Women harvesting wheat in Spigno Saturnia, Italy. In addition to preparing meals and managing their homes, Italian women living in small paesi (villages) would often harvest wheat for their families. This harvested wheat was then taken to a mulino(wheat grinding mill) such as that run by Vince Sirianni's grandfather. As Vince relates in the oral history clip associated with this photograph, mulino owners would then return the ground wheat to their fellow paesani.
Clip taken from oral history conducted with Vince Sirianni. In this clip, Sirianni speaks of his assimilation into the American Army after having been drafted in 1942. In addition, Sirianni also speaks of his return to Italy, his patria (homeland), as an American soldier during World War II.
Clip taken from oral history conducted with Vince Sirianni. This clip pertains to Sirianni's memories of life in Italy and his family's mulino (grinding wheat into flour) trade.
National Italian American Foundation/ Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania Italian American World War II Veteran Oral History Project; Interview with Vincent Sirianni, 2006.0211, Italian American Collection, Library & Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center.