Additional information
by Andrea Lyn Cammarato-Van Benschoten (Author), Patrick A. O'Boyle (Foreword by)
Faith, family and food.
Between 1880 and 1924, more than four million Italians immigrated to the United States. Tens of thousands flocked to Newark and reshaped a city. Many settled in the Old First Ward, which once claimed the title of largest Little Italy in New Jersey. Clubs like the Spilingese Social Club sprang up to provide support and camaraderie and dishes like giambotta made their way into everyone's kitchens.
Author Andrea Lyn Cammarato-Van Benschoten traces the roots of Newark's Italian communities.
Author Biography
Andrea Lyn Cammarato-Van Benschoten was born in Columbus Hospital in Newark and grew up one town over in Belleville. A Jersey Girl with a passion for her Italian heritage, she was taught at a young age to "never forget where you came from." For her, that goes back to Campania and Sicily, to the Old First Ward of Newark. Andrea studied journalism at Seton Hall University and writes multiple blogs, including one about her beloved New Jersey and one about her Italian heritage.
