Order Sons of Italy in America

The Order Sons of Italy in America (Italian: Ordine Figli d’Italia in America, OSIA) is the largest and oldest Italian American fraternal organization in the United States. A similar organization exists in Canada.

It was founded on June 22, 1905 by Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro to help assimilate Italians into American society during the immigration boom of the early 20th century. In 1928 Dr. Sellaro was given the key to the City of New York in recognition of his social and medical achievements.

After World War II, the organization faced criticism for the "heavy involvement by the OSIA in Mussolini's Fascist propaganda campaign in the 1920s and 1930s".

During its history, OSIA has been involved in promoting immigration legislation, assisting in the assimilation process, supporting cooperation, trade, and diplomatic relations between the United States and Italy, initiating social and fraternal events, encouraging educational achievement through scholarships, serving local communities through a variety of cultural events and raising funds for local charities, and providing low-cost group financial investments and insurance.

As an Italian American organization its current missions include encouraging the study of Italian language and culture in American schools and universities, preserving Italian American traditions, culture, history and heritage, and promoting closer cultural relations between the United States and Italy.

The Order Sons of Italy contains 2 subsidiaries:

Today OSIA has more than 600,000 members and supporters and a network of more than 650 chapters coast to coast, making it the leading service and advocacy organization for the nation's estimated 26 million people of Italian descent.

The following information is from the national OSIA website:

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