Little Italy
Little Italy is San Diego's oldest connected neighborhood. The Little Italy business district has thrived as an ethnic business and residential community since the 1920s.
Little Italy's Association Address is 1668 Columbia Street while the Little Italy neighborhood stretches from Laurel south to West A Street. San Diego, CA 92101. Little Italy telephone number is (619) 233-3898 and Little Italy fax number is (619) 233-4866.
From the 1920's when Italian Fishermen made this neighborhood Litte Italy has been a popular place for Old World charm. The shopping in Little Italy is comprised of little shops and small galleries. The European style boutiques offer very fashionable clothing that you will not find elsewhere in San Diego. The small galleries are numerous, so many that you will almost feel as if the street is an open air art museum. Small cafe's are prevalent that add to the charm. Most visitors rave about the Italian food which is absolutely wonderful. Filippi's Italian Restaurant in Little Italy serves a great pizza.
San Diego's Little Italy offers views of the San Diego Bay while you enjoy the find food and experience the art and cultural festivities. You will recognize Little Italy neighborhood by the Little Italy Street Sign that was set up in 1999 on India Street between Date Street and Fir Street. San Diego's Italian American community is celebrated with over a half-dozen annual festivals that include art and music. The highly recommended Carnivale (Mardi Gras), Columbus Day Festa, Artwalk, and "Chalk La Strada" are worth seeing for yourself if you are in San Diego when these events happen. Additionally, Easter celebrations and a unique Bocce Ball Tournament are also regular crowd pleasers. New in 2008 is the Little Italy Mercado in which every Saturday from 9am to 1:30pm on Date Street there will be an open air market with organic produce, meats, cheeses, pastas, and authentic foods.
In the heart of Little Italy you will find the community park called Amici Park, where children from Washington Elementary School play and grown-ups regularly play on the bocce ball court. Our Lady of the Rosary Church which was built in 1925 is an Italian National Parish. The interior of the Our Lady of the Rosary Church is artistically pleasing because of the effort of Fausto Tasca in painting the mysteries of the Rosary, a large Crucifixion, the Twelve Apostles, and the Last Judgement. In addition to the stained glass windows, world renowned California sculptor Carlos Romanelli has added marvelous statues of Our Lady, St. Joseph, and St. Anne.
Little Italy History
Surprisingly, San Diego's Little Italy is actually larger then the Little Italy New York, Little Italy San Francisco, and Little Italy St. Louis. Originally Italians made themselves home in this area because of the similarity to Italy and the ideal California weather. Immigrants from similar countries would settle nearby each other and thus Little Italy was born. Most Italian settlers continued to do what they specialized in back in Italy and that was to fish. Other Italian immigrants would find jobs in the seafood industry by working for seafood processing plants and opening up their own Italian seafood restaurants.
Additional Little Italy Information
The Italian Community Center in Little Italy offers information about Italian American culture to visitors. The Little Italy Association website provides additional information about the Little Italy neighborhood.