History of Italian Americans in Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a significant Italian American population. In 2022, the American Community Survey estimated that in the Philadelphia metropolitan region 287,703 residents were of entirely Italian ancestry and 839,275 had some Italian ancestry.

History

During the 18th century Colonial Era of the United States, the few Italian immigrants to come to Philadelphia came in small numbers and from higher class backgrounds, and these few Italians were often considered to be accomplished in business, art, and music. Some early Italian settlements appeared in South Philadelphia. In contrast to the vast majority of Italian immigrants to Philadelphia that arrived much later and originated from impoverished areas of Southern Italy, Italian immigrants from this period predominantly originated from wealthier areas in Northern Italy and towns within Genoa Province, Liguria, including Genoa and Chiavari, while only a small number came from Veneto. Donna J. Di Giacomo, author of Italians in Philadelphia, wrote that the first population was "in much smaller numbers" than the mass immigrant groups of the late 19th century and 20th century. At the time, many educated Americans had a positive view of classical culture, and thus their view of Northern Italian immigrants was more positive. Among the immigrants of this first period, Lorenzo Da Ponte, who immigrated in 1804, helped introduce Italian opera in America.

In 1819 Silvio Pellico wrote in "Breve soggiorno in Milano di Battistino Barometro" that some Italian immigrants were going to Philadelphia. Charles L. Flynn, Jr.