THE LIFE OF PROVVIDENZA LA MANNA

The story of my grandmother's life is a long and interesting one. Born in Sicily in 1895, Provvidenza was the youngest of six children. Her father traveled to and worked in the United States, as did many Italian men. Her father, Antonio La Manna, wanted his wife in America with him, but Concetta Bova was afraid to travel by boat, so she remained in Sicily until after her husband died.

As a young child, Provvidenza lived with her mother and her maternal grandfather, Michele; her older sisters and brother having moved away. Provvidenza's father died on May 13, 1906 when she was nine years old, leaving the support of Provvidenza and her mother to her brother August. Most of Provvidenza's siblings except for her brother August had married by this time.

Provvidenza and her mother Concetta Bova traveled to Pittsburgh in 1906 and stayed until 1908, visiting their American relatives on the Southside of Pittsburgh, but they both returned to Sicily. When Provvidenza was fifteen years of age, her mother, Concetta, arranged a marriage for her daughter to Mariano Iannarino, who had recently returned to Termini Imerese to visit his mother.

Marriage and Family

Though Provvidenza did not wish to marry, she was told that there were only two possibilities for a girl in her position--marry or be a servant who would likely be abused by the host family. Her brother August La Manna wished to marry, but he would not do so until his sister Provvidenza was married. August could not continue to support his mother Concetta Bova and his youngest sister with a new wife and family. So Provvidenza became a wife at age 15 and began a new life with her husband, Mariano Iannarino, in the United States.

Provvidenza gave birth to six children; the last, Rose, was born in 1922. Before the birth of her fifth child in 1920, she and her husband Mariano bought a home at 1300 Sandusky Street on the northside of Pittsburgh. A real estate plat map from 1925 has been found on the website "Historic Pittsburgh" which shows the name M. Iannarino on the property at 1300 Sandusky Street. From the stories which have been told, the home was just a shell, needing a furnace and bathrooms. For a while it was heated by wood stoves and Provvidenza would sit awake until late in the night, afraid to sleep until the fire burned out.

Provvidenza rose early to prepare a breakfast for her husband, Mariano, who often went to work in the dark of the early morning. After her husband left for work, Provvidenza's days were filled with all the work of managing a household. She washed the laundry, filling tubs with water in the basement and scrubbed the dirt from the clothes on a scrubbing board. She then carried loads of wet, clean laundry upstairs to hang in the back yard when the weather permitted. She baked all of the family's bread -- baking three times a week to satisfy her growing family's needs. Provvidenza made the pasta by hand, spreading the individual strands over chairs to dry. She also made many of the family's clothes by hand.

The photo - above left - is Provvidenza at age 25. The photo to the right is Mariano, Provvidenza and first son, Saverio. There are some examples of Provvidenza's needlework from her trousseau still in existence. See photo near the bottom left for an example.

Becoming an American citizen

In the evenings after the children's homework was done, Provvidenza asked her children to teach her to read English. In this way Provvidenza learned to read and write English, and then began the long process of studying for her citizenship. Provvidenza was 37 years old when she became an American citizen. Provvidenza related that Mariano believed her to be a citizen, since he had become a citizen in 1925. This was not true, however. If Provvidenza wished to become an American citizen, she was required to apply for herself, so she did.

Provvidenza's husband, Mariano, died in 1954 at age 63. Provvidenza was 59 years old when Mariano died. The couple had been married for 44 years. Mariano had been ill about a year or so before his death. With her son Anthony's help, Provvidenza purchased the house next door (Grimaldi's house) to her own home and renovated the inside to make rooms to rent to single men. Provvidenza cleaned the rented rooms as well as the common areas, such as kitchen, laundry and bath, once a week. In this way Provvidenza was able to supplement whatever funds remained from her husband and the money which her youngest daughter Rose provided. After Allegheny General Hospital bought her home and the rental house, Provvidenza was able to retire.

In 1969 Provvidenza returned to Italy. She traveled by ship as she had done before, but in 1969 the travel was more luxurious. Coming to the United States soon after their marriage, Mariano and Provvidenza had traveled third class or "steerage". While Provvidenza did not travel first class on her way back to her native land, the accomodations were luxurious compared to what she had experienced so many years before.

Provvidenza was away from her home in Pittsburgh for three months, touring the Mediterranean area by sea as well as touring throughout Italy. Provvidenza spent nearly two months in Sicily visiting with family and old friends. When she returned to the United States, Provvidenza related that even though she spoke Italian fluently, there was no hiding that she was now an American. Provvidenza also told us also that many old friends in Sicily brought photos of eligible young relatives to her, hoping that Provvidenza would arrange a marriage for the individual in the photo with one of her own grandchildren.

The remaining years of Provvidenza's life were spent enjoying her family -- children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When her son Frank moved to Arizona, he sent her an "annual" airplane ticket to visit Arizona and spend the winters with his family. Often Frank would send an extra ticket so that Provvidenza could bring an old friend as well -- she would have a companion who was her own age. For quite a few years Provvidenza spent months far away from the cold Pittsburgh winters in a climate much gentler on her aging bones.

Final Moments

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 1982, Provvidenza complained to her daughter Rose that she was not feeling well and went to lie down after breakfast. Provvidenza died peacefully in her sleep; her heart having worn out after 87 years. A few days after the funeral, Provvidenza's family celebrated their annual Thanksgiving feast. The family gave thanks to God for the gift who was their mother, and they gave thanks to Provvidenza for the wonderful life that she, by her hard work, love and devotion, had given to them all.

Reflections

During some private conversations I had with my grandmother, Provvidenza told me that she had not wanted to be married, that she would have preferred to remain single. Perhaps there were adventures in the world that beckoned quietly to Provvidenza, even in her youth. Though she was not allowed to follow her heart as a young woman, Provvidenza's life was an amazing one. Coming from a poor, small town in Sicily to a strange new country and building a life with a man whom she did not choose, Provvidenza was still able to enjoy a happy and fulfilling life. Provvidenza La Manna was a wonderful, loving and incredibly intelligent woman. We all miss her even after so many years. We all still love her. And in a thousand little ways and some very precious memories, Provvidenza is with us still.

©2010 Franciene McDonald