Salone Italiano: The True Story of an Italian Immigrant Family's Struggles in Southwestern Colorado

Lots of photo's to go along with the books characters and places

Incredible story about a real family surviving and building a life in the high altitude little mining town of Silverton, CO. Exciting, well researched and written.

I was born in Colorado but have not been anywhere near my home state in far too many years. Perhaps as a result, my interest in the history of Colorado in particular, and the West in general, has been increasing for quite some time now, and SALONE ITALIANO provides another small and fascinating piece of the puzzle. History is not so much an epic image as it is more like a photomontage, a whole made up of a mosaic of innumerable smaller images, and Ms. Niemann's tale is a thoughtful exploration of a time and place not really that distant and not that long ago. SALONE ITALIANO is a novelized history of the counterpoised Italian communities who shared Durango and Silverton in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is a structure well and truly imagined on a foundation of memoir and recorded fact, and its people and events bring the West of our grandparents' time back to new and colorful life.

In the midst of the steaming immigration issues moving across our nation, I was happy to receive Salone Italiano by Kay Niemann, a timely read with old fashioned ideas about what it is to become an American.The book chronicles an Italian immigrant family during the late 1800's, as they settle in the area of Silverton, Colorado. Back then, immigrants came to the USA to become Americans. This group worked hard (without the support of social programs) to learn English and move their label from Italian-Americans to American citizens.The whole concept of assimilation may be out of date and considered anti-diversity, but even Martha Stweart could probably find social blending to be "a good thing."

This book is absolutely excellent!! I read it in two days, I could not put it down. Every page was extrodinary it grabbed my attention and would not let it go. The characters just leaped off the page they were so real I could not believe it. Even though I am not from the old I could relate to these characters. It is an American story that any family could relate to. If you are an American and have struggled in this country to make a life for yourself you can relate to this story. Great read especially the love story.