Luigi Lanza outside his store Luigi Lanza Grocery & Butcher Store, Hamilton, ON - solo in inglese

Luigi Lanza and family standing in the doorway of his business Luigi Lanza Grocery & Butcher Store, located on Sherman Avenue in Hamilton, ON.

Lanza was born on June 7, 1883 in Roseto Valfortare, Fogia, Italy and immigrated to Canada in 1901. On his arrival, Lanza settled in Sydney, Nova Scotia along with his father, Giuseppe and his brothers Francesco and Antonio. The Lanza men worked as labourers at the Sydney Steel Mill. According to his family, Luigi Lanza spent some time in the United States residing in Hoboken, New Jersey. He married Maria Giovanna (Jennie) Sabatino. In 1912, the couple had settled in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, where Lanza worked as a labourer at the Algoma Steel Plant. The family moved to Hamilton, ON, in 1917, where Lanza opened his own grocery business – Luigi Lanza Grocery & Butcher Store.