Nazareth University students are preserving the stories and traditions of Rochester's Italian-American community by conducting oral history interviews on Oct. 5

Rochester, NY (10/02/2025) — The stories of many Italian-American families who immigrated to Rochester are being preserved thanks to Nazareth University students who are documenting the stories and traditions as part of an ongoing Oral History Project.

For the second year in a row, the Nazareth students are heading to the Rochester Public Market on Sunday, Oct. 5,- Italian Heritage Day at the market - where a group of Nazareth Italian and history majors will conduct in-person history interviews in Italian or English as part of their ongoing Oral History Project. The goal of the project is to document and preserve traditions passed down through the generations, as well as digitize historical files for ease of access for both the community and the university.

For the past two years, Nazareth's Center for Public History (led by Professor Timothy Kneeland, Ph.D.) and the Frank DiMino Casa Italiana (led by Director Joelle Carota, Ph.D.) have partnered to interview residents of Italian descent to collect and preserve their stories and family histories and thereby create a more accurate history of the Rochester metropolitan area. These oral histories serve as a method to capture personal stories, revealing historical and linguistic information to be archived at the Rochester Public Library's Local History and Genealogy Division for public use and research.

To date, Nazareth students have completed 120 oral histories with Rochester Italian Americans.

WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 5, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

WHERE: Rochester Public Market | 280 North Union St., Rochester | Shed B

Enter from Union Street. It is located inside the building on the right, near the bathrooms. (map attached)

On Sunday, you can call Dr. Joelle Carota's cell at 585-267-0052 if you need help finding the students.