Vizzini family papers
Call Number
Date
Creator
Extent
Language of Materials
Abstract
A small collection documenting the lives of Italian immigrants Salvatore and Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini, who arrived in New York in the 1920s, settling first on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and later in Brooklyn. Included are certificates of birth and marriage, passports, naturalization papers, letters from family in Italy, and records preserved by Salvatore during his tenure as recording secretary of the Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York, a mutual aid society for fellow transplants from his native town of Racalmuto, Sicily.
Biographical / Historical
Salvatore Vizzini (1908–2007) was born in Racalmuto, a town in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily, Italy. In 1924 he emigrated to New York, where he met his future wife, Maddalena "Madeline" Tinebra (1912–2015), at a christening party in Manhattan. She was a fellow immigrant from Racalmuto who had arrived in the city in 1925. They were married in 1932 at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church on the Lower East Side and had two children, daughter Paolina "Pauline" in 1934 and son Calogero "Charles" in 1937. The Vizzinis lived at several addresses on the Lower East Side before eventually moving to Brooklyn, where they settled first in Williamsburg and finally in Homecrest, a neighborhood just north of Sheepshead Bay.
While Maddalena worked in the garment industry (a photograph captures her on a lunch break, seated at her sewing machine), Salvatore was employed as an iron worker, and was active in a number of labor and fraternal organizations. Chief among the latter was the Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York (Mutual Aid Society of Maria Santissima del Monte Among the Citizens of Racalmuto in New York), for which he served as recording secretary, and staged a passion play on Palm Sunday, 1937.
Daughter Pauline worked for a Fortune 500 corporation as well as the New York Public Library, and son Charles, who attended Columbia Law School, established his legal practice in Washington, D.C.
Arrangement
The collection is organized in three series devised by the archivist:
- Series I.
- Vizzini family documents and photographs, 1925–1972
- Series II.
- Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York records, 1922–1944, 1981
- Series III.
- Print matter, 1940–1996
Series I is sorted first by subject's name, then chronologically. Series II and III are sorted chronologically.
Scope and Contents
The Vizzini Family Papers document the lives and activities of Salvatore (1908–2007) and Maddalena "Madeline" (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912–2015), who emigrated from Racalmuto, Sicily, in the 1920s and met and married in New York, where they raised two children. The collection contains copies of Salvatore and Madeline's birth certificates, their Italian passports, engagement and wedding invitations, their marriage license and certificates, and U.S. naturalization papers. Salvatore attended evening school to learn English and study civics, and four notebooks record his exercises in letter writing, essays, and vocabulary. He was also active in fraternal organizations, such as the Legione dei Vespri (Vespers Legion), made up of men born in Sicily or whose paternal ancestry was Sicilian; the collection includes his dues book and copy of the legion's constitution.
Italians (like immigrants of various nationalities) formed mutual aid societies to provide support—social as well as financial, usually in the form of burial insurance—to their countrymen. Immigrants from the Vizzinis' hometown organized the Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York (Mutual Aid Society of Maria Santissima del Monte among the Citizens of Racalmuto in New York) around 1919. The society was named for and honored the town's patron saint, the Madonna del Monte, a statue of the Virgin Mary discovered in North Africa and brought to Racalmuto in 1503 (a pamphlet relaying this event and the miracles attributed to the statue is found in Box 2, Folder 11). Salvatore Vizzini was a member from at least 1928, and served as recording secretary beginning about 1938. In that capacity he preserved the documents present in the collection, which include the society's constitution and by-laws, membership applications, letters received from fellow Italian mutual aid societies, and announcements and fliers. One undated broadside shows an image of the Madonna with the text "M. SS. DEL MONTE la cui festa si celebra al 218 Chrystie St., in N.Y." (Maria Santissima Del Monte whose feast is celebrated at 218 Chrystie St., in N.Y."). The collection also includes Vizzini's lapel badges worn for society functions, and a 1939 photograph of the organization's 20th anniversary taken at the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity on Second Avenue.
