We The Italians | Explorers, Emigrants, Citizens #8

Explorers, Emigrants, Citizens #8

Explorers, Emigrants, Citizens #8

  • WTI Magazine #8 Dec 06, 2013
  • 1895

WTI Magazine #8    2013 Dec, 6

Author : Paolo Battaglia      Translation by:

 

November 27, 1872 - Sister Blandina Segale went to a mission in Trinidad, Colorado
Sister Blandina Segale was born Rosa Maria Segale near Genoa, and was four years old when she came to Ohio.
As a young nun, Segale was sent to Trinidad, Colorado, to teach. It "was a rough place when she entered it," wrote the Cincinnati Post, "gentle it was when she departed. Rude men reverenced her walking among them as she did, unafraid." Segale charmed the original Billy the Kid when she nursed his fellow outlaw; he later declined to rob a stagecoach she was traveling on out of respect. She went on to found a hospital and school in New Mexico and a center to help Italian immigrants in Ohio.

December 1, 1976 - "Rocky" premieres in Los Angeles
One of the greatest boxing movie in history is Italian American to the core.
"Rocky" was imagined, written, and played by a young Italian American actor who kicked off his extraordinary career with this movie: Sylvester Stallone. Released in 1976, followed by five sequels, tells the story of a small-time Philadelphia boxer, Rocky Balboa, known as the Italian Stallion. With the same determination shown by Stallone in convincing Hollywood producers to give him the leading role, Rocky finally challenges the World Champion, Apollo Creed. "Rocky" won the Oscar for best film and best director. In "Rocky III" a statue is dedicated to Rocky Balboa is placed in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In a short circuit between reality and fiction, the statue still stands at the foot of the staircase known as the Rocky Steps.

December 3, 1942 - Charles Poletti becomes the first Italian American governor of New York
When Governor Lehman resigned on December 3, 1942 to accept appointment as Director of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations for the United States Department of State, his deputy governor, Charles Poletti succeeded to the governorship. He served 29 days, the shortest term of any New York governor. He then joined the army as a colonel. As the Italian territory was freed from Nazi control, Poletti was assigned the role of military governor of Sicily, Naples, Rome, and Milan from 1943 to 1945. During his tenure he faced both everyday problems such as food supply and the moral and political reconstruction of the country.