Capital: Cantanzaro Provinces: Catanzaro Cosenza Crotone Reggio Calabria Vibo Valentia Area: 15,081 km2 Population: 2,004,415

Arriving in a massive, prolonged wave that crested during the first decade of the 20th century, a total of more than 5 million Italian men, women, and children eventually immigrated to the United States. These individuals often sacrificed all they had to make the journey, leaving behind homes, friends, and families to seek new opportunities.

These newly arriving citizens hailed from all of Italy’s 20 regions, but primarily from one: Calabria, the economically challenged, rural region often referred to as the “toe” of Italy. The reason for this predominance was simple economics: as natives of one of Italy’s least prosperous regions, the Calabrese had both the least to lose and the most to gain.

For more than 100 years, Italian Americans have by and large lived the American Dream—in fact, in many ways they have helped to define it. Italian Americans have assimilated into the broader society, and today have all the opportunities available to any American.

But not all of the sons and daughters of Calabria are so lucky. While most of Northern Italy enjoys a robust and international economy, millions of Italian Americans’ distant relatives still live in Italy’s rugged southern provinces, where they continue to face economic challenges.