Editing Italian Americans (section)

==Communities==
{{Main|List of Italian-American neighborhoods}}

[[File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.svg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Top ancestry by U.S. county. Dark blue indicates [[County (United States)|counties]] where persons of Italian [[Maps of American ancestries|ancestry]] form a plurality.]]

[[Little Italy|Little Italies]] were, to a considerable extent, the result of [[Anti-Italianism|Italophobia]]. The [[ethnocentrism]] and [[anti-Catholicism]] exhibited by the earlier Anglo-Saxon and northern European settlers helped to create an ideological foundation for fixing foreignness on urban spaces occupied by immigrants.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Gabaccia | first1 = Donna R. | year = 2006 | title = Global Geography of 'Little Italy': Italian Neighbourhoods in Comparative Perspective | journal = Modern Italy | volume = 11 | issue = 1| pages = 9–24 | doi=10.1080/13532940500489510| s2cid = 56372320 }}</ref> Communities of Italian Americans were established in most major industrial cities of the early 20th century. [[New Orleans]], Louisiana was the first site of immigration of Italians into America in the 19th century, before Italy was a unified nation-state. This was before [[New York Harbor]] and Baltimore became the preferred destinations for Italian immigrants. In sharp contrast to the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], most of the [[Southern United States|Southern states]] (with the exception of [[Central Florida|Central]] and [[South Florida]] and the [[New Orleans metropolitan area|New Orleans area]]) have relatively few Italian-American residents. During the labor shortage in the 19th and early 20th centuries, planters in the [[Deep South]] did attract some Italian immigrants to work as [[Sharecropping|sharecroppers]], but they soon left the extreme anti-Italian discrimination and strict regimen of the rural areas for the cities or other states. The state of California has had Italian-American residents since the 1850s. By the 1970s, gentrification of [[inner city]] neighborhoods and the arrival of new immigrant groups caused a sharp decline in the old Italian-American and other [[ethnic enclave]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Krase | first1 = Jerome | year = 2007 | title = Seeing Ethnic Succession in Little and Big Italy | journal = Proceedings of the American Italian Historical Association | volume = 37 | pages = 155–171 }}</ref> Many Italian Americans moved to the rapidly growing Western states. Today, New York and New Jersey have the largest numbers of Italian Americans in the U.S. while smaller Northeastern cities such as Pittsburgh, Providence and Hartford have the highest percentage of Italian Americans in their metropolitan areas.

The New York-based daily newspaper ''[[Il Progresso Italo-Americano]]'' had a national audience and reflected the views of the leadership of the community. It was published 1880–1988.<ref>Guido Rossi, "Il progresso Italo-Americano and its portrayal of Italian-American Servicemen (1941-1945)." ''Nuova Rivista Storica'' (2023) 107#2 pp. 759-787.</ref>

===New York City===
{{Main|Italian Americans in New York City}}
[[File:Littleitaly worldcup.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.9|Little Italy in Manhattan after [[Italy national football team|Italy]] won the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]]]

New York City is home to the largest Italian-American population in the country and the second-largest Italian population outside of Italy. Several Little Italy enclaves exist in [[New York City]], including [[Little Italy, Manhattan]]; the [[Lower East Side]] in general; [[Italian Harlem]], [[Morris Park, Bronx|Morris Park]], [[Belmont, Bronx|Belmont]], [[Bensonhurst, Brooklyn|Bensonhurst]], [[Howard Beach, Queens|Howard Beach]], [[Ozone Park]], [[Carroll Gardens]], [[Greenwich Village]], [[Middle Village, Queens|Middle Village]], [[Williamsburg, Brooklyn#Italian-American community and Our Lady of Mount Carmel|Italian Williamsburg]], [[Bay Ridge]], and the [[South Shore, Staten Island|South Shore]] of [[Staten Island]]. Historically, Little Italy on Mulberry Street in Manhattan extends as far south as Canal Street, as far north as [[Bleecker Street|Bleecker]], as far west as [[Lafayette Street|Lafayette]] and as far east as the [[Bowery]].<ref name="lifeinitaly.com"/> The neighborhood was once known for its large population of Italians.<ref name="lifeinitaly.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.lifeinitaly.com/heritage/little-italy.asp |title=Little Italy &#124; Italy |publisher=Lifeinitaly.com |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> Today, it consists of Italian stores and restaurants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.littleitalynyc.com/ |title=The Official Website for New York City's Little Italy District |publisher=Little Italy NYC |access-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904140547/http://www.littleitalynyc.com/ }}</ref>  The Italian immigrants congregated along [[Mulberry Street (Manhattan)|Mulberry Street]] in Manhattan's ''Little Italy'' to celebrate [[San Gennaro]] with a large street fair, lasting 11 days, that takes place every September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italian-link.com/pages/littleitalynewyork.shtml |title=Little Italy New York City |publisher=Italian-link.com |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> Today, much of the neighborhood has been absorbed and engulfed by [[Chinatown, Manhattan|Chinatown]], as immigrants from China moved to the area.

