ABSTRACT

Camillo Luigi Cianfarra was born in Lama dei Peligni in the province of Abruzzo on 1 September 1878. It was an area that saw a conspicuous flux of emigration. In the census of 1881 the commune could count 3,215 inhabitants, whereas the census of 2011 registered fewer than 1,400. The area is one that has contributed much to the history of Italians in America. Tracing their origins to this district were several well-known contemporaries of Cianfarra, including the anarchist Carlo Tresca and labor leader Arturo Giovannitti, as well as numerous famous Italian Americans, including the writers John Fante and Pietro di Donato and singers Perry Como and Madonna. 1