Photograph of Order Sons of Italy house, Hamilton, ON, date unknown - solo in inglese

Black and white photograph of Order Sons of Italy house, Hamilton, ON, date unknown. House seems to be of Victorian design.

The Order Sons of Italy (OSI), founded in 1905 by Dr. Vincent Sellaro in New York City, operated as a mutual aid society for those of Italian origin. The first Canadian lodge of this fraternal organization was founded in Sault Ste. Marie in 1915. The Hamilton chapter was founded in 1925/1926.  It was divided into three main lodges – the Trieste Lodge, the Imperial Lodge, and the Roma Lodge (the women’s branch). Fascists attempted to take control of this organization in the 1930s. Among the local OSI leaders arrested and interned in 1940 were Nicola Masi and Aurelio Del Piero.