[[Arthur Avenue]] in the [[Belmont, Bronx|Belmont]] section of New York City's northernmost [[borough (New York City)|borough]], [[The Bronx]], is one of the many neighborhoods considered the Bronx's "Little Italy", with [[Morris Park, Bronx|Morris Park]], [[Pelham Bay]], [[Throggs Neck]], and other Bronx neighborhoods also serving as centers of Italian-American culture.

Bensonhurst used to be heavily Italian-American, and it used to be considered the main "Little Italy" of Brooklyn. Since the late 1990s, most Italians have moved to Staten Island. The Italian-speaking community remains over 20,000 strong, according to the [[United States Census, 2000|census of 2000]]. However, the Italian-speaking community is becoming "increasingly elderly and isolated, with the small, tight-knit enclaves they built around the city slowly disappearing as they give way to demographic changes".<ref>{{cite news |last=Santos |first=Fernanda |title=For Italians in Brooklyn, Voices on Streets Have Changed |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 6, 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/07/nyregion/07italians.html |access-date=August 22, 2009}}</ref> Its main thoroughfare, 18th Avenue (also known as Cristoforo Colombo Boulevard) between roughly 60th Street and Shore Parkway, is lined with predominantly small, Italian family-owned businesses—many of which have remained in the same family for several generations. 86th Street is another popular local thoroughfare, lined by the arches of the elevated BMT West End Subway Line. The 18th Avenue Station was popularized in opening credits of ''[[Welcome Back, Kotter]]''. Rosebank in [[Staten Island]] was another one of NYC's main areas of Italian immigrants since the 1880s, and their descendants have continued as its predominant ethnic group, exemplified by the location of the [[Garibaldi Memorial]] in the community. In recent years, the town has experienced an influx of other ethnic groups, including Eastern Europeans, various Latin nationalities as well as Asians, particularly from the Philippines. Today, the South Shore of Staten Island is the most heavily populated Italian area in the City of New York.  Over 95% of the South Shore is Italian. The neighborhoods of the South Shore with large percentages of Italians are Huguenot, Annadale, Eltingville, and Tottenville. Howard Beach in the Queens is also home to a large Italian population.<ref name="dailynews-2002-09-22">{{cite news|title={{-'}}Small town' has big pride - & image woes: The Howard Beach story |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2002/09/22/2002-09-22__small_town__has_big_pride_-.html |location=New York |work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]] |first=Jonathan |last=Lemire |date=September 22, 2002 |access-date=January 17, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605022307/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/ny_local/2002/09/22/2002-09-22__small_town__has_big_pride_-.html |archive-date=June 5, 2011 }}</ref>

During the beginning of the Cold War, immigration into the United States from Italy was almost impossible. Americas were frightened that these immigrants could be terrorists, thus preventing Italians from gaining citizenship. As the Cold War continued, organization groups such as the Italian American Organization and the American Committee on Italian Migration (ACIM) started to form. They created vast efforts to provide assistance and aid to Italian immigrants coming into the United States. Throughout the Cold War, these organizations increased rapidly with many American Italian members as well as many new coming Italians. ACIM also took a leading role in directing the efforts of other Italian American and Catholic organizations that helped contribute to Italian immigration. These organizations provided new migrants with housing, clothing, access to job interviews, and education for children. Immediately after the Cold War period, Italian Americans further consolidated and solidified their status as members of the American mainstream.<ref>Battisti, Danielle. "The American Committee on Italian Migration, Anti-Communism, and Immigration Reform." Leatherby Libraries, Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois Press, 2012.</ref>

===Philadelphia===
{{Main|History of Italian Americans in Philadelphia}}
[[File:Phila-dibrunobros.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Much of Philadelphia's Italian population is in [[South Philadelphia]], and is well known for its [[Italian Market, Philadelphia|Italian Market]].]]
[[Philadelphia]]'s Italian American community is the second-largest in the United States. Italian Americans compose 21% of South Philadelphia's 163,000 people, and the area has numerous Italian stores and restaurants. Philadelphia is well known for its [[Italian Market, Philadelphia|Italian Market]] in South Philadelphia. The Italian Market is the popular name for the South 9th Street Curb Market, an area of Philadelphia featuring many grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, and butcher shops, many with an Italian influence.

