New York City has the largest population of

Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

in the United States of America as well as

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, many of whom inhabit ethnic enclaves in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. New York is home to the third largest Italian population outside of Italy, behind Buenos Aires, Argentina (first) and São Paulo, Brazil (second). Over 2.6 million Italians and Italian-Americans live in the greater New York metro area, with about 800,000 living within one of the five New York City boroughs. This makes Italian Americans the largest ethnic group in the New York metro area. The first Italian to reside in New York was

Pietro Cesare Alberti Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II C ...

, a

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

seaman who, in 1635, settled in the Dutch colony of

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

that would eventually become

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. A small wave of Protestants, known as Waldensians, who were of French and northern Italian heritage (specifically Piedmontese), occurred during the 17th century, with the majority coming between 1654 and 1663. A 1671 Dutch record indicates that, in 1656 alone, the

Duchy of Savoy The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416. It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...

near Turin, Italy, had exiled 300 Waldensians due to their Protestant faith. The largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1820 and 1978, 5.3 million Italians immigrated to the United States, including over two million between 1900 and 1910. Only Irish and Germans immigrated in larger numbers. The first New York neighborhood to be settled by large numbers of Italian immigrants – primarily from

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

(mostly from Sicily) – was

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

, which became the first part of the city to be known as " Little Italy". The area, which lies east of

Lexington Avenue Lexington Avenue, often colloquially abbreviated as "Lex", is an avenue on the East Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City that carries southbound one-way traffic from East 131st Street to Gramercy Park at East 21st Street. Along it ...

between 96th and 116th Streets and east of

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

between 116th and 125th Streets, featured people from different regions of Italy on each cross street, as immigrants from each area chose to live in close proximity to each other. "Italian Harlem" approached its peak in the 1930s, with over 100,000 Italian-Americans living in its crowded, run-down apartment buildings. The 1930 census showed that 81 percent of the population of Italian Harlem consisted of first- or second- generation Italian Americans. This was somewhat less than the concentration of Italian Americans in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

’s Little Italy with 88 percent; Italian Harlem’s total population, however, was three times that of Little Italy.Meyer,Gerald
"Italian Harlem: America’s Largest and Most Italian Little Italy"
/ref> Remnants of the neighborhood's Italian heritage are kept alive by the

Giglio Society of East Harlem Giglio Society of East Harlem is a non profit Italian-American society located in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, that sponsors an annual feast honoring their patron saint, Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony. History 20th century Southern I ...

. Every year on the second weekend of August, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated and the "Dancing of the Giglio" is performed for thousands of visitors. After World War II, the original Italian settlements such as East Harlem declined as Italian Americans moved to the North Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn's southern tier. The geographic shift coincided with a new wave of Italian immigration. An estimated 129,000 to 150,000 Italian immigrants entered New York City between 1945 and 1973. Bypassing Manhattan, they settled in Italian American neighborhoods in the outer boroughs and helped reinvigorate Italian culture and community institutions. With the influx of postwar immigrants, Bensonhurst became the largest Italian community in New York City, with 150,000 Italian Americans in the 1980 census. The best-known "Little Italy" in Manhattan is the area currently called that, which centers around Mulberry Street. This settlement, however, is rapidly becoming part of the adjacent

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

as the older Italian residents die and their children move elsewhere. As of the 2000 census, 692,739 New Yorkers reported Italian ancestry, making them the largest European ethnic group in the city. In 2011, the

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

found there were 49,075 persons of Italian birth in New York. USA san gennaro vendors NY

Italian-American neighborhoods in New York

* Arthur Avenue (the Bronx's Little Italy) *

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and ...

* Bensonhurst, Brooklyn (Brooklyn's Little Italy) * Belmont, Bronx * Bergen Beach, Brooklyn * Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn * City Island, Bronx *

Cobble Hill, Brooklyn Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. A small neighborhood comprising 40 blocks, Jackson, Kenneth T., and Kasinitz, Philip. "Cobble Hill" in Cobble Hill sits adjacent to Brooklyn He ...

* Dyker Heights, Brooklyn * East Village, Manhattan * Greenwich Village, Manhattan * Howard Beach, Queens * Middle Village, Queens * Ridgewood, Queens *

Mill Basin, Brooklyn Mill Basin is a residential neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is on a peninsula abutting Jamaica Bay and is bordered by Avenue U on the northwest and the Mill Basin/Mill Island Inlet on its remaining sides. Mill Basin is ...

Morris Park, Bronx Morris Park is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of the Bronx. Its approximate boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are Neill Avenue and Pelham Parkway to the north, Eastchester Road to the East, the Amtrak Northea ...

* Mulberry Street, Little Italy, Manhattan * Ozone Park, Queens * Pelham Bay, Bronx * Pleasant Avenue,

( Italian Harlem), Manhattan *

Schuylerville, Bronx Schuylerville (nicknamed "Skyville") is a middle-class neighborhood located in the East Bronx area of New York City. Housing is mostly single-family and two-family houses. It is located next to other middle-to-upper-class residential neighborho ...

* Throggs Neck, Bronx * Whitestone, Queens * Williamsburg, Brooklyn * Tottenville, Staten Island * Eltingville, Staten Island * Annadale, Staten Island * Huguenot, Staten Island

Education

The Italian international private school

La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi La Scuola d'Italia Guglielmo Marconi is an Italian international school in Manhattan, New York City, serving Pre-Kindergarten through high school/''liceo''. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs established the school in 1977.

, serving grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12, is located in Manhattan. It is the sole bilingual English-Italian day school in North America. Despite the large Italian American population, the vast majority of bilingual day schools in North America are French speaking.

Institutions

The Consulate-General of Italy in New York is located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Th
John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
founded in 1979 and located in Midtown Manhattan, is an academic institute that studies matters pertaining to the history of Italians in the United States. The Italian American Museum is located in Manhattan's Little Italy. Located in a former bank, Banca Stabile, its current building had a "soft opening" in September 2008,Mallozzi, Vincent M.
In Little Italy, a Former Bank Will Now Hold Italian Immigrants’ Memories

. '' The New York Times''. September 8, 2008. Print: September 9, 2008, page B3, New York edition. Retrieved on May 3, 2015. and a formal opening in October.Haberman, Clyde.
A March Uptown and a Shrine Downtown for Italian Heritage

. '' The New York Times''. October 14, 2008. Print: October 14, 2008, p. A25, New York edition. Retrieved on May 3, 2015.

Churches

Church of the Most Precious Blood The Church of the Most Precious Blood is a Roman Catholic parish located in New York City. The parish is under the authority of the Archdiocese of New York, and is the National Shrine Church of San Gennaro. Located at 113 Baxter Street with ...

, Little Italy * Our Lady of Pompeii Church, Greenwich Village * St. Anthony of Padua Church, South Village

Recreation

Columbus Day and the San Gennaro Festival are celebrated in New York.

References

{{Ethnicity in New York City Ethnic groups in New York City Italian-American history