L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, May has many dates with an Italian connec- tion: Alessandro Scarlatti, the great Sicilian composer of the Baroque Era was born May 2, 1660, in Palermo. He died in 1725, in Naples. He married Antonia Anzalone, with whom he had 10 chil- dren, including the musician Pietro Fillipo and the famous composer Domenico. *** T h e o p e n i n g o f T h e Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, took place in 1999 when the Italian- born actress Sophia Loren christened a gondola on a 586,000-gallon lagoon to formally open the $1.5 billion resort. *** N a t i o n a l T e a c h e r s Day is a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. National Teachers Day is always on the Tuesday of the first full week in May. *** T h e C a l i f o r n i a G o l d Rush of 1848, had brought Luigi Giannini (1840-1877), the fiancée of Virginia De M a r t i n i ( 1 8 5 4 - 1 9 2 0 ) , t o F a v a l e d i M a l v a r o n e a r Genoa, to prospect for gold i n C a l i f o r n i a . W i t h e a r l y s u c c e s s , L u i g i c o n t i n u e d seeking gold in the 1860s and returned to Italy in 1869 to marry Virginia, bringing her to the US and settling in San Jose, California. Luigi Giannini purchased a 40- acre farm in Alviso in 1872 a n d g r e w f r u i t s a n d v e g e t a b l e s f o r s a l e . F o u r years later, Luigi Giannini w a s f a t a l l y s h o t b y a n employee over a pay dispute. His widow Virginia, with two children and pregnant with a third child, took over the family company. Her eldest son, Amadeo, born May 7, 1870, was only 7 years old when his mother became widowed, in 1877. In 1 8 8 0 , V i r g i n i a m a r r i e d a p r o d u c e b r o k e r i n S a n Francisco, California, named L o r e n z o S c a t e n a ( 1 8 5 9 - 1930), and moved to San Francisco. In San Francisco, Giannini began helping at Lorenzo Scatena & Co. By 1885, he took a full-time position as a produce broker. G i a n n i n i w o r k e d a s a produce broker and produce dealer for farms in the Santa C l a r a V a l l e y . H e w a s successful in that business. He married Calorinda Cuneo (1866-1949), daughter of a North Beach, San Francisco, real estate magnate. In 1892 he retired at the age of 31, to administer his father-in-law's estate. He later became a d i r e c t o r o f t h e C o l u m b u s Savings & Loan, in which his f a t h e r - i n - l a w o w n e d a n interest. Giannini observed an opportunity to serve the i n c r e a s i n g i m m i g r a n t population that was without a bank. At loggerheads with other directors who did not share his sentiment, he quit the board in frustration and started his own bank. *** A.P.Giannini founded the B a n k o f I t a l y i n S a n F r a n c i s c o o n O c t o b e r 1 7 , 1904. The bank was housed in a converted saloon as an i n s t i t u t i o n f o r t h e " l i t t l e fellow." It was a new bank for the hardworking immigrants that other banks would not serve. Deposits, on that first day, totaled $8,780. Within a year, deposits soared above $700,000 ($20.4 million in 2020 dollars). The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fires leveled much of the city. In the face of widespread devastation, Giannini set up a temporary bank, collecting deposits, making loans, and p r o c l a i m i n g t h a t S a n Francisco would rise from its ashes. I m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e earthquake, but before the approaching fire burned the city, he moved the vault's money to his home outside the fire zone in then-rural San Mateo, 18 miles away. A garbage wagon was used to Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. h a u l t h e m o n e y , h i d d e n beneath garbage. The fires had heated the vaults of other big banks so that the sudden temperature change from o p e n i n g t h e m r i s k e d d e s t r o y i n g t h e c o n t e n t s ; many vaults were kept closed for weeks. During this period, Giannini was one of the few bankers who could satisfy w i t h d r a w a l r e q u e s t s a n d provide loans, operating from a plank across two barrels in the street. Giannini made loans on a handshake to t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n rebuilding. Years later, he w o u l d r e c o u n t t h a t e v e r y loan was repaid. As a reward to the garbage man whose wagon transported the bank's a s s e t s , G i a n n i n i g a v e t h e man's son his first job when he turned 14. B r a n c h b a n k i n g w a s i n t r o d u c e d b y G i a n n i n i s h o r t l y a f t e r t h e 1 9 0 9 legislation that allowed it in California. Its first branch outside San Francisco was established in the same year i n S a n J o s e . B y 1 9 1 6 , Giannini had expanded and o p e n e d s e v e r a l o t h e r branches. Giannini believed in branch banking as a way to s t a b i l i z e b a n k s d u r i n g d i f f i c u l t t i m e s a s w e l l a s expand the capital base. He bought banks throughout California and, eventually, Bank of Italy had hundreds of branches throughout the s t a t e . W h e n t h e B a n k e x p a n d e d w i t h b r a n c h e s o u t s i d e o f N o r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , B a n k o f I t a l y became Bank of America, as "Bank of Italy" did not play well in Hollywood. ***

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