Italian American Archives
The Italian American Collection was established in 2005 through the generosity from the Northern Ohio Italian American Foundation, the Italian American Cultural Foundation, and the Order Italian Sons and Daughters of America. It preserves and documents the heritage and culture of Italian Americans and their families, organizations, and businesses in northeast Ohio. The collection is made available to the public in the WRHS Archives Library, with exhibitions at various venues, and through programming and publications.
Collecting Initiative
To build the Italian American Collection and ensure that it adequately documents the history of the Italians in this region, the curator is seeking a variety of manuscripts, records, photographs, and artifacts. The materials should relate to the Italian and Sicilian Americans of northeast Ohio and their culture, involvement in politics and business, work experiences, education, organizations and associations, and individual life experiences.
Specific examples include:
- Letters and other correspondence
- Diaries and journals
- Photographs and film/video/audio recordings
- Ledgers and receipts
- Family histories
- Newsletters and newspapers
- Passports
- Steamship tickets
- Naturalization papers
- Military documents
- Scrapbooks
- Cultural memorabilia, including food/winemaking equipment, articles used in religious processions or other types of ceremonies, tools used by craftsmen, works of art, handmade items, clothing
Contact
Pamela Dorazio Dean
Associate Curator for Italian American History
Western Reserve Historical Society
216/721-5722 x1523
pdean@wrhs.org