Italians in Arkansas: Father Pietro Bandini and Tontitown
The story of Italians in Arkansas started in Greenwich Village, New York. Following il Risorgimento, the unification of Italy, southern Italians fled poverty in the Mezzogiorno emigrating to seek better opportunities in New York. The surge of peasant Italians often fell prey to exploitation. In 1890, Father Pietro Bandini left Italy and founded the St.…