Acerra Part 1

Taylor Street lies in the shadows of Chicago’s Loop. At the turn of the 20th century, a band of tribes from southern Italy (Campania/Napoli, Sicillia/Palermo, Apuglia/Bari, Calabria/Reggio, Bassilicata, Molise, Abruzzi, …) immigrated to this country. They settled in Chicago’s Taylor Street neighborhood, which later came to be known as Little Italy, the core of Jane Addams’ Hull House Neighborhood.  Those early inhabitants of Taylor Street, our immigrant parents, sought, for themselves and their offspring, a new and better life. Centuries earlier, other Italians had also crossed the great ocean to the Americas. Those 15th century Italians were the discoverers and the explorers who first mapped and ultimately named this great country. Prologue: Taylor Street Archives.

MAP OF ITALY.

It appears that the east end of Taylor Street’s Little Italy (east of Racine Avenue on back toward the Chicago River) held a significant number of Italians who had emigrated from the town of Acerra… more so than any other single town in southern Italy.  Acerra is one of many small towns in the hills surrounding Naples, the major town identified with the province of Campania.  (Italy is divided into 26 provinces, each with its own dialect.)  Those who originated from Acerra identified themselves as Napolitanos.  Virtually everyone who came from the province of Campania, whether it be from Acerra or from any other town in campania, identified themselves as Napolitanos.

MAP OF CAMPAGNA

Other southern Italian immigrants who were also identified with the major city of their province were the Barase who identified with Bari, the major city of the province of Apuglia; the Bruzzase who identified with the city of Abruzzi, the major city of the province of _____________.    Meanwhile, the Calabrese identified themselves with the province of Calabria and not the major city of Reggio.  The Sicilians identified themselves with Sicily and not the major city of Palermo.  Why some Italian Americans were identified as coming from the province in which they lived and others were readily identified with the major city of that province, at least in Taylor Street’s Little Italy, I’m not sure.  (Aside: The Calabrese were known as hard heads.  If someone was stubborn they were called Calabrese. The Barese were known to eat horse meat. The Napolitans were more likely to have the image of lovers.  I guess that was because of the Neopolitan love songs and Rudolph Valentino, the silent screen star of the 20s. The Sicilians…well they had another kind of reputation which was further enhanced by Mario Puzo’s iconic novel, The Godfather.

PICTURE OF RUDOLPH VALENTINO

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Following is the odyssey of one family that emigrated from Acerra to America.  Vincenzo (Vincent) James Fontano and his spouse, Maria “nee Zito” Fontana and their two children, John and Antoinette boarded the ___________________from the port of Naples on ____________________ 19_ _.   The passenger manifest that contained their name along with hundreds of other hopefuls cited Chicago as their destination.   (Fontano was changed to Fontana somewhere between Italy and their final destination: Chicago. In much the same manner that Vito Andolini was changed to Vito Corleone at Ellis Island.)  Like virtually every passenger embarking from that southern Italian port, the Fontanos, traveling steerage, were stacked away on the bottom deck.