Of historic interest are a number of forgotten Manhattan venues mentioned on documents throughout the collection, such as
• Beethoven Hall, 210 East 5th Street (Box 1, Folder 24)
• Broadway Central Hotel, 673 Broadway (Box 1, Folder 1)
• Central Opera House, 205 East 67th Street (Box 2, Folder 8)
• Great Central Palace, 90–96 Clinton Street (Box 1, Folder 20)
• National Theatre Building, Houston Street at Second Avenue (Box 2, Folder 4)
• Stuyvesant Casino, 140–142 Second Avenue (Box 1, Folder 21)
Rounding out the collection is a small assemblage of English and Italian-language print matter in the form of pamphlets and clippings on topics of Italian and Italian-American interest, such as poetry by Olindo Guerrini (1845–1916), and articles by fellow Racalmuto native Leonardo Sciascia (1921–1989).
Subjects
Genres
Topics
Access Restrictions
This collection may be stored offsite. To arrange to consult it, please go to www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.
Use Restrictions
Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org.
Preferred Citation
This collection should be cited as: Vizzini Family Papers, MS 3255, The New York Historical.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Pauline Vizzini, 2025 (accession no. PM-2025-002).
About this Guide
Processing Information
Archivist Joseph Ditta arranged and described this collection in September 2025.
Repository
Series I. Vizzini family documents and photographs, 1925-1972, inclusive
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Legione dei Vespri [Vespers Legion], circa 1927, 1933-1934, inclusive
Scope and Contents
A fraternal organization of men born in Sicily or whose paternal ancestry was Sicilian. Folder contains:
• "Costituzione Fondamentale e Leggi Generali della Legione dei Vespri" ["Fundamental Constitution and General Laws of the Vespers Legion"] (n.p., n.d., but amendment at end dated January 1, 1927).
• "Libretto di Pagamento" [dues book] for Salvatore Vizzini, 43 East 1st Street, New York, recording payments made 1933–1934. With "Tessera di Riconoscimento" [identification card] for Vizzini, dated December 22, 1933. Verso indicates the "Sicilia" centuria (the Vespers Legion's term for chapter) met the second Friday of every month at the Broadway Central Hotel, 673 Broadway.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). School certificates, 1928-1941, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Certificates documenting Vizzini's attendance at the City of New York Department of Education's Evening Elementary School and Summer School, and the W.P.A. Adult Education Program's English and citizenship classes.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). School notebooks [4 folders], 1930-1941, undated, inclusive
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Birth certificate (1908) copies [Italian], 1931, 1959, 1972, inclusive
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Photographs, 1932, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See also Box 3, Enclosure 1.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Letters from Italy [Italian], 1932-1933, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Letters addressed to Salvatore Vizzini (some containing dried leaves) in pre-printed envelopes for "Salvatore Maida, Italian American Grocery, Imported Cheese & Olive Oil, 43 [East] First St., U.S. of America, New York, N.Y." The salutation of each letter — "miei cari figli" ("my dear children") — indicates they were written by one of Vizzini's parents, Calogero Vizzini or Paola Maida. That Vizzini's mother was a Maida suggests Salvatore Maida was a relative. At the time of his death in 1939, Salvatore Maida was president and Vizzini was recording secretary of the Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York (Mutual Aid Society of Maria Santissima del Monte among the Citizens of Racalmuto in New York; see Series II). A final, undated letter is signed Giovanni Petruzzella.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Employment, 1934-1949, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "City of New York Municipal Civil Service Commission Experience Paper" filled out with Salvatore Vizzini's employment record as a blacksmith and iron worker, 1934–1949.
• Catalog of "Hand-Wrought Period Lamps & Reproductions" offered by the Beaux Art[s] Lamp & Novelty Company. With business cards. According to the donor, Vizzini conducted this business prior to 1937.
• Postal card addressed to Vizzini announcing a membership meeting of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (I.A.B.S.&O.I.W.) Shopmens Local 455 Union, May 26, 1944.
• Certificate authorizing Vizzini, employee of the J. W. Fiske Iron Works, to wear the Army-Navy Production Award Emblem (also known as the "E" or "Excellence in War Production Award"), circa 1942–1945.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Passport [Italian], 1939, inclusive
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). U.S. Naturalization papers, 1939-1944, inclusive
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). Italian Committee for the Defense of Immigrants, 1939-1941, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Receipts of Vizzini's contributions and membership dues.
