by Al Southwick

The role of Italians in American life continues to fascinate. Worcester County history is especially rich in that chapter of the immigrant saga in America, as shown by the project in Fitchburg where the Italian Cultural Center at Fitchburg State University is assembling an archive - letters, ledgers, diaries, photographs, artifacts - that will help preserve an important segment of Italian life in north central Massachusetts over the past century or so.

The Fitchburg project coincides nicely with the recent publication of Rev. Vincent Lapomarda's impressive book, "The Italians of Worcester County, Massachusetts." Rev. Lapomarda, a long-time member of the faculty at Holy Cross, has compiled an encyclopedic chronicle of the Italian story here and in surrounding communities over the last 150 years or so.

Read more

Source: http://www.telegram.com/