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
Little Italy turned out to be an adventure once we actually found it. Tyler, Ashley, Alyssa, and I witnessed a completely different mood as we moved into serene Mulberry Street from the loud hustle and bustle of Chinatown businesses. We weren’t yet sure where we actually were until we saw a little cart that said CANOLI SHACK. A quick look down the street and many Italian restaurant banners came into view. When I say many I mean A LOT of restaurants. There were so many at least 3 or 4 per block that it was impossible to decide where to eat. I wondered how anyone visiting this neighborhood would figure out where they were going to eat lunch. There were just too many restaurants to choose from. Adding to the pressure were the representatives of each restaurant standing outside and competing for lunch patrons by advertising the exact same food. “Lunch guys? Lunch ladies? We have the best pasta in town!” 
We made our way down the block and were searching for Little Italy’s art. Out of nowhere comes the greatest sign for the Italian American Museum. Ding Ding Ding there must be art in there! We encountered a small museum that was only maybe double the size of our classroom. The young woman working there was extremely nice and even allowed us to interview her as she walked us through the different art pieces of the museum. Check out the videos of all of interviews in our Interviews in Little Italy post below! The coolest thing about the museum was that it was once a bank from 1885- 1932 when Little Italy was a thriving Italian American community. I thought that the old cash register and the old safe were the most interesting pieces because it showed the history of the neighborhood in something as simple as an old bank. The safe was especially awesome because it had been left shut in the bank only to be opened by a professional safecracker many years later when the bank was to be turned into the museum that it was now. The safe contained envelopes and notes that were not claimed and are left on display at the museum. I admired the fact that they were able to preserve this remnant of the original neighborhood as it once was.
Along our merry way we came across this vintage clothing shop that had old clothes from as early as the 1850s. The woman in the store had a really indifferent view towards the neighborhood especially the restaurants because she mentioned that they all served the same exact food. I think this was a good contrast to the interviews we were having that mostly described positive aspects of the neighborhood. The store clerk worked in the neighborhood daily and we could tell she wasn’t too crazy about it.
We began a journey to Sal’s pizza shop and I thought Sal’s pizza…? Where have I heard that before? I know!! Do the Right Thing!! It was almost a real depiction of the restaurant it was so strange it even had its own wall of fame! We had some good fairly cheap pizza and I caught a picture of real life Sal. I wanted to tell him about the movie but then I was reminded that it never ended well for the restaurant.
After pizza we were still hungry and still needed one more interview. We decided to go to Caffé Palermo that boasted “Best Cannoli on the planet Earth.” We all had some delicious dessert. While eating we noticed all these cut out boards of this Italian guy who looked like he might be the owner. Then we turn around and at one of the tables the same guy was there! Ashley went up to him and asked if we could do a video interview and it turned out to be the best interview of the day. His name was John Delutro and he owned the café since he was seventeen years old and has been running it for the past 39 years. I was blown by the fact that he was able to keep this café of his open for so long and busy with customers. He was a sweet guy and really wanted to explain his story to us. He told us how he was born and raised in the neighborhood, how the neighborhood came to be, and how it is declining as a neighborhood for Italian American residents. I was surprised he was one of the few to still live in the neighborhood as he said most people were able to sell there houses for much higher prices than they paid for it and then moved to Brooklyn or Queens. He told us about the open neighborhood he once lived in where no one locked their doors, he could sleep on the fire escape, and the neighborhood was one large cohesive unit. I found this interview to be the best way to end our day as it really stood out because we actually got a first hand account from someone who is a true native of the neighborhood. He was able to relate the story of Little Italy through his eyes and I could tell the connection he had with his neighborhood was very special to him.
NYTimes Arts