Salvatore Vizzini (1908-2007). World War II ration books, 1942-1944, inclusive
Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912-2015). Passport [Italian], 1925-1926, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Joint passport for Maddalena Tinebra (later Vizzini), her stepmother, Calogera Farrauto (b. 1897), and half-brother, Luigi Tinebra (b. circa 1922).
Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912-2015). Photographs, 1932, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
See also Box 3, Enclosure 1.
Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912-2015). U.S. Naturalization papers, 1935, 1939, inclusive
Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912-2015). World War II ration books, 1942-1944, inclusive
Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini (1912-2015). Birth certificate (1912) copies [Italian], 1959, 1972, inclusive
Salvatore and Maddalena Vizzini. Engagement invitations [3 copies], 1932 January 24
Scope and Contents
The reception was held at the Great Central Palace, 90-96 Clinton Street, Manhattan.
Salvatore and Maddalena Vizzini. Wedding invitations [English and Italian; 2 copies], 1932 April 10
Scope and Contents
The ceremony took place at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph, Catherine at Monroe Streets, Manhattan, with the reception following at the Stuyvesant Casino, 140-142 Second Avenue. The invitation notes the bride's address was 144 Cherry Street, and that the couple's future address would be 67 East 4th Street.
Salvatore and Maddalena Vizzini. Marriage license and certificates [English and Italian], 1932, inclusive
Salvatore and Maddalena Vizzini. Wedding party photograph, 1932 April 10
Scope and Contents
Photographer's imprint reads "Italian Art Studio, 243 Grand St., N.Y.C."
Pauline Vizzini (b. 1934). World War II ration books, 1942-1944, inclusive
Charles Vizzini (b. 1937). Birth and baptism certificates, 1937, inclusive
Scope and Contents
New York Infirmary for Women and Children of the City of New York, hospital birth certificate for Calogero "Charles" Vizzini (April 14, 1937), with a certificate of baptism from the Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity, 44 Second Avenue, dated August 29, 1937. Includes an invitation to the joint baptismal reception for Pauline and Charles Vizzini, April 29, 1937, at Beethoven Hall, 210 East 5th Street, Manhattan.
Charles Vizzini (b. 1937). World War II ration books, 1942-1944, inclusive
Charles Vizzini (b. 1937). Junior high school notebook, 1948-1949, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Junior High School 234, today's W. A. Cunningham I.S. 234, 1875 East 17th Street, Brooklyn.
Charles Vizzini (b. 1937). High school notebook, 1951 June, inclusive
Scope and Contents
James Madison High School, 3787 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn.
Vizzini family pocket mirror photographs, [1920s-1940s], inclusive
Scope and Contents
Eighteen celluloid portraits, most tinted, and mounted to metal pocket-sized mirrors, 7 rectangular, 8 oval, and 4 circular. One of the circular photographs is actually a small lapel pin. Some photographs document the Roman Catholic sacraments of first communion, confirmation, and marriage. Others are baby or adult portraits. None of the images are identified, but Salvatore and Maddalena (Tinebra) Vizzini and their children Pauline and Charles are recognizable. An older couple might be Maddalena's father and stepmother, Vincenzo and Caologera (Farrauto) Tinebra.
Collection documentation and donor's notes, 2025, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Covers of envelopes and folders that held the collection, with the donor's notes and explanations.
Series II. Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York records, 1922-1944, 1981, inclusive
Constitution and by-laws, 1922-1939, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "Statuto Fondamentale della Società di Mutuo Soccorso Maria SS.ma del Monte Fra i Cittadini di Racalmuto in New York" ["Fundamental Statute of the Mutual Aid Society of Maria Santissima del Monte Among the Citizens of Racalmuto in New York"] (New York: V. Grassi, [1923]). Contains handwritten annotations to by-laws throughout. The admission certificate at front is filled in for Salvatore Vizzini, age 20. Back pages record Vizzini's society dues paid 1928–1940.
• Loose sheets of manuscript amendments to by-laws, 1922–1937.
• Broadside, "Nuove Leggie ed Emendamenti" ["New Laws and Amendments"], April 2, 1939.