===Boston===
{{Main|History of Italian Americans in Boston}}
[[File:Boston North End.JPG|thumb|upright=0.9|The American and Italian flags in [[North End, Boston|Boston's North End]]]]
The [[North End, Boston|North End]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] since the early 20th century became the center of the [[Italian-American|Italian]] community of Boston. It is still largely residential and well known for its small, authentic Italian restaurants and for the first Italian cafe, [[Caffe Vittoria]]. The influx of Italian inhabitants has left a lasting mark on the area; many seminal Italian American.<ref name="italianaware.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.italianaware.com/BostonNorthEnd.html |title=Little Italy- Boston |publisher=Italianaware.com |date=August 23, 1927 |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> The Italians peaked at over 44,000.<ref name="italianaware.com"/>

===Newark===
[[File:Lucy RCC Newark jeh.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|St. Lucy's Church in Newark]]

In its heyday, [[Seventh Avenue, Newark, New Jersey|Seventh Avenue]] in [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] was one of the largest Little Italy neighborhoods in the U.S., with a population of 30,000, in an area of less than a square mile. The center of life in the neighborhood was [[St. Lucy's Church (Newark, New Jersey)|St. Lucy's Church]], founded by Italian immigrants in 1891. Throughout the year, St. Lucy's and other churches sponsored processions in honor of saints that became community events. The most famous procession was the Feast of St. Gerard, but there were also great feasts for Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Our Lady of Snow, the Assumption, and St. Rocco. One of the nation's largest Italian newspapers, ''The Italian Tribune'', was founded on Seventh Avenue. Seventh Avenue was notoriously devastated by [[urban renewal]] efforts during the 1950s. Eighth Avenue was obliterated by the city council, scattering the Italian American residents. Most of its businesses never recovered. The construction of [[Interstate 280 (New Jersey)|Interstate 280]] also served to cut the neighborhood off from the rest of the city. After the devastating urban renewal, some of the First Ward's Italians stayed in the neighborhood, while others migrated to other Newark neighborhoods like [[Broadway, Newark, New Jersey|Broadway]], [[Roseville, Newark, New Jersey|Roseville]] and [[Ironbound|the Ironbound]].
<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orderisda.org/culture/la-nostra-voce/the-vanishing-of-the-first-ward-newarks-original-little-italy/|title = The Vanishing of the First Ward, Newark's Original Little Italy|date = September 7, 2020}}</ref>

===Chicago===
The neighborhood around Chicago's Taylor Street has been called the [[Port#Port of call|port of call]] for Chicago's Italian American immigrants.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.TaylorStreetArchives.com |title=Stories from Chicago's Little Italy |publisher=Taylor Street Archives |access-date=September 3, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228234400/http://taylorstreetarchives.com/ |archive-date=December 28, 2018 }}</ref> Taylor Street's Little Italy was home to [[Hull House]], an early [[settlement house]], founded by [[Jane Addams]] and [[Ellen Starr]] in 1889. Chicago's Italian American experience begins with the mass migration from the shores of southern Italy, the Hull House experiment, the Great Depression, World War II, and the machinations behind the physical demise of a neighborhood by the [[University of Illinois at Chicago|University of Illinois]] in 1963.

Italian Americans dominated the inner core of the Hull House neighborhood, 1890s–1930s.<ref>{{cite web|first1=Dominic|last1=Candeloro|url=http://libblogs.luc.edu/ccic/rundown-of-chicago-italian-neighborhoods-and-churches-there-was-never-just-one-little-italy-in-chicago/|title=Rundown of Chicago Italian Neighborhoods and churches: There was never just ONE Little Italy in Chicago|date=September 18, 2013 |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref>

As suburbs grew in the post-World War II era, Chicago's Italian American population spread from the central city, such as to [[Elmwood Park, Illinois|Elmwood Park]]. [[Harlem Avenue]], "La Corsa Italia", is lined with Italian stores, bakeries, clubs and organizations. The Feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel, in nearby [[Melrose Park, Illinois|Melrose Park]], has been a regular event in the area for more than one hundred years. The near-west suburbs of Melrose Park, [[Schiller Park, Illinois|Schiller Park]], [[Franklin Park, Illinois|Franklin Park]], [[River Grove, Illinois|River Grove]], [[Norridge, Illinois|Norridge]], [[Chicago Heights]], and [[Harwood Heights, Illinois|Harwood Heights]] are also home to many Italian Americans. West suburban [[Stone Park, Illinois|Stone Park]] is home of Casa Italia, an Italian American cultural center.

Northwest of Chicago, the city of Rockford has a large population of Italian Americans. Other historical Italian American communities in Illinois include Peoria, Ottawa, Herrin, Quad Cities and the Metro East suburbs of Saint Louis, Missouri.

===Milwaukee===
Italians first came to [[Milwaukee]], Wisconsin, in the late 19th century. Then in the 19th and 20th centuries large numbers of Italian immigrants began to come in mainly from Sicily and southern Italy. Brady Street, the historic Third Ward and the east side of Milwaukee is considered the heart of Italian immigration to the city, where as many as 20 Italian grocery stores once existed on Brady Street alone. Every year the largest Italian American festival in the United States, [[Festa Italiana]], takes place in Milwaukee. Italian Americans number at around 16,992 in the city, but in [[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee County]] they number at 38,286.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |title=U.S. Census website |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=August 10, 2014}}</ref>

