The Italian Community of Buffalo
and the Pan-American Exposition

Buffalo's "Little Italy"

Of the major ethnic groups populating Buffalo at the turn of the century, the Italians were by far the newest immigrants to the city, with the first large groups having arrived in the mid-1880's. A colony known as "Little Italy" developed on the city's West Side, in the extreme southwest corner of Main Street, extending from Niagara Street's northern tip westward to the waterfront. Most residents of this crowded and often crime-ridden area "Canal Zone" hailed from Sicilian coastal towns. Smaller settlements of Italian immigrants developed on the east side and farther north, although these areas were settled by natives of Basilicata, Calabria and Campania. For the most part, these Italian enclaves were segregated from Buffalo society, even from the other ethnic communities inhabiting the city. Indeed, of the ethnic groups populating Buffalo during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Italians were the most residentially segregated. While this fostered a sense of identity among Italians, it also " facilitated their exclusion from Buffalo's wider social life.¹

Italians were not well represented in the police force or in the political life of Buffalo. Supporting a family required considerable ingenuity, and usually several wage-earners, so most young people were unable to attend school beyond age 13. A few Italian immigrants had become doctors and lawyers and entrepreneurs in Buffalo; the whole community celebrated when became the first Italian graduate of University at Buffalo Law School in 1901. Most of Buffalos' Italians (69%)2 were employed as laborers, in most cases seasonal outdoor laborers. Virginia Yans-McLaughlan attributes this to the agrarian background of most of the Italians who emmigrated to Buffalo from the southern portions of Italy.

Horace O. (Orazio) Lanza.

Whereas 87% of working-age males in Buffalo's Italian community worked in the "lower echelons of the occupational hierarchy,"[s]killed workers—tailors, shoemakers, building trades—headed this group.⁴ In fact, these were all trades locally associated with Italians. It is not surprising then to find that Italian immigrants in Buffalo worked as stonecutters, skilled craftsmen, and laborers in the construction of the Pan-American Exposition.

Buffalo's Italians and the Pan-American Exposition

In addition to their contributions in building the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo's Italians were represented by the many who staffed the Midway concession, "Venice in America." The gondoliers and mandolinists, some hired directly from Italy, some from the Italian community in Buffalo, were a memorable part of the Exposition. "Venice in America" highlighted many of the cultural treasures of Italy. Some of the mandolinists or guitarists employed at the Venice in America concession were: Antonio Gugino, Giuseppe Leone, Ciro Laduca, Luigi Lomanto, Liborio Maggio, Giuseppe Ortolani, Salvatore Ortolani, Giuseppe Vacanti.

The following excerpt from Richard Barry's The Granduers of the Exposition, certainly romanticized "Venice in America".

Scenes of Venice in America Gondolas on canal in Venice in America Musicians in Venice in America

Nina Morgana (center)

Nina Morgana was another Buffalo resident recruited to perform in "Venice in America." Morgana was known as Baby (or Child) Patti during her early years in Buffalo, after the famous singer Adelina Patti. Contemporary articles claimed that she was from Italy, but most souces state that she was born in Buffalo. Morgana sang locally in Buffalo churches and schools from the age of four, but her performances at the Pan-American Exposition presented her talents to a much larger audience. She would go on to study in Italy and perform with such greats as Enrico Caruso. See more about Nina Morgana in the Music and Musicians at the Pan-American Exposition.

At the turn of the century, Italian music, especially opera, popular songs and instrumental music, was very popular in Buffalo and throughout the United States. Italian-American bands including the Scinta band (Buffalo) and the Fanciulli band (New York), played at the Exposition and were in high demand for concerts, dances and social events. There were no microphones or electric amplifiers, and recorded music on wax cylinders was only available to the wealthy. Below are pictures of Buffalo's Scinta Band, directed by Serafino Scinta and the University of Buffalo's 1901 Mandolin Club.

Scinta Band of Buffalo
This photograph of the University of Buffalo's mandolin Club appeared in the 1901 "Iris."

Il Corriere Italiano

Although Italians were a relatively new immigrant group in 1901 Buffalo, Italian churches, mutual-aid organizations, cultural groups, and a newspaper, IL Corriere Italiano, were thriving in the crowded Canal Zone. IL Corriere Italiano was probably Buffalo's most important Italian language newspaper. "It was the first successful organization run by Italians designed to serve the entire community."⁶

Ferdinando Magnani, editor of IL Corriere Italiano, also published a book, La Cittá di Buffalo, N.Y., explaining and praising Buffalo to potential immigrants from Italy. Magnani supplemented his earnings by teaching and translating as seen in the advertisement below.

IL Corriere Italiano reported the death of President McKinley

Finally, this poem, written by Upilio Nuti and was published in IL Corriere Italiano, June 22, 1901. The translation below is courtesy of Serafino Pocari. It is not clear whether or not Mr. Nuti was a resident of Buffalo or one of the many people who came to the city to work at or visit the Exposition. "PAN" Back then, almost a year ago, When I rushed here by train One thing hit me right away As I wandered around the town And this inexplicable novelty That wandered about my mind For months, both night and day It seemed to be everywhere. I gazed at the Exposition's symbols Reproduced in skillets and wondered What mysterious connection united them? I liked the burden better than its carrier! Oh Pan-American! I am grateful to know that in English "Pan" means "frying pan" [padella]. Buffalo, June 19, 1901 —Upilio Nuti

References
1. Virginia Yans-McLaughlin. Family and Community : Italian Immigrants in Buffalo, 1880-1930. Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 1977, p.116.
2. Ibid., p. 45.
3. Ibid., p. 44.
4. Ibid., p. 46.
5. Richard Barry. The Granduers of the Exposition. Buffalo, NY : Robert Allen Reid, 1901.
6. Yans-McLaughlin, p. 123.

For additional information on the history of Italian Immigrants in Buffalo see:

Virginia Yans-McLaughlin. Like the Fingers of the Hand: the Family and Community Life of First-Generation Italian Americans in Buffalo, New York, 1880-1930. Unpublished dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo, 1970.

Ferdinando Magnani. La Cítta di Buffalo, N.Y. : e paesi circonvicini e le colonie Italiane. Buffalo, N.Y. : Tipografie editrice Italiana, 1908.

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