Before I describe the art my group and I discovered in Little Italy, I would like to address some issues that plague Little Italy today.
As a fellow Italian, or at least half of one, I have always wanted to visit Little Italy to get a taste of the culture that has prevailed in my family for centuries. Whenever I heard the name Little Italy, I imagined a town filled to the brim with Italian culture and hundreds of Italians that lived in a tightly knit community where everyone referred to each other as “paesano.” If I went to Little Italy decades ago I would have seen the town I had always dreamed about, but unfortunately that is not the case today.
Presently, Little Italy is a miniscule neighborhood that consists of mostly restaurants, one museum the size of a small bank (literally), a couple vintage clothing stores, and a few apartment complexes. All of the people that made Little Italy so great have moved on and took the Italian culture with them. The museum guide even said it herself, “Little Italy has become more of a tourist attraction rather than a town that reflects Italian culture.”
If that’s not bad enough, Little Italy continues to shrink due to the overwhelming size of Chinatown that continues to grow everyday. When an owner decides to sell their business, the shop is engulfed by Chinatown instantly. I was astonished to see how I went from Italy to China as I turned the corner. Given the circumstances, Little Italy will probably cease to exist in the near future. As John Delucra said, “It’s only fair. We took this town from the Irish, and now the Chinese are going to take it from us.”
Now I will go on to describe the art. I have to admit Little Italy is not the place to go to find eccentric architecture, paintings, or anything else you would find in a museum, unless you go to the Italian American Museum of course. As Ashley stated in her blog, Little Italy is home to the most exquisite Italian cuisine I have ever seen. The culinary arts of Little Italy are definitely something to marvel at.
There may not be Italian art, but at least there are photo shoots for fashion campaigns
At the Café Palermo, owned by John Delucra, I tasted the most delicious cannoli I have ever eaten. Each and every cannoli is hand-made using a family recipe that was passed down over generations. The sweet cream with a hint of lemon, the chocolaty chocolate chips, the crisp outer shell, and the mouthwatering powdered sugar that makes you want to lick the plate clean put together creates this masterpiece we call the best Cannoli in New York City, and maybe the world. Currently, John Delucra is working on the $1,000 cannoli competition, which requires one to make the most expensive, and edible, cannoli on the market. (More details can be found in the video interview on a previous post)
I ate my cannoli to quickly to take a picture, but they look as good as they taste
In addition to a delicious cannoli, one can visit the restaurant that served the first pizza in America over 100 years ago. Angelo’s, coincidentally the restaurant right next to Café Palermo, was established in 1902 and still exists to this day. Making a pizza is a work of art, which places the first people to do it in America as innovators of the arts. Angelo himself made the first authentic New York pizza every New Yorker has come to love today. So if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend that you go to Little Italy to have a taste of the best cannoli and pizza New York has to offer.
Home of the first pizza in America
Every time we asked, “Where can we find art in Little Italy?” everyone pointed us to the food. Food is all the talk in a neighborhood that is overrun by restaurants. Walking down the streets, we couldn’t avoid being stopped by every restaurant owner trying to pull us into their restaurant for lunch. It is a very competitive business, but each restaurant has something special to offer. I find it amazing how every restaurant serves exactly the same menu, and yet could still be so distinct from one another. There is always one dish that makes a restaurant stand out whether it’s a cannoli, a pizza, baked clams, or any other classic Italian dish.
Little Italy is a place to find some of the best Italian food in New York and that’s about it. There is a little bit of history that could be found, but you have to search really hard to discover it. Personally, if it weren’t for the interviews I wouldn’t have learned a thing by simply exploring Little Italy for myself except for the fact that John Delucra makes a mean cannoli. Still I highly suggest that New Yorkers pay a visit to Little Italy in the future, because sadly it may not be around much longer.
P.S. The video interviews for our trip to Italy can be found in a previous post.
A dog better not pee on Italy's pride!
YUMMMMM
The vintage clothing shops had interesting antiques
