Little Italy Everywhere, Every Day

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ANT'S IPHONE THRU AUGUST 2013 389_crop

I want to be in Little Italy right now.  Yes, any Little Italy will do: San Francisco’s North Beach, Boston’s North End, New York’s Mulberry Street.  I want to smell the bubbling marinara, the sautéing garlic, the baking pane dolce; I want to hear wine and prosecco corks popping and Italian waiters clamoring for you to join the festivities inside – or on the sidewalk; I want to see the red checkered tablecloths, the joyous faces, and an Italia soccer jacket or two, just as I did when I lived in North Beach prior to moving to Dallas six years ago.  I want to be part of that celebration of life so easily found in a Little Italy.

But I also want to be in Little Italy to dive into the past, to conjure those memories of holidays with my Italian-American family, from homemade cannelloni and prosciutto-wrapped melon, to childhood conversations with the family priest from Malta.  Surrounded by family and a strong Italian presence, we were there because my paternal grandparents had immigrated from northern Italy to San Francisco decades earlier.

There’s something supremely rich about the Italian-American experience and Little Italies in general, these enclaves of Italian culture created by immigrants trying to recreate what they had left behind.  From their butchers, bakers, and grocers, to their traditions and reverence for a meal and the family – and the family meal – the Italian immigrants left an indelible print in their neighborhoods evidenced in the spirit that remains.  Vestiges of their warm and engaging ghosts hang in the atmosphere, and the aura of celebration lives on. The vibrant flavor of a Little Italy  is a reminder of a world the immigrants seem to have literally packed in their bags and brought with them decades ago.

There’s something magical about a Little Italy that lures in the tourist as much as the local.  It is a combination of the food (athough that cannot be said for every restaurant in a Little Italy…) and wine – and perhaps more than anything, it is the ubiquity of that spirit of celebration, connection, community, and family that we all inherently yearn for.

So what’s to be done when no such magical Little Italy exists anywhere in my proximity?

Create it.

And CHE GIOIA I felt when I realized what was right in front of me. What joy to realize that the spirit of Little Italy is all around me, no matter where I am, if I choose to see it.  And that I can share and create it with my own little family at any given moment.

While this site is about indulging memory and honoring the past, it is also about celebrating the here and now, through exploring and creating.  There are so many wonderful blogs focusing on Italy, but I want to revel in what is closer to home – both in the country and literally in my home.  I can “live Italian” by  focusing on the Italian-American experience.

This is a site about exploring the actual, physical Little Italies AND creating a Little Italy of one’s own – both in the home and in cities without a traditional Little Italy. Revel in the here and now via the food, the traditions, the gardening, the music, the games, the legends, the language, the sense of community brought by Italians to America.  It’s about living deliberately by picking a fig from your own garden and noticing the celestial purple and white filaments before you bite into it — just like Nonno would have done. It’s about the heavenly smell of vibrant green basil in your wine barrel planter before you transform it into a delectable pesto dinner.  It’s about sitting down while you eat with your family and friends and connecting over a simple meal — or a game of bocce ball.  It’s about cultivating your own garden, both literally and figuratively.

It’s about bridging past to present, along a path of joy.

So as it turns out, it looks like I am in Little Italy right now — a virtual Little Italy that will become ever larger with each deliberate act of exploration, discovery, and creation.

Che gioia!

21 thoughts on “Little Italy Everywhere, Every Day”

  1. Amanda West's avatar Amanda West

    K Gioia! My mouth is watering already! I miss living in North Beach, too, but even more I miss living close to you dear Antonia. LOVE your blog!

  6. Costanza Solari's avatar Costanza Solari

    I’m tasting the pesto, marveling at the fig filaments, hearing the sound of those prosecco corks, and BELIEVING that I don’t have to hop an Alitalia jet to revel in la vita italiana. Che gioia indeed! Cannot WAIT for the next post . . .

  8. Bonnie's avatar Bonnie

    Wonderful wonderful!!! I think I’m going to go make some pasta now– with a lot more ‘joy’ involved. I so look forward to reading more of this blog!!!

  10. Suzie Trueman's avatar Suzie Trueman

    Che gioia indeed! Antonia daughter of my dearest friends – absolutely wonderful! From your English Godmother with much love to you all this Christmas! Let’s make a date to meet in Italy in 2014. Suzie xx

  11. Cathy's avatar Cathy

    You were born into it. I started absorbing it when I was 19 and first heard words like mortadella, torta and mangia. Can you explain “kgioia”?

    • Hi Cathy!! “Che gioia” is pronounced “k joya” (thus kgioia) and means “What joy!” Hopefully that didn’t confuse you more. 🙂 Post 3 has more detail and is coming soon. xoxo!

  12. randallm's avatar randallm

    This is fun! Thanks for connecting me to your delectable blog! Mama Mia! Can’t wait to read more!
    I’m on the search for little Italy’s everyday….
    Hugs! I miss you.

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