===St. Louis===
Italian immigrants from the northern Italian region of Lombardy came to St. Louis in the late 19th century and settled in the region called [[The Hill, St. Louis|The Hill]]. As the city grew, immigrants from Southern Italy settled in a different neighborhood north of Downtown St Louis. As of 2021 there are approximately 2,000 native born Italians living in St. Louis, few of whom live in The Hill neighborhood. Italians today live mostly throughout the St. Louis metropolitan region. The Italian Community of St. Louis (Comunita' Italiana di St. Louis), an organization that promotes the Italian language and culture, has several popular events which include [[Carnival|Carnevale]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stlouisitalians.com/news/3rd-annual-carnevale-veneziano-brings-hundreds-of-st-louis-italians-together.html|title=Carnevale in St. Louis|website=stlouisitalians.com|access-date=March 29, 2020}}</ref> which occurs every February and [[Ferragosto]] which occurs each August. The St. Louis Italian Language Program also exists on the Hill at Gateway Science Academy on Fyler Avenue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stlouisitalians.com/learn-italian.html|title=St Louis Italian Language Program on The Hill|website=stlouisitalians.com|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref> The 1950 film [[The Game of Their Lives]] is based on the true story of the 1950 U.S. soccer team which, against all odds, beat England 1–0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The story is about the family traditions and passions that shaped the players who made up this team of underdogs, a significant number of which were from The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis.

===Los Angeles===
Los Angeles is home to the largest Italian American community in California (and on the West Coast), with 95,300 people identifying as Italian American.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.italianlosangeles.org/index.php?1&221|title=Italians in Los Angeles: Guide to a Diverse Community|website=italianlosangeles.org}}</ref> [[San Pedro, California|San Pedro]] is [[Los Angeles]]'s [[Little Italy]], which is estimated to contain some 45,000 Italian-Americans. Most worked as fisherman during the first half of the 20th century. The traditional center of Los Angeles' Italian American community was the area north of the historic [[Los Angeles Plaza]]. It survived somewhat intact until the construction of [[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Union Station]], in 1939. The station was built in the center of Los Angeles' [[Old Chinatown, Los Angeles|Old Chinatown]], displacing half of the total Chinese community. The Chinese were allowed to relocate to Little Italy, where they quickly outnumbered the Italian community. Only a few relic-businesses survive, such as [[San Antonio Winery]] (the only winery, out of 92, to survive prohibition).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kcet.org/history-society/exploring-the-remains-of-las-little-italy|title=Exploring The Remains of L.A.'s Little Italy|newspaper=Kcet|date=July 10, 2013}}</ref> The [[Italian American Museum of Los Angeles]] opened in 2016 in the historic Italian Hall.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://iamla.org/|title=The Italian American Museum of Los Angeles – IAMLA|website=iamla.org}}</ref>  [[Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles|Lincoln Heights]], northeast of Little Italy, also was a center of the Italian-American population in Los Angeles.

===San Francisco===
[[File:SF Filbert St North Beach CA.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Sts. Peter and Paul Church, San Francisco|Sts. Peter and Paul Church]] in North Beach, San Francisco]]

According to the [[1940 United States census|1940 census]], 18.5% of all European immigrants were Italian, the largest in the city. [[North Beach, San Francisco|North Beach]] is [[San Francisco]]'s Little Italy, and has historically been home to a large Italian American population. The [[American Planning Association|American Planning Association (APA)]] has named North Beach as one of ten 'Great Neighborhoods in America'.<ref name=APA1>{{cite web| title=North Beach: Authentic Character Is Intact 150 Years Later| publisher=[[American Planning Association]]| date=October 2, 2007| url=http://www.planning.org/greatplaces/neighborhoods/2007/northbeach.htm| access-date=October 16, 2007}}</ref>

=== Detroit ===
{{Main|History of Italian Americans in Metro Detroit}}
The first ethnic Italian in Detroit was Alphonse Tonty (Italian name: Alfonso Tonti), a Frenchman with an Italian immigrant father. He was the second-in-command of [[Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac]], who established Detroit in 1701. Tonti's child, born in 1703, was the first ethnic European child born in Detroit. In order to preserve the fur trade, the French administrators and the British administrators discouraged immigration, so the Italian population had slow growth. Growth in immigration increased after Detroit became a part of the United States and the [[Erie Canal]] had been constructed. Armando Delicato, author of ''Italians in Detroit'', wrote that Italian immigration to Detroit "lagged behind other cities in the East".

In 1904 the City of Detroit had 900 Italians. In Metro Detroit there were several thousand ethnic Italians by 1900. The concentrations of the population lived in [[Eastern Market, Detroit|Eastern Market]] and east of the area presently known as [[Greektown, Detroit|Greektown]]. Of those Italians in 1900 most originated from [[Genoa]], [[Lombardy]], and [[Sicily]]. Some Italians stayed in Detroit temporarily before traveling onwards to mines in northern Michigan.

