Original abstract (1976): Mr. Lentini is an example of middle class professional immigration. His father was a tax assessor for the Italian government and he moved around Italy. Mr. Lentini attended the University, served in the Italian army and left his homeland in 1922 at the age of twenty-three. (He is now seventy-seven.) He came here, he says, "to better himself," since he could not find a good job in Italy. He lived with an aunt in New Jersey, returned homesick to Italy and then came to America for good. From his aunt's home in New Jersey he came to Rhode Island in 1924. He lived in several places in and around Federal Hill and now lives in Cranston. He was a self-employed barber for most of his life.

Mr. Lentini has clear recollections of his life in Italy and of his early experiences in America. However, he is very much involved in promoting Italian culture (and Mussolini's place in history) and often digresses from themes directly relevant to our needs. He has his own radio program, therefore he is articulate, although not representative of the mainstream of Italian immigration.
This interview with Vincent Lentini was conducted on April 22, 1976. At the time of the interview the subject was 77 years old. The interview discusses Italy under the rule of Mussolini, work as a teach in Providence (R.I.), a 1971 return trip to Italy, his experience of life under Fascist regime, the initial journey to the United States from Italy, his impressions of the United States, discrimination in the United States, and his life in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence (R.I.). In addition to the audio recording of the interview, there is a typed summary and abstract.