The story of the United States is inseparable from the stories of those who came to its shores seeking opportunity, freedom, and a place to build a life. Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, more than four million Italians made that journey, leaving behind rural villages, political unrest, and economic hardship in search of a better future. They built new lives in cities and towns across the country, often in the face of discrimination and grueling labor. Yet their skills, traditions, and resilience helped transform the nation itself.
By the time restrictive immigration laws like the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 sharply curtailed arrivals from southern and eastern Europe, Italian communities were already deeply woven into the American landscape. From labor rights and public art to industry, healthcare, and revolutionary photography, Italian immigrants have left and continue to leave an enduring imprint on American life.
Here are ten Italian immigrants whose contributions continue to resonate today.
Antonio Meucci (1808–1889)
Antonio Meucci, born in Florence, Italy, was a prolific inventor and engineer who laid the groundwork for modern voice communication. After studying chemical and mechanical engineering at the Accademia di Bell’ Arte, he worked in theaters, where he first experimented with remote communication systems.
In the 1830s, Meucci emigrated with his wife, Ester, to Havana, Cuba, where he developed new electroplating methods, a water purification system, and even early experiments with electro-medicine. By 1850, the Meucci family moved to Staten Island, New York, where Antonio invented the teletrofono, a precursor to the telephone, to communicate with his bedridden wife.
Despite pioneering work, financial hardship and lack of resources prevented him from fully patenting the device. Alexander Graham Bell later received the patent for the telephone, but in 2002, the U.S. Congress officially recognized Meucci’s contributions. His story is a testament to immigrant ingenuity, perseverance, and the hidden history behind everyday technology.
Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807–1882)
Though better known for his role in the unification of Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi also spent time in the United States. After years of military campaigns across South America and Europe, he lived briefly on Staten Island with Antonio Meucci, working as a candlemaker and forging a lasting friendship with the inventor.
Garibaldi exemplified the global reach of Italian immigrants: he brought the revolutionary spirit, leadership, and advocacy for freedom wherever he went. In the U.S., he represented the courage and international vision many immigrants carried with them, intertwining European revolutionary ideals with the promise of a new life abroad.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850–1917)
Born Maria Francesca Cabrini in Lombardy, Italy, “Mother” Cabrini dedicated her life to helping Italian immigrants in the United States. After being turned away from the convent due to fragile health, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart, establishing orphanages, schools, and hospitals across the country.
Arriving in New York in 1889, Cabrini confronted challenges head-on—finding housing, gaining permission to run an orphanage, and navigating the difficulties of immigrant life. Over her lifetime, she founded 67 institutions across the Americas and Europe, supporting communities often neglected by society. Canonized as a saint in 1946, she remains a lasting symbol of compassion and dedication to immigrant communities.
Enrico Fermi (1901–1954)
Born in Rome, Fermi was a physicist whose groundbreaking work on nuclear reactions would eventually shape both science and world history. He studied in Italy and Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1939, escaping fascist Italy with his Jewish wife.
In the U.S., Fermi became a central figure in the Manhattan Project, leading experiments that produced the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago in 1942. Later, he contributed to high-energy physics and theories on cosmic rays. Fermi’s work exemplifies the profound intellectual contributions immigrants have made to science and technology in America.
Ines Cassettari (1866–1943)
Ines Cassettari, known to readers of her autobiography by the name Rosa Cavalleri, was born in Lombardy, Italy, and abandoned as an infant. Raised first in an orphanage and later in foster care, she came of age in a society that offered few paths for women without family or means. At sixteen, she was forced into marriage with an older, abusive man. Seeking a way out, she immigrated to the United States in 1884.
Once in America, Ines found that freedom did not come easily. She resisted her husband’s pressure to run a brothel and, after years of struggle, finally escaped that life. She supported herself through domestic and cleaning work. Ines eventually became connected with Chicago Commons, a settlement house that served the city’s growing immigrant community.
Her story, transcribed by social worker and author Marie Hall Ets, was published as Rosa: The Life of an Italian Immigrant—a raw, moving account of survival, perseverance, and transformation. Ines’s story, told with honesty and grace, echoes those of countless immigrant women who sought dignity and belonging in a new land. By sharing her truth, she turned hardship into memory and resilience into art — a reminder that the immigrant experience is not only about struggle, but about the strength to begin again.
Arturo Giovannitti (1880s–1959)
Born in Italy in the late 19th century, Arturo Giovannitti immigrated to the United States as a young man, quickly becoming a prominent voice in the labor movement. Initially studying to become a Protestant minister in Canada, Giovannitti soon renounced his religious path and embraced progressive politics.
