HISTORY
EJ Salcines
The Italian Club of Tampa By: Retired Judge E. J. Salcines
Prepared for Tampa: Untold Stories, City of Tampa Television CTTV, April 2018.The history shared below, Commemorating the Centennial of the Italian Club Building, includes excerpts from a historical account prepared by the Honorable E.J. Salcines, whose research and storytelling have helped preserve the remarkable legacy of Tampa’s Italian community. His complete presentation is featured in the YouTube video on this page, offering an even deeper look into the people, traditions, and defining moments that shaped L’Unione Italiana.
More Than 130 Years of Italian Heritage in Tampa
For more than 130 years, the Italian Club of Tampa—L’Unione Italiana—has stood as a symbol of courage, community, and the Italian-American experience. Founded on April 4, 1894, the Club was created by Italian immigrants who came together to support one another, preserve their heritage, and build a better life in Tampa. What began as a mutual-aid society with 127 members grew into one of Tampa’s most important cultural institutions. Through periods of tremendous growth, economic hardship, war, and social change, the Italian Club has remained a place where families gather, traditions continue, and generations come together. Today, our historic clubhouse stands proudly in Ybor City as a lasting monument to the immigrants whose sacrifice, determination, and vision helped build the Tampa we know today.
The Beginning of L’Unione Italiana
Italian immigrants began arriving in Tampa in significant numbers during the late 1880s, with many finding work in Ybor City’s growing cigar industry. Life in a new country offered opportunity, but it also presented tremendous challenges. Families needed access to healthcare, financial assistance, education, and a community that understood their language, traditions, and experiences. L’Unione Italiana was founded to meet those needs. The Italian Club became Tampa’s second mutual-aid society, following the founding of El Centro Español in 1891. Eight Spanish immigrants who had helped establish that organization joined 116 Italians in creating Tampa’s first Italian Club. Bartolomeo Filogamo was elected the organization’s first president. Born in Sicily, Filogamo arrived in New Orleans in 1885 before moving to Tampa in 1889. His leadership helped establish an organization that would provide cultural, educational, medical, and financial support to generations of Italian families. The Club offered assistance to members during illness, provided benefits to the families of deceased members, and helped immigrants adjust to life in America without losing their Italian identity. In many ways, mutual-aid societies like the Italian Club were the forerunners of today’s health maintenance organizations, community centers, and social-service organizations.
The First Italian Clubhouse
Italian Club c 1912 – 1914 destroyed by fire, located across from current structure
As membership grew, the Italian community dreamed of having a permanent home. That dream became a reality with the construction of the first Italian Club building at 1724 East Seventh Avenue, directly across the street from the present clubhouse. The three-story building opened on October 11, 1912, with a three-day celebration. Constructed at a cost of approximately $60,000, it was an extraordinary achievement for a working-class immigrant community. By that time, the Italian Club had approximately 900 members. Sadly, the first clubhouse was destroyed by fire in May 1914. The loss was devastating, but the members of L’Unione Italiana refused to allow the fire to end what they had built.Instead, they began again.
Building an Ybor City Landmark
Italian Club Cantina c 1920
Construction of the present Italian Club began in April 1917 under the leadership of longtime Club President Philip Licata. Completed in 1918 at an estimated cost of $120,000, the new clubhouse was larger, grander, and designed to serve generations of members. Award-winning Tampa architects Leo Elliott and B.C. Bonfoey designed the building. Their other notable projects included Tampa City Hall and the neighboring Cuban Club. The Italian Club’s distinctive design incorporated Italian, Spanish, and Greek architectural influences, with inspiration drawn from the ancient temples of Agrigento in southern Sicily. Its monumental columns and elegant façade created one of Ybor City’s most recognizable landmarks. Inside, the building featured a magnificent theater with a balcony, a spacious ballroom, a cantina and dance floor, a library, classrooms, meeting and recreation rooms, administrative offices, and space for medical services. At different times in its history, the building also included billiard rooms, a gymnasium, steam rooms, handball courts, and even a bowling alley. More than simply a clubhouse, it was a center for nearly every aspect of community life. Today, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and remains one of the most powerful symbols of Tampa’s Mediterranean heritage and immigrant history.
A Community United
The Italian Club’s mission extended far beyond social gatherings. Members had access to medical care through a walk-in clinic and pharmacy. The Club offered classes in English, arithmetic, and American government to help immigrants prepare for naturalization and become active participants in their new country. In 1920, the Club purchased a neighboring three-story brick building that served as a medical clinic for its members. Space was also provided at no cost to the Tampa Public Library so that a branch library could serve the Ybor City community. Education and culture were central to Club life. Its library contained newspapers, magazines, and classical novels, some of which were read aloud by lectores working in Tampa’s cigar factories. Italian-language schools helped children learn English while maintaining a connection to their families’ native language and culture. The Italian Club provided its members with the tools to succeed in America while encouraging them to remain proud of where they came from.
Celebrations, Culture, and Community Life
Shown in this photograph is the members of the Italian Club preparing to depart for their annual picnic at DeSoto Park. This photograph was taken in 1912, from the old Italian Club Building. The empty lot in the foreground is the site of the present club building on the corner of 7th Avenue and 18th Street in Ybor City.
