northeast?

Giovanni Vianello, former President of the now disbanded Club Culturale Italiano of Greater Orlando discusses why Italians up north are more united.

“The north has a much larger percentage of Italians per state than the southern states do, said Vianello. Here in Florida the areas that have the largest Italian population are Miami and Fort Lauderdale, where the consulate is.”

Connecticut is also a much smaller state geographically than Florida. Therefore, residents live in much closer proximities. This makes it easier for a large group to gather around a particular central area.

Is this lack of participation because Italian-Americans in Florida live in different communities and are more spread out?

“The community here in central Florida has about 2500-3000 Italians, said Vianello. Not everybody is registered with the consulate; probably many of them do not care; some of them for many different reasons do not want to be involved at all with other Italians. Club Culturale Italiano failed because it was the same few families who were the only ones participating.”

Though the Italian community in Connecticut seems more united than in Florida, it seems to be on the path to decline. With less participation from the younger generations the clubs and societies in place today may longer be able to survive.

Connecticut and Florida resident Tony Leone believes that participation from  the younger generations is necessary. “It is hard to determine how long that all these clubs can sustain themselves, said Leone. With most society members being older, the younger people must begin to participate or eventually there will not be anymore Italian cultural clubs.”

A.S. Maulucci discusses the lack of involvement from the younger generations and the changing culture in his article “On Writers and Writing:Authors recount authentic Italian-American experience.”

The need for the younger generation to participate is evident across the country. Once the younger generations begins to evolve from the guido culture to Italian culture the community should be revised.

Radio Italia

Quintino Cianfaglione has been broadcasting an Italian radio program in Connecticut for decades. He discusses how he started and the involvement of the younger generations.