The increase in the automobile industry resulted in the increase of the Italian population in the 20th century. By 1925, the number of Italians in the City of Detroit increased to 42,000. The historical center of Detroit's Italian-American community was in an area along Gratiot Avenue, east of [[Downtown Detroit]]. During that period, Italian immigrants and their children lived throughout the City of Detroit, and several neighborhoods had concentrations of Italian immigrants. There were larger numbers of southern Italians than those from the north. Armando Delicato, author of ''Italians in Detroit'', wrote that "Unlike many other American cities, no region of Italy was totally dominant in this area". Steve Babson, author of ''Working Detroit: The Making of a Union Town'', wrote that "Many northern Italians, coming from an urban and industrialized society, had little in common with local Sicilians, who came from the rural and clannish south." In Detroit's history, within the crafts Italians concentrated on tileworking.

During World War II, [[Fort Wayne (Detroit)]] served as home to Italian [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war (POWs)]] captured during the [[North African campaign]]. After Italy's surrender in September 1943, the POWs were given the opportunity to work as servants, cooks, and janitors. At the end of the war many chose to remain and settle in Detroit.

As of 1951, Detroit had about 150,000 Italians.

The National Italian American Foundation estimated that in 1990, [[Metro Detroit]] had 280,000 ethnic Italians. As of 2005 the closest remaining large [[Little Italy]] near Detroit was Via Italia in [[Windsor, Ontario]] and there was a group of remaining Italian shops and restaurants along Garfield Road in [[Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan|Clinton Township]]. In 2005 Delicato wrote that "Unlike some other national groups, like the Poles, who still look to [[Hamtramck]], or the Mexicans, who have [[Mexicantown]], Italian Detroiters no longer have a geographical center".

===Cleveland===
[[File:Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy Cleveland (36388057482).jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|[[Cleveland Feast of the Assumption Festival|Feast of the Assumption]] in Cleveland's Little Italy]]

[[Cleveland]]'s [[University Circle|Little Italy]], also known as Murray Hill, is the epicenter of Italian culture in [[Northeast Ohio]], a [[combined statistical area]] reporting 285,000 (9.9%)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP02&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212212624/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP02&prodType=table|archive-date=February 12, 2020|title=American FactFinder - Results|publisher=United States Census Bureau|website=factfinder2.census.gov|access-date=October 7, 2017}}</ref> Italian Americans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osia.org |title=Order Sons of Italy in America® – Home |publisher=Osia.org |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref> Little Italy took root when Joseph Carabelli, immigrating in 1880, saw the opportunity for monument work in Cleveland's [[Lake View Cemetery]] and established what soon became the city's leading marble and granite works. Most fresco and mosaic work in Cleveland was accomplished by Italian artist immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=I7 |title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History:ITALIANS |publisher=Ech.cwru.edu |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref>

Ohio's largest outdoor Italian American street festival, the [[Cleveland Feast of the Assumption Festival|Feast of the Assumption]] (''Festa dell'assunzione''), takes place the weekend of August 15 every year and draws over 100,000 people to the Little Italy neighborhood.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://cleveland.about.com/od/events/p/feastassumption.htm |title=Feast of the Assumption – Profile of Cleveland's Feast of the Assumption in Little Italy |newspaper=Tripsavvy |publisher=Cleveland.about.com |date=September 6, 2012 |access-date=January 16, 2013 |archive-date=April 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403122228/http://cleveland.about.com/od/events/p/feastassumption.htm }}</ref>

===Kansas City===
Attracted by employment in its growing [[Rail transport|railroad]] and [[Meat-packing industry|meat packing]] industries, Italians primarily from [[Calabria]] and [[Sicily]] immigrated to Kansas City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kansas City's [[Calabria|Calabrese]] mainly passed through the port of New York, sometimes stopping in industrial cities like [[Pittsburgh]] along the way, en route to their final destination in the Midwest. Meanwhile, Kansas City's Sicilian community generally came through the port of New Orleans, staying there for a decade or more before bringing their families north. In Kansas City, these communities settled close to one another, often overlapping: the Sicilians taking root in what is now known as the River Market and [[Columbus Park (Kansas City)|Columbus Park]] neighborhoods, and the Calabrese mainly settling in the adjacent "Old Northeast" area.

=== New Orleans ===
Economics in Louisiana and Sicily combined to bring about what became known as the Great Migration of thousands of Sicilians. The end of the Civil War allowed the freed men the choice to stay or to go, many chose to leave for higher paying jobs, which in turn led to a perceived scarcity of labor resources for the planters. On March 17, 1866, the Louisiana Bureau of Immigration was formed and planters began to look to Sicily as a possible solution to their labor needs. Steamship companies advertisements were very effective in recruiting potential workers.

In 1890 the ethnic Irish chief of police, [[David Hennessy]] was assassinated. Suspicion fell on Italians, whose growing numbers in the city made other whites nervous. The [[March 14, 1891 New Orleans lynchings]] were the largest ever mass lynchings in Louisiana history. The use of the term "[[mafia]]" by local media in relation to the murder is the first-known usage of the word in print.

