By: Stephen J. Cerulli
Ridgewood, Queens, NY.
When one thinks of Italian Enclaves in Queens, Astoria, and/or Corona come to mind first. Surprisingly, according to the US census in the early 1990s, Ridgewood, Queens, had the most foreign-born Italians in the World’s Borough. Much of Ridgewood’s Italian community moved to Queens from the 1960s forward as nearby Bushwick, once the largest Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn, experienced white flight. Significant portions of Ridgewood’s Italian-American community hail from Sicily and Trentino. In fact, there are large and active Siciliani and Trentini social clubs in the neighborhood. Ridgewood’s community is served by multiple Italian bakeries such as Grimaldi’s, Catania, Monreale, and Rudy’s (German origins but Italian-owned). Joe’s, which was founded in 1982, on Forrest Avenue, is the oldest Italian table service restaurant. The Italian community is spread throughout the neighborhood, but the heart of it is on Fresh Pond Road, where the Italian grocer, Valnetino’s, and the yearly feast in honor of Padre Pio and Maria S.S. Del Soccorso reside. Italian religious societies are associated with the various catholic churches in the area; however, it is at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal where Italian mass is held.
North Highland Park, Richmond, VA.
Virginia is one of the last places one thinks of when discussing Italian enclaves. That said, Richmond had a small but vibrant Little Italy, with most of the population descending from Tuscans with roots in the 1850s. By the 1870s, the Italian community was large enough to form an Italian Beneficial and Social Society. That said, many of the Italians worked as masons, bricklayers, and carpenters on some of the city’s most beautiful theaters and public buildings. In the mid-2010s, a plaque dedicated to the Italians was erected in the old neighborhood. The community in North Highland Park was formed around Umberto Balducci’s restaurant, where many Tuscan immigrants had their first jobs. Though not an exclusively Italian Parish, Saint Elizabeth’s was one of the main Catholic churches of the Tuscans. Though no longer in Richmond itself, the Italian-American community has an Order Sons of Italy lodge in a suburb a few miles out from North Highland Park.
Frontenac, Crawford County, KS
Though both Kansas cities and the surrounding suburbs are well-known for having Italians, few people know about the Italian communities in Kansas coal country. Both Crawford and Cherokee counties had significant Italian populations who came from all over Italy, including regions like Umbria, to work in the coalmines. Frontenac, in Crawford County, had and has the largest Italian population. In the last census, around 15% of Frontenac identified as Italian. The town still has many businesses either formed or owned by Italians. For example, there is a bakery that was founded by Italians in 1904 and an Italian specialty store, Palluca’s, which was founded in 1909. Barto’s Idle Hour, the main restaurant and bar in town, was founded and owned by an Italian family. In the early 1900s, the diocese even founded a mission to care for the Italian community. Many of those parishioners are laid to rest in Our Lady Mt. Carmel cemetery, where a noticeable amount of the headstones are in Italian. Sacred Heart Church is the main Italian parish these days. Much of the community history and culture is documented in the Miner’s Hall Museum in nearby Franklin, KS.
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