Pietro Bandini
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Pietro Bandini (March 31, 1852 – January 2, 1917) was an Italian
Early life
Pietro Bandini was born on March 31, 1852, in
Missionary work
In 1882, Bandini was sent to the
New York City
In March 1889, he returned to Italy and was appointed the vice rector of St. Thomas Aquinas College in
Arkansas colony
Bandini theorized that Italian immigrants would prosper if located in a colony whose agricultural environment[4] was similar to that they were used to in Italy. Therefore, in December 1896, his Jesuit superior permitted him to relocate with a group of Italian immigrants to Sunnyside Plantation in Chicot County, Arkansas, whose owner, Austin Corbin, was seeking laborers. Bandini's first wave of Italians arrived in the port of New Orleans on November 26, 1895, and traveled to Sunnyside Plantation. Bandini followed them in January 1897. Immediately, his project met problems, as more than 125 people out of the 100 families that moved to Sunnyside died of malaria due to unsanitary conditions, unsafe drinking water, and a mosquito-favorable climate. The living conditions of the Italians continued to deteriorate when the plantation came under new ownership in June 1896, forcing the few families that could afford to move back to Italy to do so.[1]
Recognizing the squalor of the plantation, Bandini purchased 800 acres (320 hectares) of land in northwest Arkansas, where forty families from Sunnyside had already moved. He believed this land, due to its 1,500-foot (460 m) elevation and workable soil, was sufficiently similar to the Italian climate the immigrants had known. He settled here with his community of Italian immigrants in 1898.[4] This community went on to become incorporated in 1909 as Tontitown, Arkansas, which he named after the Italian explorer Henri de Tonti. Bandini was elected mayor of the city.[4] The first winter forced the residents to live in abandoned farm buildings and survive off of meager sustenance. Bandini then established a schoolhouse and church, and divided the land into ten-acre parcels and distributed the allotments randomly. On the land, the immigrants grew their own food and cultivated grape vineyards, which became commercially prosperous; the Italian ambassador to the United States visited and spoke approvingly of the colony in 1905.[1]
Later years
Bandini returned to Italy in 1911, where his colonization theory of immigration impressed Pope Pius X and the Queen Mother Margherita, who vowed to improve immigration conditions. For his work, Bandini was awarded a gold chalice and set of red vestments from the pope, a medal from the Italian government, and a set of white vestments from the Queen Mother Margherita.[1]
Bandini once again returned to the United States, where he died on January 2, 1917, at St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock, Arkansas, and was buried in St. Joseph Cemetery.[1] A memorial to him and his nephew, Tito Bandini, was built in the cemetery.[5]
References
- ^ Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "History - Our Lady of Pompeii NYC". Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ a b Del Giudice, Richard (December 1986). Guide to the Church of Our Lady of Pompei, New York, New York Records CMS.037 (PDF). New York, New York: Center for Migration Studies of New York. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
- ^ a b c Giordano, Joe. "Italians in Arkansas: Father Pietro Bandini and Tontitown". joe-giordano.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Archivedfrom the original on April 17, 2012. Retrieved September 3, 2018.