(-1956)
Occupation: Muscian, Tomato grower
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Family
1889: Joseph and Vincent Vitetta arrive from Italy and settle in Wellington. They are professional musicians whose street performances become popular in the city.
1903 -1915: The Vitettas are joined in Wellington by their widowed mother Rosa and younger brother John. The three brothers play as the Vitetta Brothers - Joseph the violin, Vincent the flute and John the harp or piano. As well as concerts, they regularly accompany silent movies. They begin visiting Nelson, which had a small Italian community, to play concerts.
1915
23 May: Italy enters World War One on the side of the Allies.
July: The Vitetta family move from Wellington to Nelson and buy a property on lower Trafalgar Street where Hathaway Court is now situated. They quickly settle into playing at patriotic concerts and events, becoming the darlings of Nelson’s music scene.
September: Nelson’s Italians hold a patriotic demonstration followed by a concert and film evening in aid of the widows and orphans of Italian soldiers, which the Vitettas play at.
1916
25 April: On the first anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, John Vitetta conducts a concert of the Nelson Concert Orchestra, raising money for the Sick and Wounded Soldiers Fund.
1917
29 April: The Vitettas were part of a concert in aid of sick and wounded soldiers at Nelson Hospital.
1918
August: The brothers play at a series of events held to raise funds for the Italian Red Cross.
18 November: Following the Armistice, the brothers play an open air concert in aid of the Returned Soldiers' Club.
1919
25 April: The Vitettas play at a patriotic Anzac Day concert at the Nelson School of Music.
Post-War
1920 -1939
The advent of "talkies" throughout the 1920s sees a decrease in live musical accompaniment to movies and although still sought after as musicians, the Vitettas are increasingly turning to commercial tomato growing.
1927: The brothers are honoured by the Italian Government with the bronze medal of merit and diploma for their efforts raising funds in excess of £500 for the Italian Red Cross during the war.
1939-1945: In World War Two Italy sides with the Axis powers and becomes an enemy state. Along with Nelson’s other Italians, the Vitetta brothers are subject to enemy alien regulations and their popularity as musicians wanes. They are targeted by anti-Italian sentiment, including spiteful letters written about them to the authorities. They continue tomato growing and making their own brand of sauce.
15 November 1954: John Vitetta dies aged 66.
16 June 1956: Vincent Vitetta dies aged 74.
17 October 1956: Joseph Vitetta dies aged 78.