• Tended to settle in the south-west of Scotland

• Some settled on the east coast

• Initially worked as peddlers or barrowmen selling ice-cream

The Italians were devout Roman Catholics and this caused tension with Protestants

ACTIVITY 1Title: Why did so many Italians come to

Scotland?

Put Two headings: Push factors & Pull factors

Success Criteria – •I have selected FOUR push & pull factors. •I have placed my information under the correct heading. •Each factor is described.

• Economic problems

• Poverty & famine

• Dependency on agriculture

• Lack of industrialisation

• Seen as morally corrupt.

• Opened cafés on the Sabbath & had long opening hours which caused tension with religious leaders.

• Presbyterian v Catholic divide

Candellini/Sarafini Inverness, 1910

ACTIVITY 2Title: Impact of Italian immigrants on Scotland.

•Split your page into six boxes. Use the following headings: •Work•Areas of Settlement •Reaction from the Scots •Evidence of assimilation •Evidence of non-assimilation•Overall impact on Scotland

WORK

Hokey-Pokey men sold ice-cream from barrows.

Many progressed to owning successful ice cream parlours and fish & chip shops.

The College of Italian Hairdressers, Glasgow 1928.

Italians worked as tutor hairdressers and barbers.

Upon arrival, poor and in need of money many Italians

were peddlers who sold religious icons.

Settled predominantly in South-west areas, including Renfrewshire Ayrshire, where they set up chip shops and ice-cream parlours.

Some settled in the north of Scotland, setting up ice-cream parlours e.g. Rizza’s.

Many settled in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

In Glasgow they ran restaurants and hairdressers.

Where did they settle?

Reaction from the Scots

Italy’s association with

Nazi Germany

caused hostility.

Most were Roman Catholic; not accepted by

Presbyterians.

Unhappy that parlours were open on

Sundays.

Ice Cream parlours and coffee shops often open later than

bars. ‘Immoral’ because

mixed male & female.

Most Scots happy with contribution of Italians.

Liked the things they introduced to society.

Italian enterprises

so different from the Scots’ that they

were not seen as a

threat.

Assimilation?

• Café culture has become a Scottish way of life.• Many Italians married Scots. • Descendants are part of Scottish culture e.g.

involvement in music (Paulo Nutini)

Non-Assimilation?

• Kept own identity through clubs & organisations.

• Worked long hours and with family members – little chance to mix outside Italian community.

OVERALL IMPACT

• Introduced Café culture & Fish and chip shops.

• Famous Italian businesses e.g. Nardini’s in Largs ice cream parlour.

 

With a partner, decide:

Should the Italians be put in Room 101? (was their impact mainly negative?)

Should we ‘save’ the Italians from Room 101? (Was their impact mainly positive?

The Lossie Cafe run by Domenico Rizza from around 1907

Peter Muccini, ‘Non era gran cosa’ in The Times

Scotland was rich in both fish and potatoes so the Italians went into the fish and chip trade. By 1900 they were prospering and bringing over relatives suffering dire poverty in the motherland. Business expanded with the introduction of mosaic and marble ice cream parlours and tea rooms where young couples of modest incomes could have a taste of luxury.

Bruno Sereni, in Margaret Visser, Italians in Scotland: A Concise History

The necessity to earn more than could be put together by begging, slowly transformed them from musicians into ice-cream salesmen. In summer they would push their ice-cream carts to the gates of the main public parks and do business there. In under 50 years, from 1870 to 1920, with great courage and initiative, they graduated from rudimentary shops in the slum quarters to more luxurious establishments in Sauchiehall Street and the city centre, with lots of mirrors on the walls, wooden partitions and leather-covered seats.

ACTIVITY 3Create a cartoon strip which demonstrates the impact of the Italians on Scotland.

Your cartoon strip must: •Contain 6 ways Italian immigrants impacted on Scottish culture. •Have at least 1 sentence descriptor with each box & a picture to illustrate.

Use your notes to help you!

In Source B Italian author Joe Pieri remembers his childhood in Glasgow.

The counter between myself and our customers acted as a barrier. We were aliens, foreigners, the Tallies who worked all day to serve them fish and chips and ice-cream, and we were tolerated as such. The room behind the counter became the meeting point for friends and relatives. Italian was spoken at home, food was in the Italian style, children were expected to marry Italians.

How fully does Source B explain the reasons why many Italian immigrants found it difficult to assimilate into Scottish society? (5)