Giovannitti rose to leadership during the 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where over seven thousand workers protested harsh conditions and low wages. When a worker was shot during the strike, Giovannitti and fellow leader Joseph Ettor were charged with murder. During their months-long imprisonment, Giovannitti wrote The Walker, a poem that critiqued the inhumane treatment of prisoners and is still recognized as a classic of labor literature. Both men were eventually acquitted.
Beyond the strike, Giovannitti devoted decades to advocating for organized labor, giving fiery speeches and writing poetry, plays, essays, and articles focused on workers’ rights and the dignity of immigrant communities. His work cemented him as one of the most influential proponents of labor rights in the early 20th century.
Constantino Brumidi (1805–1880)
Constantino Brumidi’s journey from Rome to Washington, D.C., brought the grandeur of European classical art to the heart of American government. Trained at the Academy of St. Luke in Rome and inspired by the frescoes of ancient Rome and Renaissance masters, Brumidi worked extensively for the Vatican before political upheaval in Italy forced his exile. He arrived in the United States in 1852 and eventually became chief fresco painter of the U.S. Capitol.
Brumidi’s most famous works include The Apotheosis of Washington in the Rotunda, the Frieze of American History, and the murals lining the Brumidi Corridors. His mastery of trompe l’oeil, three-dimensional illusion, and classical motifs transformed the Capitol into a space of national artistic significance. Even after a fall from scaffolding late in life, Brumidi’s influence endured, with other artists completing his designs to preserve his vision. His murals remain among the most celebrated examples of public art in the United States.
Sister Blandina Segale (1850–1941)
Maria Rosa Segale, known as Sister Blandina, was born in Cicagna, Italy, and immigrated with her family to Cincinnati, Ohio, as a child. Joining the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati at age 16, she adopted a life of service, eventually moving to the American Southwest to teach, care for the sick, and defend the vulnerable. Her fearless interventions included confronting lynch mobs, supporting Native Americans, and aiding victims of human trafficking.
Sister Blandina established schools, hospitals, and shelters, including St. Vincent’s Sanitarium in Santa Fe and the Wayfarers’ House in Albuquerque. She also founded Santa Maria Institute in Cincinnati to serve Italian immigrants, helping with education, healthcare, and basic needs. Nicknamed “The Fastest Nun in the West,” her dedication to social justice and care for the poor was extraordinary. Today, she is being considered for sainthood, recognized for her “heroic virtue” and enduring influence.
Amedeo Obici (1877–1947)
Amedeo Obici arrived in the United States from Oderzo, Italy, at the age of 10, initially planning to join relatives in Scranton, Pennsylvania. A detour brought him to Wilkes-Barre, where he worked in a fruit store, learning the basics of commerce and observing that “everyone in this country always has a nickel.” That insight led him to start selling roasted peanuts for five cents a bag, eventually partnering with fellow Italian immigrant Mario Peruzzi to create the Planters Nut and Chocolate Company.
By 1913, production had moved to Suffolk, Virginia, known as the “Peanut Capital of the World,” where Obici and Peruzzi developed the iconic Mr. Peanut mascot. Beyond his business success, Obici was a generous philanthropist. He and his wife, Louise, held events for local children, provided support to employees, and established Bay Point Farms as a center for community and agricultural innovation. After Louise’s death, Obici funded the Louise Obici Memorial Hospital in her honor, leaving a legacy of both industry and civic generosity.
Tina Modotti (1896–1942)
Tina Modotti was born in Udine, Italy, and immigrated to the United States at 16. She began her career as an actress and model before meeting the photographer Edward Weston, who became her mentor and partner. Together, they moved to Mexico City in 1923, where Modotti developed her own photographic practice amid the revolutionary and cultural ferment of post-revolutionary Mexico.
Modotti’s photographs combine formal training with political engagement. She captured the working class, indigenous communities, and symbols of revolution with clarity, precision, and empathy. Her still lifes and portraits, such as Worker’s Hands and Woman with Jicara, highlight labor, resilience, and female strength. Later persecuted for alleged Communist affiliations, she was expelled from Mexico, traveled to Europe and Spain, and eventually returned to Mexico, where she died in 1942. Modotti’s work remains an enduring testament to the intersection of art, politics, and social consciousness.
From inventing early telecommunications to leading revolutionary movements, founding schools and hospitals, and pioneering modern physics, Italian immigrants of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries left an indelible mark on the United States. Their impact was shaped by both hardship and hope—the crowded tenements, the long hours in factories and quarries, and the determination to find dignity in a new land.
Over generations, they wove their heritage into the American story, blending old-world artistry, family values, and perseverance with the restless energy of their adopted home. Their stories remind us of the resilience, creativity, and humanity that immigrants bring to every chapter of our shared history.
