Lindsay Marie Morris

I was born in Milwaukee, a place known for beer and bratwurst. But starting in the 1890s, it was also home to significant numbers of Italian immigrants, particularly from Sicily.

My nonna and her family settled in Milwaukee in the late 1930s. She and my nonno, who arrived after World War II, shopped at Sicilian-owned Glorioso's and Peter Sciortino's Bakery. 

In later years, Nonno would meet us at Milwaukee's Festa Italiana, the city's longest-running ethnic festival, where we'd eat arancini and cannoli, watch folk singers and dancers, and stay for the Bartolotta fireworks. 

I recently stumbled upon Storia Italia: Milwaukee, a documentary that aired on Milwaukee Public Television. While broadcast in 2015, the themes remain relevant, and it was a joy to see familiar names, faces, and storefronts. This was the Milwaukee that my family knew.

The documentary not only highlights Milwaukee's historically Italian neighborhoods—the Third Ward, Brady Street on Milwaukee's lower east side, and Bayview—but also shares personal stories of what these immigrants had to overcome, the contributions of Italians to Brew City, and reflections on what it means to be Italian in Milwaukee today. 

I reached out to producer Maryann Lazarski to learn more about the making of this important documentary.

A veteran broadcast journalist, television producer, and educator, Maryann produced and managed Milwaukee's ABC affiliate, WISN-TV, for 20 years. More recently, she retired after a decade at Milwaukee PBS, where she produced a newsmagazine program and documentaries for broadcast and digital. Maryann has taught broadcast journalism and communications at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Cardinal Stritch University. She currently teaches a multimedia news storytelling class at her alma mater (and mine), Marquette University. She also serves as president of the Milwaukee Press Club, the oldest continuously operating press club in North America.

What inspired the creation of Storia Italia: Milwaukee?

This was the first documentary I produced for Milwaukee PBS (Milwaukee Public Television, MPTV, at the time). National PBS was airing a series called The Italian Americans, and the station wanted to have a local documentary to tie into the national broadcast.

So, I decided to visit Milwaukee's Italian Community Center, which displays hundreds of photographs of local Italian immigrants. At the time, I met with the center's historian, who was a wealth of information.

Milwaukee's Central Library. Carol M. Highsmith Photography

How did Italian immigrants contribute to the development of Milwaukee?

Many of the immigrants were artisans/sculptors who helped beautify the city's grandest buildings, including Central Library along Wisconsin Avenue, with Italian marble and tile. The immigrant men worked in factories and on the railroads, and others became entrepreneurs, primarily in the grocery business.

What challenges did the first Italian immigrants face when they arrived in Milwaukee?

As mentioned in the documentary, the language was a challenge for the immigrants. Even among the different "groups," they had different dialects, so it was often hard for them to communicate with each other. They didn't know how to read and write.

Housing was limited. Some lived with relatives who already arrived in Milwaukee.

Many were unskilled, so they learned trades or worked in the factories or on the railroads.

Tell us about the core neighborhoods where Italians settled and some of the businesses that reflect that history.

In Milwaukee's Third Ward—as mentioned in the documentary—was an area called Commission Row, where fruits and vegetables would be delivered. Other small Italian meat and grocery markets popped up there. Other Italians migrated to Brady Street on the lower east side of Milwaukee. 

 
Blessed Virgin of Pompeii Church. Photo courtesy of Pompeii Men's Club.

You mention the Blessed Virgin of Pompeii Church. What role did the so-called Little Pink Church have in the community? 

The Little Pink Church was a sacred space for the Italian immigrants to gather and share their Catholic faith. During this time, they also had church street festivals and honored Mary. The Italians were heartbroken when the church was bulldozed to expand the highway. There's still a marker commemorating where it once stood. That's when many moved to Brady Street and attended St. Rita of Casia church on the east side of Milwaukee.

The developer of the senior community center and housing is also Italian. He wanted to bring back the Little Pink Church, so he incorporated a new Little Pink Church into the complex.

Fest Italiana mass. Photo courtesy of Pompeii Men's Club.

How have Italian-Americans preserved and celebrated their heritage in Milwaukee?

Festa Italiana is a popular summer festival along the lakefront on the Henry Maier Festival Grounds. Milwaukee is known for its ethnic festivals throughout the summer.  

Along Brady Street—where Italian immigrants once settled—there is an iconic Italian market called Glorioso's that's celebrating nearly 80 years. They just sold to new owners but will keep the traditions there intact. 

On another part of town, in an area called Bay View, there's another iconic Italian corner market called Groppi's. 

What do you hope viewers will take away from Storia Italia: Milwaukee?

Storia Italia is a story about immigrants and community. I would like viewers to listen carefully and appreciate what these immigrants went through to seek better lives and contribute to a city like Milwaukee. Their dedication to their faith is something to be admired and respected. Those of us who live here certainly appreciate the Italian and Sicilian culture and what they brought to our community, including a strong work ethic, camaraderie, Italian art, and, of course, great food! 

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New Orleans is renowned for its cuisine. But when it comes to several of its most iconic dishes, some credit should go to the area's Sicilian transplants, says Louisiana historian Laura Guccione. 

