In 1902, 22-year-old Pietro Nelli, like so many immigrants before him, boarded a ship and left Italy to seek a better future in America. At that age, he could have never imagined what lay before him. It’s possible he saw himself as a loving father and husband — which he was. And perhaps even a successful businessman — ditto. But it’s unlikely he would have guessed that, one day, he would live on a Seattle street nicknamed Millionaire’s Row in a house designed by famed local architect Fred Bassetti.
Nelli was born in 1880 in the province of Lucca. When he arrived in the Pacific Northwest, he worked in the coal mines of Black Diamond – often the first job for many newly arrived Italians. In 1905, he returned to Lucca to marry Theresa Pennacchi – a marriage that would last nearly 59 years.
