In their longing to escape both the tedium of work and the confines of life in Chicago tenements, Italian-Americans took pleasure in the out-of-doors Picnicking in the network of forest preserves that surrounded Chicago was easily accessible, both by automobile and streetcar. Hampers of roasted pepper sandwiches would be assembled; if traveling by car, a large cauldron was brought along to place over a fire and boil water for spaghetti. Eating and drinking with family and friends under a canopy of trees, while their children ran and played, put families far from the brutal exhaustion of digging sewers or laboring over piles of sweatshop garments. Second-generation young people also escaped from crowded neighborhoods, increasingly shedding the scrutiny of their elders, for city beaches and forest preserves.

Men enjoyed the experience of a variety of sports, from the Italian game of bocci ball to baseball, America's urban religion. Italian-Americans also played soccer, brought over from European playing fields. And young men increasingly took part in competitive boxing, a sport that was wide open to ethnic talent.

In the minds of native-born Americans, Italians were seen as a musical and expressive culture. While not all Italians were musical, their initial visibility as an ethnic group was often connected to their presence on Chicago streets as wandering musicians. And social gatherings of Italians often included an accordion player in the group. Italians were also quick to organize bands and string orchestras, to work as professional music teachers, and to send Italian-American musicians into the ranks of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Finally, the traditional Italian dance of the tarantella was ubiquitous, in Italy, in the intervals of waiting at Ellis Island, at weddings, and outdoors at picnics.