Little Italy (french: La Petite-Italie; it, Piccola Italia) is a neighbourhood in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. It is centered on

Saint Laurent Boulevard Saint Laurent Boulevard, also known as Saint Lawrence Boulevard (officially in french: boulevard Saint-Laurent), is a major street in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A commercial artery and cultural heritage site, the street runs north–south through ...

between

Jean Talon Street Jean Talon Street (officially in french: rue Jean-Talon) is one of the longest streets on the Island of Montreal. It runs from Decarie Boulevard in the west through Anjou in the east to Galeries d'Anjou. Jean Talon was the first Intendant of New F ...

and St. Zotique Street in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie is a borough (''arrondissement'') in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located in the centre-east of the city. Geography The borough is bordered to the northwest by Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension ...

, south of

Villeray Villeray is a neighbourhood in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough and is situated in the north-central part of the Island of Montreal. Origin of the name The village of Villeray took its ...

and Jarry Park. Little Italy is home to

Italian Canadian Italian Canadians ( it, italo-canadesi, french: italo-canadiens) comprise Canadians who have full or partial Italian heritage and Italians who migrated from Italy or reside in Canada. According to the 2021 Census of Canada, 1,546,390 Canadians ...

-owned shops and restaurants, the

Jean-Talon Market Jean-Talon Market (French: Marché Jean-Talon) is a farmer's market in Montreal. Located in the Little Italy district, the market is bordered by Jean-Talon Street to the north, Mozart Ave. to the south, Casgrain Ave. to the west and Henri-Julien ...

, as well as the

Church of the Madonna della Difesa The Church of the Madonna della Difesa ( it, Chiesa della Madonna della Difesa, french: Église de Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense) is a Catholic church in the neighbourhood of Little Italy in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was built by Italian immigrant ...

, built by Italian immigrants from the

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sann ...

area in

Molise Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...

to commemorate the apparition of

the Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

in ''La Difesa'', an area of Campobasso. Montreal has the second largest

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

population in Canada after

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. There are 260,345 people of Italian ancestry living within the

Greater Montreal Area Greater Montreal (french: Grand Montréal) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with ...

History

The Italian presence in Quebec dates to the seventeenth century, when Italians from the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region served in the

Carignan-Salières Regiment The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a Piedmont French military unit formed by merging two other regiments in 1659. They were led by the new Governor, Daniel de Rémy de Courcelles, and Lieutenant-General Alexandre de Prouville, