About Il risorgimento italiano nel Maryland. (Baltimore, Md.) 1922-19??
Baltimore, Md. (1922-19??)

Il Risorgimento Italiano nel Maryland

Il Risorgimento Italiano nel Maryland was a weekly newspaper published in Baltimore. Its title refers to the movement that led to the unification of Italy as a sovereign nation in 1861. The newspaper served a growing Italian population in Baltimore, Maryland which initially was concentrated in the Little Italy neighborhood between the Inner Harbor and Fells Point. Politically active, Baltimore's Italian community was led by the d'Alessandro family that produced two city mayors and two members of Congress, including Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

Il Risorgimento Italiano nel Maryland was published by the Italian Revival Company, whose president was local businessperson Vincent Ambrose. The editor was Professor Camillo Baucia (1863-1943), an immigrant from Cuneo in the northwestern Piedmont region of Italy. Baucia was a professionally trained musician who gained a national reputation for his demonstrations of endurance on the piano. He reportedly could play the piano nonstop for 50 straight hours or more, and exhibited this talent via marathon performances at Baltimore's Lyric Theater and in other parts of the country. The energetic Professor Baucia also threw himself into the social and cultural life of Baltimore's Italian community. He organized events such as the Garibaldi Society picnic in 1922 and promoted the annual celebrations of Columbus Day. He was also president of the Baltimore chapter of the Dante National Association. Il Risorgimento Italiano nel Maryland covered these and the activities of other Italian organizations and institutions in Baltimore. The paper's advertisements provide a window into the businesses that sustained the local Italian community.

Politically, Baucia was allied with the Democratic Party. Local, ethnic-based groups like the 5th Ward Democratic Party Club in East Baltimore were the foundation of a party machine that dispensed patronage and got out the vote. Overturning Prohibition was a shared goal for native and immigrant Democrats in the city. However, Camillo Baucia's Italian patriotism eventually led to trouble for Il Risorgimento Italiano nel Maryland. He covered the news about developments in Italy, but he also became enamored with Benito Mussolini's rise to power in his homeland and was an outspoken defender of Mussolini's Fascism. He led attempts to form a Fascist group in Baltimore, and his activism caused divisions in the local community between Baucia's supporters and those who deemed Mussolini a threat to democratic and civic values. These controversies and the economic impact of the Great Depression led to the demise of Il Risorgimento Italian nel Maryland in 1930.

Provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD