The ITALIAN Side of Pennsylvania | 10 Most Italian Towns

0:00 A ranking of Pennsylvania towns shaped by their deep Italian immigrant roots and traditions. 2:20 Hayes 4:16 South Ninth Street Italian Market 6:28 Bloomfield 8:35 Dunmore 10:20 Scranton 12:14 Newcastle 14:39 Pittston 16:50 Jessup 19:11 Old Forge 21:29 Rosetto What if the strongest Italian-American community in Pennsylvania was also a medical mystery? I explore the towns, neighborhoods, churches, festivals, food traditions, and family ties that shaped Pennsylvania’s Italian side. I travel from Hayes and Philadelphia’s South Ninth Street Italian Market to Bloomfield, Dunmore, Scranton, Newcastle, Pittston, Jessup, and Old Forge. Along the way, I look at coal mining, fireworks, the Festa dei Ceri, Old Forge pizza, and the communities built around shared origins and traditions. I end in Rosetto, where researchers connected unusually low heart attack rates to the strength of community—and later watched that protection fade. This is a story about immigration, memory, work, faith, food, and the ways people stay close.