Sitting down to talk to Paulina Librizzi, I had no idea that learning about her family would be like listening to a version of The Godfather. Coming from a family who knows very little about their origins, it was incredible to meet someone who not only knows her family’s history, but also has a thirteen-page document about it. The document is complete with pictures of the members of her father’s side of the family and the official documentation of the family’s immigration from Italy to America in the early 1900’s. Since I’ve always only had a vague idea of where my family comes from, I was truly blown away by how interesting and detailed her family’s story is.
The story begins with Paulina’s great grandfather, Santo, arriving in America on February 6th, 1904. He had left Naples on January 20th, aboard the ship The Liguria, with only ten dollars to his name. He was twenty-three years old at the time of his arrival and was most likely traveling with a man named Giuseppe Brucato, who was a relative of Santos. Conditions weren’t very good in Italy at the time, so they had left for America in search of a better life. The records show that they were headed to stay with a man named Rosario, who could have either been Santo’s brother or cousin, who was living around Little Italy.
Two years after Santo arrived, Lucia, Paulina’s great grandmother, arrived in New York. She was only fourteen years old and described as being 5’3” with a “rosy complexion and chestnut hair.” She was traveling with her father, who was forty-nine, and her brother, Damiano, who was twelve years old at the time of their arrival. According to the records, they arrived on Ellis Island on April 18th, 1906, aboard the Nord America. Lucia came to America to wed Santo. Lucia and Santo may have been slightly related, which was more common back then, and that’s why she came all the way from Italy to marry him.
On May 3rd, 1906, more Librizzis and Brocatos arrived in America from Petralia, a town in Sicily. They were all headed to 3 Mulberry Street in Little Italy to stay with their cousin and nephew, Santo. Since so many people were headed to one address, they were asked by customs if they were polygamists and anarchists. It must have been a very crowded house.
Now here is where the story gets interesting. Family legend has it that Santo and his family had to flee back to Italy in order to escape The Black Hand, an Italian Mafia in New York. The Black Hand was an extension of the mafia in Serbia that had helped in the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, the assassination that started World War II. They were an infamous group in Europe and in the States. They would often send letters to their victims demanding money and threatening their lives. According to the family story, Santo received letters threatening to murder his sons, Victor and Leonard (Paulina’s grandfather), if they didn’t pay the price that the mafia demanded. Instead of paying up, Santo and his family fled back to the safety of Italy.
Santo returned to America on November 7th 1910 as a thirty year old man. He was traveling alone; leaving his wife and sons, now three years old and one year old, safely back in Petralia. Shortly after this, on May 11th, 1912, the records again show Santo arriving in New York from Petralia. He must have been traveling back and forth in order to make sure it was safe enough for his family to move back to New York.
Six months after Santo’s return to America, Lucia and the boys came to meet him in New York. They had traveled second class on the Duca D’Aosta, a ship from Southern Italy. Lucia had listed her father, Leonardo, as her closest relative in New York, but stated that she was headed to Rockaway to stay with her husband. Afterwards, the family settled in Queens where they remain to this day. Leonardo, Paulina’s great grandfather and Santo’s son, is still alive and always tells the story of how his father escaped the mafia and saved their lives.
Paulina actually traveled to Italy just a few years ago in order to meet her family still living there. It was the first time she had a chance to meet many her many cousins. Her cousin, Pietros, is studying abroad in London this year. Pietros has two sisters who are ten and twelve, and adored Paulina when they met her. Pietros’ great grandfather is Damiano, Lucia’s brother who came to America when he was only twelve years old. Maybe it was the threat of The Black Hand that drove him back to Italy. Maybe he just missed home.
It’s incredible to think about Santos life and all that he went through to start a new life for himself in a completely different world than what he was used to. He must have been terrified when the mafia tried to take that away from him when they threatened his family. However, Santos bravery and resilience made it possible for the family to continue on with their life in America, all while keeping his story and culture alive in his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Paulina doesn’t know much about her mother’s side of her family. Her grandparents on her mother’s side also emigrated from Italy, but instead of holding onto their culture and their story, they became more Americanized in order to fit in. Her grandfather quickly learned English and traded pasta for meat and potatoes. He didn’t tell his children about his life before America.
How regrettable it is to think about all the other immigrants who chose to stay silent and ignore their native culture in favor of a more American version of themselves. In doing so, they lost a part of themselves, an important story that should have been passed down to each generation. All humans feel the need to know where we came from and how we got here, and the only way to truly do that is to tell people your story, especially if it involves the Italian mafia.