===Syracuse===
{{Main|Italians in Syracuse, New York}}
[[File:North Salina.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.9|Northside in Syracuse]]

Italian immigrants first came to the area around [[Syracuse, New York]] (a city named for [[Siracusa, Sicily]]) in 1883 after providing labor for the construction of the [[West Shore Railroad]]. At first, they were quite transient and came and went, but eventually settled down on the [[Northside, Syracuse|Northside]].<ref name="salina">{{cite web|url=http://www.livingplaces.com/NY/Onondaga_County/Syracuse_City/North_Salina_Street_Historic_District.html |title=North Salina Street Historic District, Syracuse City |access-date=October 23, 2010|publisher=The Gombach Group, 2010}}</ref> By 1899, the Italian immigrants were living on the [[Northside, Syracuse|Northside]] of the city in the area centered around Pearl Street.<ref name="babies">{{cite news |title=Syracuse: Among the Babies, "Bambinos", "Kinters" and Pickininies of Syracuse |newspaper=The Syracuse Sunday Herald |location=Syracuse, NY|date=October 29, 1899 }}</ref> The Italians all but supplanted the Germans in that area of the city and had their own business district along North State and North Salina Streets.<ref name="atlantis">{{cite web|url=http://madeinatlantis.com/new_york/syracuse.htm |title=New York, Syracuse |access-date=November 3, 2010 | publisher=Atlantis, 2010}}</ref>  By September 2009, [[Little Italy, Syracuse|Syracuse's Little Italy]] district received millions of dollars of public and private investment for new sidewalks, streetscapes, landscaping, lighting and to set up a "Green Train" program, which trains men to work in green construction and renovation industries.<ref name="investment">{{cite web |url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=355151 |title=Syracuse's Little Italy at a Tipping Point |access-date=October 23, 2010 |first=Alex |last=Dunbar |publisher=Barrington Broadcasting Group, LLC |date=September 25, 2009 |location=Syracuse, NY |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719062711/http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=355151 |archive-date=July 19, 2011 }}</ref> In recent years, the neighborhood is a mix of Italian shops, restaurants and businesses that cater to the area's South Asian and African population. Although the neighborhood is far less Italian than in past years, banners throughout the district still read ''Little Italy''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://downtowndecorations.com/little-italy-syracuse-new-york/|title=LITTLE ITALY, SYRACUSE, NEW YORK|date=August 21, 2014 |access-date=March 17, 2023}}</ref> By 2010, demographics showed that 14.1% of the population in Syracuse was Italian descent.<ref name="ethnic">{{cite web|url=http://www.city-data.com/city/Syracuse-New-York.html |title=Syracuse, New York |access-date=October 22, 2010 |publisher=CityData, 2010}}</ref>

===Providence===
[[Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island|Federal Hill]] in [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], Rhode Island, is best known for its Italian American community and abundance of restaurants. The first two decades of the 20th century witnessed heavy Italian American immigration into Federal Hill. Though the area today is more diverse, Federal Hill still retains its status as the traditional center for the city's Italian American community. Providence's annual [[Columbus Day]] parade marches down Atwells Avenue.

===Tampa-Ybor City===
[[File:Tampa Ybor City entr 01.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.9|Gateway to Ybor City on 7th. Ave near the [[Nick Nuccio|Nick Nuccio Parkway]]]]

The community of [[History of Ybor City|Ybor City]] in [[Tampa, Florida]] is a [[Cigar|cigar-centric]] [[company town]] founded in 1885 and originally populated by a unique mix of [[Spanish Americas|Spanish]], [[Cuban Americans|Cuban]], [[American Jews|Jewish]], and Italian immigrants, with most of the Italians coming from a small group of villages in southwestern Sicily. At first, Italians found it difficult to find employment in the insular and [[Guild|guild-like]] cigar industry, which had moved to Tampa from Cuba and Key West and was dominated by Hispanic workers. Many founded businesses to serve cigar workers, most notably small grocery stores in the neighborhood's commercial district supplied by Italian-owned vegetable and dairy farms located on open land east of Tampa's city limits.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mormino |first=Gary |title=The Immigrant World of Ybor City: Italians and Their Latin Neighbors in Tampa, 1885-1985 |publisher=University Press of Florida |location=Gainesville, Florida |year=1987 |isbn=0-8130-1630-4 }}</ref> The immigrant cultures in town became better integrated as time went by; eventually, approximately 20% of the workers in the cigar industry were Italian Americans. The tradition of local Italian-owned groceries continued, however, and a handful of such businesses founded in the late 1800s were still operating into the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web|author=Jaden Hair |url=http://www2.tbo.com/news/central-tampa/2009/jul/09/sausages-are-stuffed-with-tradition-ar-97964/ |title=Meat market inspires loyalty |publisher=TBO.com |date=July 9, 2009 |access-date=January 16, 2013}}</ref>

===Birmingham===
[[Birmingham, Alabama]], was representative of smaller industrial centers. Most Italians in the early 20th century came to work in the burgeoning iron and coal industries. Dorothy L. Crim founded the Ensley Community House in the Italian district in 1912 at the behest of the Birmingham City Mission Board. From 1912 to 1969, Ensley House eased the often difficult transition to American life by providing direct assistance.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Hubbs | first1 = G. Ward | title = A Settlement House in Ensley's Italian District | journal = Alabama Heritage | volume = 2005 | issue = 75| pages = 32–40 }}</ref>

