By Amanda Fugel Wagner College ’16 Italian Immigration to America Post 1924 On March 14, 1950, Carmela Martines started off her new life with her voyage to “the Great” USA. At 18 years old my grandma, also known as Nonna, made the journey to what she and her family considered to be the “Land Of Opportunity.” Coming to America was more than just an opportunity for my Nonna. She came here for work and to be reunited with her family again. Little did she know, that thanks to her brave move, our family would have something to carry on and support us from generation to generation. How Sicilian Ideals Got in The Way: “The peasants in the primarily poor, mostly rural south of Italy and on the island of Sicily had little hope of improving their lot. Diseases and natural disasters swept through the new nation, but its fledgling government was in no condition to bring aid to the people. As...