The Italian Club quickly became the social and cultural heart of Tampa’s Italian community. Its calendar included family picnics, parades, banquets, theatrical performances, concerts, dances, sporting competitions, and excursions throughout the Tampa Bay area. Members traveled together by trolley, train, and boat to destinations such as DeSoto Park, Ballast Point, Pass-a-Grille, Anna Maria Island, and the Hillsborough River. These outings brought hundreds—and sometimes thousands—of members and their families together. In 1912, members celebrated the Club’s growth with a grand picnic at DeSoto Park. The festivities included a four-mile race from the county courthouse in downtown Tampa to Palmetto Beach. By 1924, L’Unione Italiana had approximately 1,800 members. A massive picnic celebrating a successful membership campaign brought members and their families to the farm of cigar manufacturer Val Antuono. A panoramic photograph from that extraordinary gathering still hangs inside the Italian Club. The Club also sponsored soccer and baseball teams, cultural programs, and performances by internationally recognized artists and opera singers. On Saturday evenings, two bands often performed simultaneously—one playing traditional music in the upstairs ballroom and another playing popular songs for younger members in the downstairs cantina. The Club was alive with music, conversation, celebration, and community.
An Early Gasparilla Tradition
The Italian Club’s connection to Tampa’s parade culture dates back more than a century. In 1911, the Club participated in the Gasparilla parade with an elegant carriage drawn by two white horses and decorated with fresh flowers. Riding in the carriage were the Club’s first queen, Sara Puglisi, and her maid of honor, Lena Caruso. That appearance began a tradition of Italian participation in Tampa’s most celebrated parades and community events—a tradition that continues today through the Italian Club and the Krewe of Italia.
Italian Day and World War I
As the new clubhouse neared completion in 1918, the United States was engaged in World War I. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed May 24, 1918, “Italian Day” in recognition of Italy’s alliance with the United States and the Allied forces. Tampa’s Italian community responded with an extraordinary display of patriotism and pride. The Italian Club and its Ladies Auxiliary organized a massive parade beginning at the new clubhouse. Approximately 8,000 people marched through Ybor City and downtown Tampa before gathering near the former Hillsborough County Courthouse. Italian Club members also supported Red Cross campaigns and Liberty Bond drives, demonstrating their commitment to both their heritage and their new country. Later that year, tragedy struck when the USS Tampa was torpedoed off the coast of Wales. Everyone aboard was lost, including 15-year-old Tampa resident Jimmy Ross, whose family name was Guerrieri. Tampa’s Italian community joined the rest of the city in mourning.
Leadership That Shaped the Club
The Italian Club’s success was made possible by generations of dedicated leaders and volunteers. Among its most influential presidents was Filippo Fiorito Licata, known throughout Tampa as Philip Licata. Arriving in Tampa from Italy as a teenager, Licata later served on the Tampa City Council before becoming president of the Italian Club. During his 17 consecutive years of leadership, the Club experienced extraordinary growth. Licata guided the construction and dedication of both Italian Club buildings—the original clubhouse and the present landmark completed in 1918. No other president served continuously for as long or oversaw a more transformative period in the Club’s history. Licata’s family also became part of Tampa’s civic legacy. His daughter Concetta married Nick Nuccio, who later served on Tampa City Council, the Hillsborough County Commission, and two nonconsecutive terms as mayor of Tampa.
Paolo Longo: A Lifetime of Service
Another remarkable leader was Paolo P. Longo, who dedicated more than seven decades of service to the Italian Club. Longo served three separate terms as president: during the Great Depression in 1933, following World War II in 1945, and again in 1949 and 1950. His service touched nearly every aspect of Club life, from managing its baseball team and preparing meals to delivering eulogies for fellow members. “Next to my family, L’Unione Club is my family.”—Paolo P. Longo. In 1934, during Longo’s leadership, the Sicilian Club of West Tampa merged with L’Unione Italiana, bringing together a combined membership of more than 3,000 people. Longo’s civic involvement extended throughout the Italian-American community. He founded the Columbus Association, served as president of the Nuova Sicilia Lodge, became Grand Master of the Florida Order of Sons of Italy, and received the Star of Solidarity from the Italian government. The Italian Club established the Paolo Longo Award in his honor. Presented annually, the award recognizes a local leader who has worked tirelessly to preserve and advance Italian culture, heritage, and history in Tampa.
Service to the Community and the Nation
Throughout its history, the Italian Club has answered the call to serve. During World War I, members supported Liberty Bond campaigns, Red Cross drives, and the United States Armed Forces. During World War II, 265 Italian Club members served their country, while the Club purchased $62,600 in war bonds—a remarkable contribution at the time. The Club’s influence could also be seen throughout Tampa’s civic and political life. Generations of members and their descendants became mayors, judges, city council members, county commissioners, school board members, attorneys, business leaders, and community advocates. Their achievements became part of a much larger story: immigrants and their children helping shape the future of Tampa while preserving the identity and traditions that brought their community together.
A Century of Achievement
In 1994, under the leadership of President James Granell, the Italian Club celebrated its centennial—100 years of service to Tampa’s Italian community. As the Club entered the 21st century, leaders including Joseph Capitano Sr. and Sal Guagliardo continued the tradition of stewardship, generosity, and commitment established by the Club’s founders. Through changing times, the Italian Club has remained faithful to its original purpose: bringing people together, assisting its members, celebrating Italian heritage, and protecting the historic home entrusted to its care.
Preserving the Legacy. Building the Future.
For more than a century, the halls, ballroom, theater, and cantina of the Italian Club have welcomed families, performers, diplomats, civic leaders, and visitors from around the world. Weddings have been celebrated, friendships have begun, music has filled the building, and generations have gathered beneath its roof. The Italian Club is more than an architectural landmark. It is a living monument to the thousands of immigrants who left Italy in search of opportunity and created a community built upon hard work, mutual support, family, and faith in the future.Their legacy lives on in every member, every celebration, and every person who walks through our doors. Today, we proudly continue their work—preserving our historic building, celebrating Italian culture and traditions, serving our community, and ensuring that L’Unione Italiana remains a vibrant gathering place for generations to come. Sempre Avanti—Always Forward.
