My family’s roots trace back to the small mountain town of Controne, Italy, about 70 miles south of Naples. It was there that my grandparents — Vincenzo Manfredi, born on December 24, 1885, and Filomena Chiaini, born on October 12, 1892 — began their lives together. They married on May 3, 1914, and had four children: Nicola, Silvia, Eduardo (my father) and Raimondo.

Like many families in southern Italy during the early 20th century, they had little in terms of material wealth, but they held tight to the hope of a better future. Vincenzo came to the United States on April 1, 1926, entering through Ellis Island in New York. He settled in the bygone Hays neighborhood of Pittsburgh and became a U.S. citizen months later on December 20.