• "Rituale per assemblee, consigli, commissioni e comitati delle Società Italiane di Mutuo Soccorso negli Stati Uniti D'America" ["Ritual for assemblies, councils, commissions and committees of Italian Mutual Aid Societies in the United States of America"] (n.p., n.d.).
Membership applications (blank), 1930s, inclusive
Letters from other mutual aid societies, 1932-1939, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Letters from fellow New York-area Italian mutual aid societies.
• Società Mutuo Soccorso Castrofilippo, New York City
• Loggia Fiume Italica No. 971 O. F. D. I. [Ordine Figli e Figlie d'Italia = Order Sons and Daughters of Italy]
• Società di Mutuo Soccorso Francofonte
• Società di Mutuo Soccorso Fra Cittadini di Grotte, Inc.
• Società di Mutuo Soccorso Cittadini Napoletani e della Campania
• Società di Mutuo Soccorso La Nuova Grotte
• Società Racalmutese della Madonna del Monte di Mutuo Soccorso (Buffalo, New York)
• Ribera Mutual Society
• Società San Gennaro
Announcements and fliers, 1935-1944, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Printed postal cards and fliers inviting society members to regular meetings, funerals, and other events. One broadside, with an image of the society's patron saint, reads "M. SS. Del Monte la cui festa si celebra al 218 Chrystie St., in N.Y." ["Maria Santissima Del Monte whose feast is celebrated at 218 Chrystie St., in N.Y."]
Correspondence (drafts), 1939, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Letters drafted by Salvatore Vizzini, recording secretary.
Passion play [3 folders], 1937 March 21
Scope and Contents
On Palm Sunday, March 31, 1937, the Racalmuto Dramatic Company, under the auspices of the Società di M. S. Maria SS. del Monte, staged a performance of the passion play "Il Mortorio, ovvero Vita, Passione, Morte e Resurrezione di Nostro Signore Gesú Cristo. Tragedia Sacra in un Prologo e Tre Atti" ["Il Mortorio, or the Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Sacred Tragedy in a Prologue and Three Acts"], an adaption of Filippo Orioles's play "Il Riscatto D'Adamo Nella Morte di Gesú Cristo" ["The Redemption of Adam in the Death of Jesus Christ"]. The published play is accompanied by a manuscript version in the hand of Salvatore Vizzini (who directed the production) entitled "Il Riscatto D'Adamo nella morte Di Gesú Cristo, ovvero il mortorio di Cristo. Tragedia in un prologo, cinque atti e un riepilogo, di Filippo Orioles, palermitano. Riprodotta per le scene moderne di G. Pitrè" ["The Redemption of Adam in the Death of Jesus Christ, or the Mortuary of Christ. A tragedy in a prologue, five acts, and a summary, by Filippo Orioles, a native of Palermo. Reproduced for modern scenes by G. Pitrè"]. Includes two printed tickets (in Italian) to the performance at the Central Opera House, 205 East 67th Street. Entrance for ladies cost $.50; for men, $1.00.
Expenses and income, 1937, inclusive
Insignia, 1938, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Reversible lapel badge/ribbon, one side with green, white, and red stripes, the other in black for funerals, both reading "SOCIETÀ DI MUTUO SOCCORSO DI MARIA SS. DEL MONTE FRA I CITTADINI DI RACALMUTO NEW YORK."
• White lapel badge/ribbon marked "REC. SECRETARY" and "SOCIETÀ MARIA SS. DEL MONTE DI RACALMUTO BALLO 28 MAGGIO 1938."
• Small white enamel lapel pin reading "S-M-SS-DEL-MONTE FRA I CITTADINI DI RACALMTI N. Y." With accompanying pouch.
• Small oblong envelope stamped "G. LOFORTE | BAGS, UNIFORMS, BADGES | 215 GRAND ST., NEW YORK."
Photograph. "Twentieth Anniversary of the Society Maria SS. Del Monte at the Nativity Church", 1939 May 21
Scope and Contents
The Roman Catholic Church of the Nativity was located at 44 Second Avenue, Manhattan.
