MARIO SCILIPOTI LEFT his newly wed and, unbeknownst to him, pregnant wife behind in their mountainside Sicilian village when he departed for the United States. The 23-year-old did not speak English. He did not have, or need, a visa when his ship, the Patria, sailed past the Statue of Liberty and landed at Ellis Island. He did not have a lucrative job or graduate school admission waiting. Arriving 100 years ago this spring, he only had hopes of a brighter future for his soon-to-be-family and an uncle in Baltimore who was a barber. Following a lengthy apprenticeship, while his still-unmet Bambina spoke her first words back in Sicily, Scilipoti received his own license from the Maryland Board of Barber Examiners on July 24, 1922. Over time, he built a clientele and opened a shop on East Pratt Street. After five years, he returned to Sicily to reunite with his wife, Domenica, and daughter, Josefa, and they later followed him back to Baltimore.
In 1930, Tommaso, the couple’s second child, was born above that rowhouse Pratt Street barbershop. He, too, would earn a barber’s license and place a spinning red, white, and blue pole outside the window of his rowhouse. However, the younger Scilipoti, nicknamed “Mazzi” in the neighborhood, also had his eye on another career, which would prove fortuitous for the section of Southeast Baltimore already known by then as Little Italy.
Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
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Denne historien er fra January 2021-utgaven av Baltimore magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Man With a Plan
The eternal optimism of Thibault Manekin.
SHOWER POWER
Locals let rain gardens soak up the storm.
THE SOFA QUEEN
Stuffed & Tufted’s Samantha Kuczynski relishes being the new face of upholstery.
The Starting Gate
At long last, plans are underway for a new “Home of the Preakness.”
CLEANING UP CITY HALL
Baltimore is the second most corrupt federal jurisdiction in the country. Can a city with our history be reformed?
THE HOMECOMING
For one family, it was time to start living in their house, not just existing there.
SUGAR RUSH
Baltimore gets a fresh batch of home-grown bakeries——and the line forms here.
GAMECHANGER SANDRA GIBSON
Executive Director, SNF Parkway Theatre & Maryland Film Festival
FROM THE GROUND UP
A new build gives a couple a house that finally feels like them.
AFTER GLOW
KEY HIGHWAY