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Note: This article appeared in the Volume 6, Number 3 FootPrints issue.
In 1900, according to the United States Census, the reported population of the State of Nevada was 42,335; Washoe County, 9,141; and the City of Reno, 4,500. By the 1910 census, the figures had ballooned to: State of Nevada 81,875; Washoe County 17,434; and City of Reno 10,867.
Greater detail revealed 280 individuals in Washoe County who identified Italy as their birthplace in the 1900 census. Ten years later, 912 reported Italy as their birthplace, an increase of over three-fold.
The development of an ethnic enclave in the western section of Reno's Powning's Addition, which became known as "Little Italy," was the result of this sizeable and steady increase. The population in Powning's almost doubled from 137 in 1900 to 270 in 1910.
Powning's had affordable lots for residences. A majority of the houses, mostly vernacular bungalows, had enough land for an additional unit in the back plus space for a garden. Many residents had small vineyards that were harvested for wine making. Vineyards and gardens in Italy reflected economic stability, and were a distinct element of cultural heritage.
Reno provided these new immigrants with stable employment which, combined with the ability of Italians to save discretionary income, provided a means to acquire real estate.
Who settled in this area? Families with names like Minetto, Dondero, Pizorno, Gardella, Zunino, and Picolini, to name just a few. A recent property census still reveals many of these names.
Larry Pizorno, nephew of Link and Chet Piazzo, lives on Winter Street. Link and Chet Piazzo's father, Santino, bought the property in the first decade of the 20th century and built a small structure, which was remodeled by Pizorno's grandparents, Nick and Virginia Pizorno. Virginia was the sister of Santino Piazzo's wife.
Virginia Pizorno and another sister, Mary Romano, were two of the first Italian immigrant women to have a successful business in the downtown area of Reno, the Dainty Cake Bakery. The bakery operated for many years and after World War II, when Virginia and Nick's son returned from duty, he added a soda fountain.
Olga Gardella Zunino lives on Keystone Avenue in the brick bungalow built by her parents in the 1910s. Olga's father was a ditch tender for the power company. True to tradition, there is still a rental in the back and beautiful fruit trees.
Archangelo and Amelia Dondero were early immigrants who realized the importance of real estate investments. The Dondero residence, on the corner of Winter and First Street, also had an adjacent boarding house that housed immigrant railroad workers. These two structures are now offices for a law firm.
Like many Italians, Giovani Ginocchio played a role in the building of the Central Pacific Railroad and was an example of "return migration." Giovani returned to Italy, married and had several children.
One of his sons, Andrew Ginocchio, immigrated to the United States at the turn of century and became an astute business man. Andrew and his wife Viola resided with their family at 801 South Arlington; the home is a Paul William design. Andrew Ginocchio began work at the Reno Blacksmith shop in 1906 on Arlington Avenue. He eventually bought the shop, changed the name to Reno Iron Works and moved the operation to Keystone Avenue in the 1960s. His daughter, Andrea Ginocchio Pelter, still owns the residence and is CEO of Reno Iron Works, her father's business located on Keystone Avenue.
Devincenzi, born in 1870, left his home near Varese Ligure in Northern Italy and went to Genoa, Italy. He joined the crew of a ship that sailed around the tip of South America to San Francisco. Devincenzi left San Francisco in 1907 and traveled to Dayton, Nevada where he worked on ranches until 1910.
Devincenzi then moved to Reno, lived on Winter Street and worked as a security guard for the Reno Asylum for a short time. That same year, he joined the Reno Police Department, the first Italian to do so. He eventually purchased Eddie Floral Shop on West Street, two blocks from his residence on Winter Street. He bought special seeds from Holland and other European countries to sell to Italian farmers in Reno. He continued this business until his death in 1941.
Antonio Minetto, who came to Reno in 1902 and resided on Winter Street, became a "marriage broker." His marriage brokering started because he had several poor nieces in Urbe, Italy who needed husbands. He would look over prospective grooms and then send for one of his nieces. This is one example of chain migration, a process where settlers in a region communicate with their fortner countrymen and arrange for them to migrate to the same area.
This is merely a glimpse of some of the Italians who found their way to Reno in the early part of the 20th Century. Achievement did not come easily for immigrants then, nor does it now. But the immigrants that settled in Little Italy persevered, they "Americanized" and sent their children on to better lives. That is The American Dream, isn't it?
This article was written by Felvia Belaustegui, President of HRPS. Felvia has a Masters degree in Historic Preservation and serves on the Reno Historic Resources Commission (HRC).
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