"If you think about something like shrimp creole with tomatoes in it, a lot of people have said that it definitely has a Sicilian influence," says Laura. "And if you go to a restaurant here, a lot of places have stuffed artichokes on the menu. That's definitely directly from Sicily."

Curious about the Sicilian origins of Louisiana's plants and foods, the Delgado Culinary School graduate pursued a master's in urban studies at the University of New Orleans. Her graduate thesis evolved into two New Orleans history book manuscripts, one on St. Joseph's Day and the other on Sicilians and Creole Cuisine, both currently under peer review by LSU Press. 

I caught up with Laura to learn more about how Sicilians colored New Orleans's rich history. She shared some of the more surprising food contributions and how Sicilian corner stores promoted what's become known as New Orleans cuisine.

What is your background?

I'm a native New Orleanian but grew up in the suburbs. My father's a hundred percent Sicilian. His story is interesting because his father was born in Louisiana, but in Lettsworth, Louisiana, which is north of Baton Rouge and sugar cane country. His grandfather did not like it here, so they went back to Sicily. So, my grandfather was an American citizen. He was born here but was raised in Sicily. He came back as a teenager at 17 and then lived in New Orleans. I still have direct cousins in Sicily because his brother stayed in Sicily.

My mother's family is from the very beginning of New Orleans. They're a Creole family, also Scots-Irish. 

I grew up here, worked in the service industry for about 30 years, tending bar, and then decided to go back to school after Hurricane Katrina. 

I went to culinary school, but I soon realized that as much as I loved restaurants, food, and cooking, I was really more interested in history. So, a few years later, I went back to get my master's degree from the University of New Orleans.

How did the challenges Sicilian immigrants faced influence their culinary contributions?

Sicilians assimilated quicker than most places, so I think it's harder to see what they've done. They immediately spread all over the city, including on the West Bank, uptown, downtown, and outside of New Orleans, because many of them came to work the sugarcane fields. 

They were basically migrant workers. They would come here, spend time in Louisiana, then go to Chicago and go up to where other things were being harvested. 

They went back and forth, which contributed to agriculture. Many Sicilians had small farms outside of New Orleans, almost within the city limits. 

What happened with the Sicilians is that they contributed a lot to Creole cuisine. It's not as obvious as an actual dish, with the exception of the muffuletta and a few other things that are obviously Sicilian.

They were changing cuisine here because what they were growing was what they were familiar with. They were coming back and forth so they could bring seeds and plants. They were going into the field of producing, growing, producing, and distributing fruits, vegetables, and even oysters and fish. 

In the history of recipes, you can see that as more and more Sicilians come here, you see a change in what's being used. For example, everybody talks about the trinity [onions, bell peppers, and celery]. Paul Prudhomme was the first one to start using that. I talked to his sous chef recently, and he said Paul only really cooked with celery once he got here. Where does celery come from? It comes from Sicily.

A lot of old gumbo recipes barely have anything in them. Through the years, you see more onions; you see more celery and peppers. Because what do they eat in Sicily more than anything? Peppers, onions, celery, and tomatoes.

What's a surprising Sicilian contribution to New Orleans cuisine?

If you look at the history of the poor boy, it was created by the Martin Brothers. But they went to their Sicilian baker neighbor to have the bread made. 

Baguettes from France are long and skinny with pointy ends. They went to their neighbor and said, "We need to change this because we want to make these sandwiches, but we don't want to lose that end. We want something rounder and wider."

So Sicilians and the Martin Brothers created this loaf of bread that is now synonymous with the city.  And what do people come here for? Poor boys.

Another contribution is the muffuletta. Can you describe its creation?

No one will probably be able to prove how it really started. There's Central Grocery and a place a couple of doors down called Progress. They both said that they created the muffuletta. Progress is gone, so it's pretty much accepted that it was created at Central Grocery. 

The story goes that Central Grocery sold the bread, which, if you go to Sicily, the muffuletta is just a round bread. Sometimes, people would serve it hot with olive oil and fennel seeds on it, but it's just bread. It's not a sandwich in Sicily.

Central Grocery had the bread and all the pieces; they would sell the salami, cheese, and olives in the big barrels and bundle up stuff for the men to go to work. 

One day, they said, "Why don't we just put it all together and make this easier?"

That's an example of a Sicilian-owned grocery store having an impact. What is the history of these stores?

At one point, probably in the early 1900s, maybe even heading into the mid-1900s, most of the grocery stores were owned by Sicilians or their children. They tended to be on a corner, and you didn't have a major grocery store, so that's where you probably got everything. You probably knew the people. And then there are lots of stories where the Sicilian families would let people buy on credit. So, there was definitely dependence upon the neighborhood, and the neighborhood depended on the grocers, who sold everything from flour to clothes.

Mandina's Restaurant and Napoleon House both started off as grocery stores. Most of these places started off as grocery stores, became bars, and then became restaurants. 

The story with Napoleon House is that the owner at the time said, "We'll make some sandwiches." And then it just evolved from there. Now, it's probably one of the most famous restaurants in the world.

What is your goal in writing about Sicilian-New Orleans cuisine and culture?

I really just want to shine a light on what I feel is a somewhat neglected history. I want something that could be used as a reference later. It's like all this work I'm doing is not just for me but for posterity. 

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