Oral and Photographic History Project

In the early 2000s, the Italians of Montclair Oral and Photographic History Project provided digitization for photographs, documents, and personal artifacts of Italians and Italian Americans in Montclair, with the mission to uncover, record, and preserve the precious traces of the Italian American community in Montclair from the late 19th century through the early 21st century.

Researchers from Montclair State University met with seniors from the local Italian American community to share the project’s vision. Participants in these early meetings brought some photos and artifacts that became the first materials digitized by the project.

The gallery below includes foundational documents of the project, including the interview guide and recruitment materials.

The project digitized hundreds of documents, photographs, and objects, which can be viewed by visiting the Family Collection tag, and conducted over 50 oral history interviews with Italian American Montclair residents. The gallery below pictures participants in the project.

Library Exhibit

In the 2000s, the Montclair Public Library hosted an exhibit and associated programming on the history of the Italian American community in Montclair, curated by Donato DiGeronimo and drawing on materials from the Oral and Photographic History Project.

Pignatiello Family

In the early 2000s, the Italians of Montclair Oral and Photographic History Project provided digitization for photographs, documents, and personal artifacts of Italians and Italian Americans in Montclair, with the mission to uncover, record, and preserve the precious traces of the Italian American community in Montclair from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. This collection was generously provided for digitization by the Pignatiello family.

To view other collections digitized through the project, visit the Family Collection tag.

Aquilonia

Scenes from Aquilonia, Italy, a city in the Avellino region of Campania from which many Italians immigrated to Montclair.

Montclair maintains an active connection with Aquilonia through the efforts of Raffaele Marzullo, who championed the town’s designation as Montclair’s sister city. In celebration of the partnership, members of the Montclair town council have visited Aquilonia and Aquilonians visited New Jersey and New York.

The Aquilonia Club, located just across the street from Our Lady of Mount Carmel, has been a fixture in the community for over forty years, serving as a gathering space for Italian-Americans from the region. Today, it remains one of the last active groups representing this particular area, with many first-generation immigrants from Aquilonia still active in the community.

History Center Exhibit

In 2004 and 2005, the Montclair History Center hosted two exhibits based on the oral histories, photographs, and ephemera collected by the Italians of Montclair Oral and Photographic History Project.

Community members were invited to the exhibit with the invitations and press materials below.

The gallery below shows the exhibit materials, as well as the audience at the opening reception.

In addition to the physical displays, the exhibit featured a rotating film of photos collected through the Oral and Photographic History Project, shown below (split across two galleries due to number of images).

The exhibit was also covered in the Italian press.

Tango and Nicastro Families

In the early 2000s, the Italians of Montclair Oral and Photographic History Project provided digitization for photographs, documents, and personal artifacts of Italians and Italian Americans in Montclair, with the mission to uncover, record, and preserve the precious traces of the Italian American community in Montclair from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. This collection was generously provided for digitization by Vinny Tango.

To view other collections digitized through the project, visit the Family Collection tag.

Rocco Family

In the early 2000s, the Italians of Montclair Oral and Photographic History Project provided digitization for photographs, documents, and personal artifacts of Italians and Italian Americans in Montclair, with the mission to uncover, record, and preserve the precious traces of the Italian American community in Montclair from the late 19th century through the early 21st century. This collection was generously provided for digitization by the Rocco family.

To view other collections digitized through the project, visit the Family Collection tag.