"Memorie Storiche Intorno alla Madonna del Monte in Racalmuto" (Naro, Sicily: Bordone), 1981, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Pamphlet on the "Historical Memories Around the Madonna del Monte of Racalmuto," Sicily, describing the miracles attributed to this statue of the Virgin Mary.
Series III. Print matter, 1940-1996, inclusive
Pamphlets, publications [English and Italian], 1940-1992, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Gaetano Salvemini, "Italian Fascist Activities in the U.S. William Y. Elliott, Why Tolerate Mussolini's Agents?" (Washington, D.C.: American Council on Public Affairs, 1940).
• "Little Italy Souvenir Book," [1980s].
• Girolamo M. Morreale S.J., "Padre Elia Lauricella" (Racalmuto, Sicily: Amici di Padre Elia, 1983). With tipped-in leaflet on the life of Giuseppe Elia Lauricella (1707–1780), holy native of Racalmuto, whose remains were transferred to the sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Monte there in 1965.
• "Sicilia Parra: Bi-annual Newsletter of Arb Sicula, an International Organization Promoting the Culture and Language of Sicily," new series, vol. 1, no. 1 (June 1989).
• "The Waverly Consort Program Guide," vol. 7, no. 1, "The Year 1492: Musical Portraits from Italy in the Age of Columbus" (1992). With program for the Waverly Consort's January 18, 1992 concert at Town Hall, "Shaping the Invisible: Musical Portraits from Italy in the Age of Columbus."
• C. Picone-Chiodo, "Spiritualismo e Criminalità (Il Delinquente e La Difesa Sociale)" (Milan: La Lotta Contro Il Delitto, n.d.)
Poetry [Italian], 1920, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Lorenzo Stecchetti [pseudonym of Olindo Guerrini (1845–1916)], "Postuma Conzoniere" (Milan: Casa Editrice Bietti, 1920).
• Lorenzo Stecchetti [pseudonym of Olindo Guerrini (1845–1916)], "Nova Polemica" (Milan: Casa Editrice Bietti, 1920).
• Pamphlet of Italian poetry by an unidentified author, lacking cover, title page, and publication date.
Clippings [English and Italian], 1954-1996, undated, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Martin L. Gross, "How America 'Borrowed' the A-Bomb," TRUE: The Man's Magazine, vol. 34, no. 291 [201?] (February 1954) [photocopy].
• "You May Soon Hum Your Favorite Verdi to a Different Tune," unidentified newspaper, November 27, 1978.
• Leonardo Sciascia, "L'Omaggio di Racalmuto al suo Pietro D'Asaro," Il Progresso, December 2, 1984 [article on the life and words of painter and Racalmuto native Pietro D'Asaro (1597–1647)].
• Bruce Lambert, "John N. LaCorte, 81, Champion of Italians and Columbus Day," The New York Times, November 22, 1991 [reprint clipped from Justice, official publication of the ILGWU].
• "Giannini, banchiere d'America," undated review from an unidentified newspaper of Felice A. Bonadio's 1994 biography, "A. P. Giannini, Banker of America."
• Leonardo Sciascia, "Il lungo viaggio," L'Unita, February 11, 1995.
• Lauchlin Mac Neil, "Proud Tradition of Italian Heritage is Safe in His Hands," Brooklyn, Bay News, September 23, 1996 [photocopy].
• Page apparently from a newsletter of the Italian Historical Society of America. One side has a photo of supporters of Antonio Meucci, inventor of the telephone, at Meucci Square in Gravesend, Brooklyn.
Clippings (oversize) [Italian], 1968-1986, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• "Domenica Del Corriere," September 17, 1968.
• "Il Progresso. Supplemento Illustrato Dell Domenica," May 30, 1982 [issued for the centennial of the death of Giuseppe Garibaldi].
• "Giustizia" [Italian language edition of International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union organ], vol. 68, no. 11 (December 1986). Address label for Madeline Vizzini, 1944 East 17th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11229.
Miscellaneous, 1904, 1978, inclusive
Scope and Contents
• Real photo postcard with portrait of Italian operatic tenor Francesco Tamagno (1850–1905), postmarked 1904.
• Funeral prayer card for Racalmuto, Sicily native Calogero Romano (1908–1978).