IL VIAGGIO
The Italian Immigration Journey to the United States
By Victoria V. Sirianni
Il Viaggio is the story of those who came, who mostly thrived but often suffered. It is the story of the country that received them and those that let them go.
While the subject matter is Italian immigrants, it is the story of millions of others who created a great immigrant nation. It is a true story of “e pluribus unum.”
All of these stories speak to a heritage that becomes more distant with each succeeding generation of Italian Americans.
Il Viaggio expands and uncovers important stories and events that have often been forgotten or ignored.
Most of the stories are short, and most are about everyday people. Some, however, relate little-known aspects of well-known events or topics, such as:
the Sacco and Vanzetti Affair,
the Bread and Roses Strike,
and Organized Crime in the U.S. and Italy.
It also explores the great successes that Americans of Italian descent made in literature, entertainment, the sciences, medicine, and the law, showcasing the significant contributions of Italian Americans to American society.
Some less well-known but essential topics, such as American Eugenics, Radical Politics, Crime, and Anarchy, reflect far-ranging and exhaustive research.
A major portion of Il Viaggio examines the role that America and Americans of Italian descent played in World War II, a subject mostly neglected to date.
Il Viaggio pulls no punches in identifying the sources and reasons for America’s often ungracious treatment of its immigrants. It also examines the role of Italy’s constitutional monarchy that caused the degradation and poverty of its South and the Italian Diaspora. And while Il Viaggio examines topics of prejudice and exclusion, it also honors goodness, pride, beauty, and love which fills many of its pages.
Il Viaggio is the journey of many Italian Americans.
It is also the author’s journey, but it is heavily footnoted to encourage others to trace their own family’s experience, to actively preserve and share with their own children or grandchildren. This act of preservation is not just a personal endeavor but a duty we owe to our ancestors and future generations.
“Il Viaggio takes you on a fascinating journey through the colorful history of Italian immigrants in America, filled with triumphs, trials, and forgotten tales. This captivating tribute to the Italian-American spirit will make you want to dig into your own family history.”
– Laura DeMarco, author of “Lost Civil War,” “Mark Twain’s America Then and Now,” “Lost Cleveland” and “Cleveland Then and Now.”
About the Author
Victoria V. Sirianni
Victoria Sirianni is a first-generation American who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, immersed in Italian culture by her family. This book emerged from her passion to capture the stories that speak to a heritage that becomes more distant with each succeeding generation of Italian Americans.
Victoria studied history at Carnegie Mellon University and earned an M.Ed. at Harvard University. She spent most of her career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was awarded honorary membership in MIT’s Class of 1954.
She has worked as a consultant, writer, and lecturer, now focused on Italian American history and culture. She splits her time between Massachusetts and a town in the Abruzzo region of Italy. She uses this as a base to explore her ancestral homeland and research the roots of those, who like her parents’ families, made the viaggio to America in search of a better life.
“I wrote this book to capture stories that speak to a heritage that becomes more distant with each succeeding generation of Italian Americans. This act of preservation is not just a personal endeavor but a duty we owe to our ancestors and future generations.”
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Use the form or email me at info@victoriasirianniauthor.com
