Italian arts and culture have been a significant influence on Philadelphia dating back to Thomas Jefferson and colonial times. Throughout the ensuing decades, Italian art and architecture styles flourished, and wealthy Philadelphians traveled to Italy and brought back objects to display in emerging institutions of art and culture. New immigration formed neighborhoods-such as South Philly, home to the Italian Market-and Italian business leaders, politicians, artists, musicians and sports figures came to prominence and became part of the social fabric of the city. This glorious volume, The Italian Legacy in Philadelphia, celebrates the history, impact, and legacy of this vibrant community, tracing four periods of key transformation in the city's political, economic, and social structures. The editors and contributors chronicle the changing dynamics of the city as Italian immigrants established themselves and as they continue to have lively interactions with people and institutions in Italy. Interdisciplinary essays, along with nearly 250 gorgeous images, explore the changing perspectives and styles of those who contributed Italian influences. As settlers and their descendants brought everyday cultural practices, memories, and traditions, they created different Italian-American experiences that became important parts of American culture, a legacy that is thriving in contemporary, globalized Philadelphia.

From the neoclassicism of Thomas Jefferson's design of Monticello and sketches of the White House, to "al'italiana" gardens and parks, to the strong Roman classicism of the Jefferson Memorial, to Constantino Brumidi's frescoes in Congress and the National Library, to the striking composition of Luigi Moretti's Watergate Complex--America's capital is infused with the influences of a culture that laid the foundations of Western society. Extensively illustrated with both archival black and white photos, drawings, and sketches, as well as new photographs by Max Mackenzie, this book is an homage to this strong and still alive relationship and essential reading for all those interested in architecture and the visual arts.