Italians of Newark

Faith, family and food.

Between 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States. Tens of thousands flocked to Newark and reshaped a city. Many settled in the Old First Ward, which once claimed the title of largest Little Italy in New Jersey. Clubs like the Spilingese Social Club sprang up to provide support and camaraderie and dishes like giambotta made their way into everyone’s kitchens. 

Author Andrea Lyn Cammarato-Van Benschoten traces the roots of Newark’s Italian communities.