By Richard Leto
The old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” can literally apply to my vintage Leto family portrait (circa 1923). This famiglia photo of my Italian immigrant grandparents and their second-generation children tells a cherished story.
This article first appeared in La Nostra Voce, ISDA’s monthly newspaper that chronicles Italian American history, culture and traditions. Subscribe today!
This well-staged family portrait is a precious heirloom, a museum-quality artifact, a forever keepsake to us who were so fortunate to call Francesco and Caterina (Tropiano) Leto our grandparents. This story begins like most did, with the well-documented Great Arrival of Italian Americans from the 1880s to the 1920s.
According to my genealogy research, they left their small village of Santa Caterina dello Ionio (Region of Calabria, Province of Catanzaro) around 1910 and settled in the Little Italy enclave of Philadelphia (South Philly). Fast forward to present day and my sister and I, and our many first cousins, are the proud third-generation direct descendants of Francesco and Caterina.
Francesco was born in 1880 and Caterina in 1884. My grandparents married in Italy and their first-born daughter; my Aunt Mary (born in 1909, the tallest of the children in the photo) was also born there. My grandfather made his first trip to America alone and secured work as a laborer. Soon after he returned home to take his wife and new daughter westward. Upon settling in Philadelphia, my grandparents raised their seven children in what can be described as the typical Italian American household.
Their children include my dear father Louis (Luigi); you can see that my grandfather has his hand on my father’s shoulder. In all, the children include my dad, my five aunts and one uncle. Pictured in the photo from left to right are: Philomena (Aunt Phyllis), Victoria (Aunt Vicky), Louis (my father), Francesco (my grandfather), Pasquale (Uncle Pat), Caterina (my grandmother sitting), the youngest baby-Immaculata (Aunt Molly), Aunt Rosie, and Aunt Mary. As was customary at the time, the children were given the names of relatives from back in the Old Country who never emigrated to the U.S.
This photo was taken forty years later in 1963. Now you see my Nonna Caterina beaming with happiness, smiling as she holds her grandson (that’s me), with one of her granddaughters (my first cousin, Kathy) close by. At this point, she had been blessed with eight grandchildren.
Circa 1968, you see my Nonna so proud to see her grandson make his Holy Communion. She’s smiling ear to ear and holding me so tight, as if to never let me go.
These select family photos that span decades help us reconnect to a different era. Once proudly displayed on a mantle or table, we now find these treasured family photos on Italian American websites, publications and social media platforms.
So many photos, so many stories. Those of us who share are proud of our Italian American ancestry, as one day future generations will look back to see where the story began.
Email photos and descriptions that tell your Italian American family story to info@orderisda.org
