I remember the first time I tasted gelato—I was a study abroad student living in Rome, and it was a sweltering August day. I don’t recall what I tasted first—the dark chocolate, the rich hazelnut, the overall creamy cold sweetness—but I’m pretty sure my knees buckled. Now this was how ice cream should be done—an explosion of sweet flavor teasing each tastebud; a lighter density than American ice cream (but still decadently creamy); and a perfect miniature spoon, all the better to savor each bite.
I think I knew that day, early in my semester abroad, it was going to be difficult to come home.
Luckily for me, Italian enclaves in U.S. metropolises have brought a little slice (or a whole pie) of the old country to American shores. If an Italy vacation (or relocation!) isn’t in the budget this year, consider seeking out an Italian stronghold right here at home …
Little Italy—New York City
Arguably the most famous Little Italy in America, New York’s neighborhood in lower Manhattan boasts restaurants galore, cobblestone streets, and the boisterous San Gennaro Feast in September, one of the city’s most popular festivals. While smaller than it used to be, the neighborhood still packs authentic trattorias, bakeries, and specialty shops—today mainly concentrated around Mulberry Street.
“I loved walking down Mulberry Street as a kid, watching through the glass storefronts, seeing that day’s fresh pasta and pastry being made,” Melissa Castello, a lifelong Long Island resident, recently told me. “My parents and grandparents never did that at home, so I never saw those traditions close up except in Little Italy. It was like watching a piece of my own heritage live and in living color.”
Beyond the food, many also visit this neighborhood to see some of New York’s most important Roman Catholic Italian-American churches, namely Most Precious Blood Church on Mulberry Street and Old Saint Patrick’s Church at Mott and Prince streets. Most Precious Blood Church is also the National Shrine Church of San Gennaro, and a main participant in the annual feast.
“It’s a tradition since the turn of the century, a little piece of how things were,” Castello says. “If you’ve never been to Italy, it gives you a great flavor of what it’s like, and also a sense of the New York Italian-American tradition.”
