The old saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words” can literally apply to my vintage Leto family portrait (circa 1923). Therefore, you might say this famiglia photo of my Italian immigrant grandparents and their second-generation children has a story of at least a thousand words. Many of us who cherish and share our old family photos know that each have a story to tell.

Today, many of us that share in our Italian American heritage love to reminisce of the way things were, and our old family photos help us in our nostalgic journey. This well-staged family portrait is a precious heirloom, a museum quality artifact, a forever keepsake to us who were so fortunate to call Francesco and Caterina (Tropiano) Leto our grandparents. My paternal grandparents were part of the well-documented mass immigration during the mid-19th and early 20th centuries.