New York City’s Little Italy used to span from Canal and Houston Streets to Lafayette Street and the Bowery. Italian-Americans have long moved on to other parts of the country and Chinatown has taken over the neighborhood. All that remains of Little Italy is the long, snake-shaped city block of Mulberry Street. The neighborhood that once played host to legions of Italian immigrants is a fanciful strip of old red brick tenement buildings, Italian restaurants, outdoor cafés and low-rent souvenir shops. One relic from the past, though, is intact and has stood the test of time. The Church of the Most Precious Blood is the site for the National Shrine of San Gennaro. And every September, the exalted statue of San Gennaro is still carried through Mulberry Street during a parade and week-long festival of Italian grandeur, gastronomic delight also known as gluttony, and kitsch.
From New York City
Art and Passion:
Little Italy Then and Now
by Patricia Vaccarino