Waterbury was an industrial power in the 19th century and into the 20th. It's still nicknamed The Brass City, though the mills are closed. Many of the mill workers were Italian immigrants. It's said that the entire populations of able-bodied men from some small towns in Italy were transplanted en mass to work in Waterbury's mills. As families joined them, 'little Italy' enclaves grew up all around the hilly terrain. These Catholic newcomers built numerous churches, and private shrines abound to this day, though many of them are now kept up by the Hispanic residents who have become a major part of today's population.
I was struck by the plastic door with its tiny padlock protecting this statue. The safeguards would hardly hamper a determined thief or vandal.
1 comment:
We also have a large Italian population in essex county ,especially in Windsor where I grew up. I remember seeing similar shrines made from old bathtubs that were sunk into the ground to make the little grotto.
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