CLUB NEWS
WINTER 2020 Italian American Digest PAGE 8
St . Expedite and St . Rosalia Lodges of Louisiana
It is estimated that over 200,000 residents of Louisiana are a descendant of an ancestor from Sicily or Italy . In the late 1700s , the Sicilian lemon was in demand for sailors as a preventative to scurvy . Since it aged well , lemons were shipped from Palermo to New Orleans . By the 1830s , Sicilians were migrating to New Orleans .
A combination of the Italian War of Unification , the American Civil War , and the Transcontinental Railroad led to approximately 60,000 Sicilians migrating to Louisiana from 1884-1920 . The State of Louisiana has just given permission to erect
By Charles Marsala
six historic markers describing the contributions and achievements of Sicilians in the French Quarter area of New Orleans that was once called “ Little Palermo .”
These markers have a “ Flow Code ” on them that links a cell phone to a self-guided tour of forty Sicilian & Italian points of interest in Little Palermo , New Orleans Metro , and Louisiana . The tour has video interviews embedded in it from the WLAE-TV Show “ Celebrating Culture ” which airs Sundays at 9pm . Eight episodes of the show feature local Italian celebrities .
The monthly ISDA newsletter provides a critical niche of monthly communication for us in Louisiana and compliments our quarterly Italian Digest . Please tell your Italian and Sicilian friends in Louisiana to join the ISDA to receive monthly updates as we lobby to keep Columbus Day a day of honor for our ancestors and inspiration for future generations , plan Bocce Tournaments , honor leaders at the Italia Sports Banquet , give thanks on St . Joseph ’ s Day , and petition for good health through St . Rosalia and business success through St . Expedite .