Giacomo Argenti

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Giacomo Argenti was a political prisoner in Italy in the mid 1920s as a result of his attempts to gather support to overthrow the Fascist regime of Benito Mussolini. Along with many other prisoners across Europe, Argenti was given a royal pardon when a European princess gave birth to her first child.^{[citation needed]} Argenti fled the Island Of Elba and after seeking refuge in New York which had closed its doors to Italian immigration in the late 20s and Argentina which had strong cultural ties with Italy, found himself in Adelaide, Australia. His wife Giuseppina Argenti stayed in Capoliveri (Elba) whilst he took the near 3 month voyage to Australia via Egypt, Sri Lanka with his 5 year old son Gualberto (Albert) Argenti who would go onto to become one of the finest classical tenor singers in Australia during the 1950s and 60s. Giacomo Argenti who by now had sent for his wife Giuseppina to come from Italy to join him, settled in Melbourne in the mid 1930s with their newly born second child Gannio (Jan) Argenti. Giacomo Argenti died from pnuemonia in 1939. Giacomo Argenti is also the grandfather of Christian Argenti who is a pop singer of note in Melbourne and of Julian Argenti also a well known musician and is the great uncle of leading movie screenplay writer Jan Sardi whose father Gualberto (Albert) Sardi and his family migrated to Australia at the same time as the Argentis. Albert Argenti died in 1993 aged 68 and Jan Argenti who became a successful hotel operator in St. Kilda in the 1970s and 80s died in 2002.

Albert Argenti was also the father of three daughters, Amanda Kate and Felicity with his first wife Pixie