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San Diego also's omitted. At least the CA Little Italies share the similar climate, but most Italian-Americans have/had graduated out of the ethnic scene and into the mainstream, and intermarriage is common as well.
I'd say if Manhattan tried to make it relevant, they should rebrand it as being more upscale, become a showcase for high-end boutiques, restaurants, exotic Italian car showrooms, fashion model branches for Italian-based agencies, art studios specializing in fine Italian art, and a state of the art performing arts venue instead of having those businesses scattered around the rest of the city. Since real estate is astronomical there, it only makes sense to go the "Maserati" route and show how its for those who "made it", not fresh off the boat, and Manhattan is much more parallel to Milan than a town in the Mezzogiorno. Go to Arthur Ave, Philly, Providence, Boston, or even Baltimore if you want your more traditional Little Italy of sausage/cheese shops, family-owned restaurants, and bocce ball courts. Arthur Ave. is a bit past peak, but still has some semblance of a traditional Little Italy, roughly parallel to how relevant Manhattan's was around the 1980s-90s.
Still, its a shame when you see cities like Buffalo, Kansas City, and Denver once having their own "Little Italies", it speaks for itself how removed we are from the age of immigration and Italian-influenced culture. I'd say the 1950s was the heyday for that, when pasta and pizza became popular with Middle America for the first time, the influence in songs like "Papa Loves Mambo", and celebrities like Frank Sinatra.
One major factor that one must consider when deciding the best Italian neighborhoods, is actually having Italian residents.
Philly and NYC are the only large U.S cities with big city italian American neighborhoods (multiple zip codes with 10,000 plus people claiming italian ancestry in the city proper). Most of the other "little Italys" or Italian American neighborhoods in the US, especially outside of Northeast, are exactly what they're called, "little" as in not that populous.
One major factor that one must consider when deciding the best Italian neighborhoods, is actually having Italian residents.
Philly and NYC are the only large U.S cities with big city italian American neighborhoods (multiple zip codes with 10,000 plus people claiming italian ancestry in the city proper). Most of the other "little Italys" or Italian American neighborhoods in the US, especially outside of Northeast, are exactly what they're called, "little" as in not that populous.
That makes no sense to me as a way to judge anything. Then just the city that has the most population wins because of numbers. I don't think that's what the OP was asking about at all.
Boston, Providence, Baltimore, Philly etc.. still have genuine Little Italy's that haven't been gentrified to the moon and back
But do these actually have Italian immigrants in them as residents? Or are we talking neighborhoods of Italian heritage from late 19th/early 20th century immigration? I would the first of my questions would be a genuine Little Italy while the second is not.
That makes no sense to me as a way to judge anything. Then just the city that has the most population wins because of numbers. I don't think that's what the OP was asking about at all.
As I said, it's not the ONLY factor, but it is a big factor imo. Also, there is a clear correlation between a large demographic in a urban neighborhood, and a large amount of cultural establishments that are operated from that same demographic.
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