Italian American Food: Italian Background of Southern Italians

One of the most remarkable things about Italian American food, with its origins in southern Italy, becoming the favorite ethnic delight of the United States is how seldom the new Italian immigrants had eaten most of those dishes in their homeland. The late dissolution of feudal property relationships in Italy had left millions of rural people without direct ties to the land, impoverished, and in debt to middlemen known as “padrones.” Many immigrants recalled eating meat only three times a year: at Christmas, at Easter, and at the festa of the local saint. These celebrations, with food preparations beginning well ahead of time and food shared among all members of society, were so significant that Italian American immigrants were able to restore an entire cuisine from memories of those few days.