About Us
Oath of Allegiance
I am pleased to become a member of this Society, the Marchegiana Society of Chicago Heights. I shall be loyal to all its laws. I promise to help and defend it, always. Before you, Brothers, I confess I am sincere.
History
Chartered in Chicago Heights on March 16, 1907, as the "Societa' di Mutuo Sorcorso Unione Marchegiana," the Marchegiana Society was originally comprised only of individuals who had immigrated to America from the Marche region in Italy. At that time, the society was an ethnic mutual aid society.
On August 27, 1944, the society was incorporated by the State of Illinois as a non-profit fraternal organization and the name was officially changed to the "Marchegiana Society of Chicago Heights." Since 1981, memberships have been open to include Italian-Americans from all regions of Italy, as well as prominent citizens and/or patrons of non-Italian heritage.
Marche
Marche or The Marches is a region in north central Italy. It is one of the twenty regions of Italy. Rectangular in shape, it stretches one hundred miles along the Adriatic Coast. The region is bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the north, Tuscany to the west, Umbria to the southwest, and Abruzzo and Lazio to the south. Except for river valleys and the often very narrow coastal strip, the land is hilly. A railway from Bologna to Brindisi, built in the 19th century, runs along the coast of the entire territory. Inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes. Urbino, one of the major cities of the region, was the birthplace of Raphael, as well as a major center of Renaissance history.
The name of the region derives from the plural name of marca, originally referring to the medieval March of Ancona and nearby marches of Camerino and Fermo.
Marche became an administrative unit in 292 B.C. under Roman rule. In the 8th centrury, the region was placed under papal rule. During this period, Holy Roman Emperors granted border provinces called "marches" to favored individuals - hence the regions name. Marche became part of the newly united kingdom of Italy in 1860.
The Marche economy is predominantly agricultural. Fruits, olives, vegetables and cereals are the main lowland crops. On hillsides, vines yield a high quality wine. A local cattle breed, the marchegiana, is famed throughout Italy as an all-purpose meat, milk and draft animal. Sheep are raised in the mountainous interior. Industries are mostly small scale: shipbuilding in the regional capital of Ancona, oil refining in Falconara, the manufacture of paper in Fabriano, textiles in Lesi, organs in Loreto, and acciordians in Castelfidardo. Fishing is important in San Benedetto del Tronto and in Ancona. In recent years, tourism has also become a major source of income.
