As executive director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, Marianna Gatto has made it her life’s work to celebrate L.A.’s rich and largely unknown Italian legacy. Los Angeles is all too well known for its Hollywood heavies, rock stars and thriving Latino culture. But as Marianna Gatto will gladly tell you, Italian roots run rich and deep there in ways unlike any other American metropolis.

Gatto, who serves as the executive director of the Italian American Museum of Los Angeles, dreamt of forming the institution that she now runs ever since first setting foot in an abandoned Italian gathering place while growing up. She went on to restore the hall and transform it into a vibrant celebration of L.A.’s largely unknown Italian history, culture and everyday life. A soon-to-be-released book by Angel City Press will highlight Gatto’s recent research.