===San Diego===
[[File:Little Italy, San Diego.jpg|left|thumb|[[Little Italy, San Diego|San Diego's Little Italy]]]]
{{Main|Little Italy, San Diego}}

Historically, [[Little Italy, San Diego|Little Italy]] in [[San Diego]] was the home to Italian [[fishermen]] and their families. Many Italians moved to San Diego from [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] after the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]] in search of [[tuna]] and other deep-sea sport and commercial fish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Quinney|first=Kimber M.|author2=Cesarini, Thomas J. |title=San Diego's Little Italy|date=October 20, 2007|publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn=978-0-7385-4780-0 |page=1}}</ref> When [[Interstate 5]] was constructed through Little Italy in the early 1970s, 35% of the neighborhood was destroyed and during the same time the California tuna industry was declining, which caused the neighborhood to suffer nearly 30 years of decline.<ref>[http://www.littleitalysd.com/History.asp Little Italy History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415154904/http://www.littleitalysd.com/History.asp |date=April 15, 2010 }}. The Little Italy Association. Retrieved on October 16, 2007.</ref> With the creation of the Little Italy Association in 1996, the neighborhood has gone through [[gentrification]] and has seen a renaissance as Community Benefit District specializing in Italian food, boutique shopping and maintenance that makes this shopping district the place to live in Downtown San Diego.

===West Virginia===
Tens of thousands of Italians came to [[West Virginia]] during the late 1800s and early 1900s to work in the coal camps. As pick-and-shovel miners, Italians hold most of the state's coal production records. One Carmine Pellegrino mined 66 tons of coal by hand in a 24-hour period.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coughlin |first1=Jovina |title=West Virginia's Little Italy Communities |url=https://jovinacooksitalian.com/2013/05/31/west-virginias-little-italy-communities/ |website=Jovina Cooks |date=May 31, 2013 |access-date=December 10, 2019}}</ref> The communities of [[Clarksburg, West Virginia|Clarksburg]], [[Wheeling, West Virginia|Wheeling]], and [[Bluefield, West Virginia|Bluefield]] each hold their own annual Italian Heritage Festival. Fairmont puts on a street festival every December that pays homage to the [[Feast of the Seven Fishes]], an Italian tradition of eating seafood dishes on Christmas Eve instead of meat.

=== Arkansas ===
There was a historical trend of immigration of Italians into the [[U.S. state]] of [[Arkansas]] in the 19th and 20th centuries.

[[Austin Corbin]], the owner of the [[Sunnyside Plantation]] in [[Chicot County, Arkansas|Chicot County]], within the [[Arkansas Delta]] region, decided to employ Italians there during the post-[[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] period.

Italians later moved from the Arkansas Delta to the [[Ozarks]], establishing [[Tontitown, Arkansas|Tontitown]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter=IX. Italians of the North and Italians of the South |date=December 31, 1942 |title=The Real Italians |pages=69–75 |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |doi=10.7312/sfor94080-009 |isbn=978-0-231-89689-4}}</ref>

=== Baltimore ===
Italians began to settle in Baltimore during the late 1800s. Some Italian immigrants came to the [[Port of Baltimore]] by boat. The earliest Italian settlers in Baltimore were sailors from [[Genoa]], the capital city of the Italian region of [[Liguria]], who arrived during the 1840s and 1850s. Later immigrants came from [[Naples]], [[Abruzzo]], [[Cefalù]], and [[Province of Palermo|Palermo]]. These immigrants created the monument to [[Christopher Columbus]] in [[Druid Hill Park]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=LaGumina |first=Salvatore John |title=The Italian American experience: an encyclopedia |date=2000 |publisher=Garland Pub |isbn=978-0-203-80114-7 |location=New York |oclc=560063238}}</ref> Many other Italians came by train after entering the country through [[New York City]]'s [[Ellis Island]]. Italian immigrants who arrived by train would enter the city through the [[President Street Station]]. Because of this, Italians largely settled in a nearby neighborhood that is now known as [[Little Italy, Baltimore|Little Italy]].

