EXAMINING PATTERNS OF ITALIAN IMMIGRATION TO ...

Society Tuscan Youth (Società Gioventù Toscana). The last two reflect the fact that
Lucchesi were particularly numerous in the area.
One society is known in Wolverine, the Citizens’ League (Lega Cittadina), established in
1919.
Although it has not been possible to find bylaws and written documents for each and
every society 61 , many of them, through their names, give us indirect information about their
main purposes and, sometimes, about the place of origins of the members. Some of them are
named after famous Italian patriots that led the way to the unification of Italy: Pietro Micca,
Alessandro Lamarmora, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Carlo Botta, and Ettore Perrone.
Pietro Micca (1677 Sogliano - 1706 Torino) was a Piemontese soldier. During the
French siege of Torino (during the Spanish Secessionist war) he was in charge of a mined
tunnel. Because some enemies were to enter the city through this tunnel, he blew it up and
died to save the city. Alessandro Lamarmora (1799 Torino - ?) was a Piemontese general
whose ideas about quick troops with light weapons inspired the organization of the
Bersaglieri. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807 Nice - 1882 Caprera) was an Italian general and
nationalist who led 1,000 volunteers in the capture of Sicily and Naples in 1860. His
conquest led to the formation of the kingdom of Italy in 1861. Carlo Botta (1766 San
Giorgio Canavese - 1837 Paris) was a politician and an historian who followed the ideals of
the French Revolution. Ettore Perrone (1789 Torino - 1849 Novara) was a general who
played an important role in the riots of 1821 in Piemonte.
Some other societies are named after Italian poets such as Giuseppe Giusti and Dante
Alighieri. Giuseppe Giusti (1809 Monsumanno - 1850 Firenze) was a satiric poet very
famous during his life. Dante Alighieri (1265 Firenze - 1321 Ravenna) is one of the best
Italian poets, and he is considered the ‘father’ of the Italian language.
Other societies are named after Italian organizations of various kinds such as
Giovane Italia, Cacciatori delle Alpi, Bersaglieri, and Carabinieri. The Giovane Italia was a
political association organized by Giuseppe Mazzini 62 in 1831. Its main ideals were progress
and equality. Its members were strong fighters for national unity. The Cacciatori delle Alpi
61 Bylaws have been found for just three societies: the Daughters of Italy; the Colonial Union among the Italia-
American societies of the Counties of Houghton, Keweenaw and Ontonagon; the Italo-American Federation of
the societies of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. See Appendix I and II.
62 Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) was an Italian patriot and revolutionist that had a decisive role in the Italian
struggle for unity.
75