Giovanni Caboto Loggia No. 8 Calgary
Updated: Oct 16
Italians honoured Giovanni Caboto by naming organizations after him. They also saw something of themselves in his story, as explorers who had left Italy and were building new lives in a new country.
With the First World War over and new Italian immigrants arriving in Calgary, Giovanni Caboto Loggia No. 8 was formally established in 1918 as a Calgary branch of the Ordine Indipendenti Fiori d’Italia, an Italian mutual-aid organization headquartered in Fernie, British Columbia. Calgary members paid their dues through the Fernie organization.
The Loggia was established primarily for charitable and philanthropic purposes. Meetings opened with the words, “Si apre la riunione con cooperazione e pace” (“The meeting opens with cooperation and peace”), a phrase that reflected the values of cooperation and mutual support at the heart of the organization. This opening remained part of the Loggia’s tradition for generations, continuing until 1974.
In its early years, meetings were held in members’ private homes, reflecting the close-knit nature of the organization. As membership grew, the Loggia acquired a garage at 313 Edmonton Trail N.E., giving it a permanent meeting place. The location became a gathering point for members and provided a base for activities that helped strengthen community ties and maintain Italian language and traditions.
The Loggia was much more than a mutual-aid society. Over the years, its members organized picnics, concerts, parades, fundraisers and social gatherings—with music almost always an important part of the celebrations.
Supporting Italians at Home
The Loggia's commitment to helping others extended beyond Calgary. In 1917, even before the Loggia was formally established, Antonio Milano organized a patriotic meeting within Calgary’s Italian community to raise money for Italians in Europe who had lost their homes during the German invasion. More than $300 was raised—a substantial amount at the time.
Celebrating Giovanni Caboto
The Loggia also took an active role in Calgary’s public life.
In 1927, as part of the Lodges and Societies section of the Calgary Stampede Parade, Giovanni Caboto Loggia No. 8 entered a float depicting a boat with replicas of Giovanni Caboto and his son Sebastian. The float represented Caboto’s historic voyage to North America in 1497. The Loggia won $25 for first place, an indication of the pride members took in their Italian heritage and in sharing it with the wider Calgary community.
The Loggia in the 1920s
By 1928, the Loggia had approximately 85 families as members. Picnics were an important part of social life, with Shouldice Park being a favourite gathering place. A 1928 picnic drew more than 200 people, demonstrating how the Loggia brought together not only its members but their families and the broader Italian community.
The Loggia's history is also preserved in its meeting minute book covering the years 1928 to 1949. The handwritten minutes are entirely in Italian, providing a remarkable record of the organization and its members. The first two pages, dated July 28, 1928, contain the signatures of members attending the meeting.
The medal worn by Giovanni Caboto Loggia members is another surviving reminder of the organization and its place within Calgary's Italian community.
The Depression Years
The prosperity and growth of the 1920s did not last. The Great Depression, which began in 1929, hit Calgary particularly hard. Unemployment increased and many members were unable to work or afford their monthly dues. As membership declined, the Loggia itself faced difficult financial circumstances.
Even so, members continued to help one another as much as they could. Mutual assistance remained central to the organization's purpose, even when the resources available to provide that assistance became increasingly limited.
In 1933, much of Calgary's Italian community came together to form the Associazione Italo-Canadese. Giovanni Caboto Loggia members continued to meet, although with reduced numbers, and some individuals belonged to both organizations. Contemporary newspaper reports sometimes used the two names interchangeably, reflecting the close relationship between the organizations and the overlapping membership within Calgary's Italian community. The Giovanni Caboto Loggia No. 8 became an important part of the early Italian community in Calgary. Through mutual aid, charitable work, social gatherings and celebrations, it helped immigrants navigate the challenges of establishing themselves in a new country while maintaining their language, traditions and connection to one another.
Written by: Theresa Taverna
Sources: See Resource Page under Giovanni Caboto Loggia No. 8 Calgary
Editorial Review: Reviewed and formatted by the Calgary Italian History Project for web publication