By Cynthia Chen

When Giobanni Amicangioli first immigrated here from Italy in 1901, he faced discrimination, low wages, and little help from the government. He settled in Thompsonville, one of Newton's lesser-known villages, where in 1915 he started the Italian Benevolent Society, Filippo Corsi, offering financial and social support to struggling Italian immigrants.

"I am proud that he is my grandfather,'' said Frederick Amicangioli recently. "He did a lot for the people of Thompsonville at that time. "When he came here in the early 1900s, there was no welfare,'' he continued. "There was no food stamps or anything. You were on your own. So they formed an insurance plan."

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Source: https://www.bostonglobe.com/