I think some of those Sisters of Mercy were Sicilians,
And, taught them everything they know:it seems from some of the punishments they coule mede out:)
We had/have a large community of Italian immigrants in New Orleans, as well as Irish and German. The Italians gravitated toward the French Quarter/Market where they would sell their produce and start restaurants and businesses. (We still have mafa here) And,we still have a store in the FQ that is straight out of the early 1900’s and makes the best muffalatas(sp) in the city - Central Grocery is a must visit when in NOLA.
Oh, I know the French Quarter very well! I used to be taken there every year on my birthday but after Katrina we sort of faded it out.
Do you know that Tennessee Williams always wrote about the Sicilians of New Orleans and Louisiana? His play “The Rose Tattoo” is about a Sicilian seamstress and “Orpheus Descending” recounts the terrible lynching of the Italian community in New Orleans in the late 19th century. I think Williams turned it into a fire rather than a lynching. Chilling.
But, as always, the Sicilians landed on their feet and flourished in America.
I’ve been to the Central Grocery. One year we bought muffalettas (I know I’m butchering the spelling!) and took them out to the plantation homes and ate them while gazing at the Mississippi.