Like thousands of Italian immigrants, Marino Toppan came to Canada in the mod 1950s. After working as a mason for a few years, he joined the labour movement, which is where he would remain for the rest of his working life. Toppan says that those working to organize the Italian workers in unions during the 1960s knew they were making history, especially during the strikes of 1960 and 1961 and the largest protest on the Exhibition Grounds in June of 1960. Ontario's labour laws were weak at the time workers in the residential construction field were particularly at risk of being injured or even of dying on the job. Those who weren't injured or killed suffered menial wages, terrible conditions and bounced cheques from fly-by-night contractors. After retiring, Toppan knew he had to tell the story of the Brandon Union Group years, the Italian immigrants' fight for workers' rights and safety on the job, and then later, respect and recognition for the thousands of Italian Fallen Workers whose lives had been taken on the job during those rough years. Toppan wants the new generation of Italian-Canadians to know of the immense sacrifice of those who left Italy after WWII to provide the next generation with a better future. They attained that, whether by amassing a fortune as many Italian immigrants did, or by enhancing the multi-cultural mosaic of Canada, or by helping to change the course of Ontario's labour history, as Toppan chose to do. Toppan wants the new generations to know that the Italian contribution to this country has been vast and far-reaching, but no one contributed more than the families of the thousands of Italian Fallen Workers of Canada, who paid the ultimate price of their lives, while working for the progress of Canada.

Land of Triumph and Tragedy: Voices of the Italian Fallen Workers is not simply another book about the migration of Italian communities in Canada. The book follows the framework of important national and international migration literature, presenting the experiences of Italians from varied perspectives. These deconstructed stories are rendered in such profound details that they never merely retell old stories in different ways. On the contrary, Land of Triumph adds a fundamental building block to the cultural, social and historical paradigms of Italian migration. It uses the personal stories of each individual to tell the history of an entire community. In the volume, it's clear that what matters is not the success of any particular man or woman. Rather, their individual accomplishments are part of a bigger and heterogeneous pictures that aims at proposing a new understanding, through the direct voice of the individual, of the history of Italian migration. Land of Triumph and Tragedy is a book that offers a new identity to our community and describes a past that has much to teach us.

— Prof. Salvatore Banchieri, Past Chair of the Department of Italian Studies, University of Toronto.

This book and the associated project, The Italian Fallen Workers Memorial Wall, is both unique and trailblazing. A new chapter has been written in Canadian history, and as such, Toppan and Breda have made a significant contribution to the cultural life of this country.

— Vincenzo Pietropaolo, award-winning documentary photographer, author and Order of Canada recipient.

The Lucy Immigrant: The Public Life of Fortunato Rao profiles the story of Rao's immigration to Canada in post-war times from a small village in the southern region of Calabria. In Toronto, Rao joined the Canadian labour movement and through his decades long work with the United Steelworkers, he made great contributions to the labour history of Ontario.

Rao was also a long-time member and contributor of the committee for the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial Project.

Frank Colantonio's story stands as potent testimony to ta life dedicated to family, community and social justice. Like countless other Italians after World War II, Colantonio, born in rural Molise, emigrated to Canada. Putting down roots in the rapidly expanding metropolis of Toronto, Colantonio worked his way through a variety of occupations: farm labourer, terrazzo grinder, carpenter, and then trade union activist.

In 1960 and 1961, he was the key organizer of Italian-born carpenters in the momentous strikes that paralyzed the construction industry in Toronto. These events form the centrepiece of his stirring narrative. In lagter years, Frank became a tireless advocate for workers' safety and a successful entreprenuer in the safety shoe business. In semi-retirement, he wrote his memoirs, the first of their kind.

Colantonio's story will touch you, anger you, amuse you, and make you think. Many Italian-Canadians will find a part of their lives described in the pages of Colantonio's memoirs.

On 19 June 1914, a deadly methane explosion tore through a coal mine in the town of Hillcrest, Albert. The blast and the toxic gases released by it killed 189 miners, making it the deadliest mine disaster in Canadian history, but it has been mostly forgotten in the shadow of the First World War that began shortly afterwards.

Many Italian workers, among men of other cultures were killed that day. Granddaughters of Virginio Marcolin, Belle Kovach and Mary Bole uncover the story of the greatest mining disaster in all of Canada's history in their book, Snowing in June.

Not commonly known in our labour history is the impact of Italian immigrants in the Canadian labour history story.

Stay tuned for the full story of Italians in Canadian labour history. Coming soon!