Little Italy


Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are shops selling Italian goods as well as Italian restaurants lining the streets. A "Little Italy" strives essentially to have a version of the country of Italy placed in the middle of a large non-Italian city. This sort of enclave is often the result of periods of Italian immigration, during which people of the same culture settled or were ostracized and segregated together in certain areas. As cities modernized and grew, these areas became known for their ethnic associations, and ethnic neighborhoods like "Little Italy" blossomed, becoming the areas they are today.

List of Little Italys

Australia

Some Italian neighborhoods may have other names, but are colloquially referred to as "Little Italy", including:

Argentina

  • La Boca, Buenos Aires

    Australia

  • Norton Street: in the Sydney suburb of Leichhardt
  • Ramsay Street: in the Sydney suburb of Haberfield
  • Campbelltown/Athelstone in Adelaide
  • New Farm in Brisbane
  • New Italy, New South Wales

    Brazil

  • Mooca, São Paulo
  • Bixiga, São Paulo
  • Santa Felicidade, Curitiba, Paraná
  • Savassi, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

    Canada

  • St. Leonard, a borough of Montreal with a large Italian population
  • LaSalle, a borough in Montreal with a large Italian population
  • Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, another borough of Montreal with a prominent Italian population
  • Corso Italia, a neighbourhood in Toronto
  • Vaughan, Ontario, a city in north of Toronto with a high population of Italians
  • Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Ontario
  • North Burnaby, British Columbia

    Chile

  • Barrio Italia, Ñuñoa, Santiago de Chile
  • Capitán Pastene, northwest Temuco

    Kenya

  • Malindi District, Kilifi County

    South Africa

  • Orange Grove, Johannesburg

    United Kingdom

  • Bedford, where the population is about 8% Italian or of Italian heritage.
  • Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire, has a large Sicilian population.
  • Glasgow is the centre of the Scottish Italian community.

    United States

  • Spaghetti Hill, Monterey, California
  • Little Italy/Morse Park Historic District, Wheat Ridge, Colorado
  • Thompsonville, Connecticut
  • Italia in northern Florida
  • Pompano Beach, Florida; a section is partially an Italian neighborhood.
  • Taylor Street Archives, Chicago, Illinois
  • Heart of Italy, Chicago, Illinois
  • Little Sicily, Chicago, Illinois
  • Bridgeport, Chicago, Illinois
  • Dunning, Chicago
  • Holy Rosary Neighborhood, Indianapolis, Indiana
  • South Des Moines, Des Moines, Iowa
  • Old Forge, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania
  • Little Italy, Baltimore, Maryland
  • North End, Boston, Massachusetts
  • Columbus Park, Kansas City, Missouri
  • The Hill, St. Louis, Missouri
  • North East, Kansas City, Missouri
  • Eastern Market, Detroit, Michigan, considered to be the city's "Little Italy"
  • Little Italy, Omaha, Nebraska
  • Seventh Avenue, Newark, New Jersey
  • Varick Street, Utica, New York
  • Dominick Street, Rome, New York
  • North Side, Buffalo, New York, though "Little Italy" was considered the West Side of the city
  • Schenectady, New York, proposed "Little Italy" from Hillary Clinton, to run through sections of downtown.
  • Utica, New York, East Side considered to be city's "Little Italy"
  • Brier Hill, Youngstown, Ohio
  • Italian Village, Ohio
  • Easton, Pennsylvania
  • Johnston, Rhode Island has the highest percentage of Italian Americans of any municipality in the country.
  • Galveston, Texas, south of Houston, highest Italian-American population in the Greater Houston as well as Texas.
  • Judiciary Square, Washington, D.C.