Little Italy comprises six blocks bounded by Pratt Street to the North, the [[Inner Harbor]] to the South, Eden Street to the East, and President Street to the West. Other neighborhoods where large numbers of Italians settled include [[Lexington, Baltimore|Lexington]], [[Belair-Edison, Baltimore|Belair-Edison]], and Cross Street. Many settled along [[Lombard Street (Baltimore)|Lombard Street]], which was named after the Italian town of [[Guardia Lombardi]]. The Italian community, overwhelmingly [[Catholic Church in Italy|Roman Catholic]], established a number of Italian American parishes such as [[St. Leo's Church (Baltimore, Maryland)|St. Leo's Church]] and Our Lady of Pompeii Church. The Our Lady of Pompeii Church holds the annual Highlandtown Wine Festival, which celebrates Italian-American culture and benefits the Highlandtown community association.<ref>{{Cite book |editor=Jack Carlsen |editor2=Stephen Charters |title=Global wine tourism: research, management and marketing|pages=209–224|location=Wallingford|publisher=CABI|isbn=978-1-84593-170-4|last1=Carlsen|first1=J. |last2=Getz|first2=D.|chapter=Strategic planning for a regional wine festival: The Margaret River Wine Region Festival|year=2006|doi=10.1079/9781845931704.0209}}</ref>

=== Mississippi ===
Italians have settled in the state of Mississippi since colonial times, although numbers have increased over the years. Since the 18th and mainly the 19th century, Italian settlers have been located in cities and towns across Mississippi. In 1554, Mississippi began to have a real Italian presence, because of the Hernando de Soto expedition. The first Italians who visited Mississippi came in explorations conducted by the French and Spanish governments.

In the 19th century, many Italians entered the United States in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]] and traveled onwards to Mississippi.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anderson|first=Hattie|date=September 1923|title=The Panhandle-Plains Historical Society|journal=The Mississippi Valley Historical Review|volume=10|issue=2|pages=182–185|doi=10.2307/1902735|jstor=1902735|issn=0161-391X}}</ref> Over 100 immigrants lived in Mississippi as the [[American Civil War]] started. In the late 19th century, Italian immigration increased in the United States, which made a tremendous impact on the area.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/degrum/public_html/html/research/findaids/DG0264.html |doi=10.18785/fa.dg0264 |doi-access=free |title=August Derleth Papers |type=Finding aid |website=University of Southern Mississippi |last1=Jones |first1=Dee}}</ref>

=== Denver ===
Large numbers of Italians first came to Colorado in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Some settled in industrial [[Pueblo, Colorado|Pueblo]] or in [[Welby, Colorado|Welby]], which was then a farming community, but the largest Italian community in twentieth century Colorado was in [[North West Side (Denver)|Northwest Denver]], or as it was known at the time, "the North Side" or "North Denver."<ref name="Wiberg, Ruth Eloise. 1995">{{Cite book|last=Wiberg, Ruth Eloise.|title=Rediscovering Northwest Denver: its history, its people, its landmarks|date=1995|publisher=University Press of Colorado|isbn=0-585-03049-9|location=Niwot, CO|oclc=42329582}}</ref>

Italians first put down roots there because St. Patrick's Catholic Church, a largely Irish-descended congregation, already existed in the neighborhood. In 1894, the Italian community on the North Side formed its own Catholic church called Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.<ref name="Wiberg, Ruth Eloise. 1995"/> The community remained strong through the early twentieth century, but in the decades after World War II, many Italian-Americans left Denver proper. Today,  descendants of the old North Side Italian-American community are spread across [[Denver metropolitan area|metro Denver]], particularly in its inner northwestern suburbs like [[Wheat Ridge, Colorado|Wheat Ridge]], [[Westminster, Colorado|Westminster]] and [[Arvada, Colorado|Arvada]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Honors Thesis: Community and Transit in Northwest Denver|url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/honors-thesis-community-transit-northwest-denver-noah-zucker|access-date=December 10, 2020|website=www.linkedin.com|language=en}}</ref>

Reminders of the old Italian community in Northwest Denver are few and far between today. Many of the remaining landmarks are on 38th Avenue. One is Gaetano's, a storied Italian American eatery on 38th Avenue and Tejon Street once owned by the [[Denver crime family|Smaldone family]], which was involved in bootlegging in Denver.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Boyle|first=Grace|date=August 28, 2013|title=Gaetano's Celebrating Its Rebirth and Paying Homage to the Smaldones After More than 60 Years|url=https://denver.eater.com/2013/8/28/6382069/gaetanos-celebrating-its-rebirth-and-paying-homage-to-the-smaldones|access-date=December 10, 2020|website=Eater Denver|language=en}}</ref> Many members of the Italian-American community in Northwest Denver could trace their roots to [[Potenza]], a comune in [[Basilicata]]. A fraternal organization called the Potenza Lodge was founded in 1899 and still exists today on the corner of Shoshone Street and 38th Avenue.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Potenza Lodge|url=http://www.potenzalodge.com/index.html|access-date=December 10, 2020|website=www.potenzalodge.com}}</ref>

=== Las Vegas ===
There is a significant Italian American community in [[Las Vegas]].<ref>{{cite book|title= The Peoples Of Las Vegas: One City, Many Faces| isbn=978-0-87417-651-3 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=nCuVDwAAQBAJ| last1=Simich | first1=Jerry L. | last2=Wright | first2=Thomas C. | date=March 7, 2005 | publisher=University of Nevada Press }}</ref>
[[File:Old Neighborhood Italian-American Club, Outfit Headquarters (37975116756).jpg|thumb|Old Neighborhood Italian American Club, [[Las Vegas]]]]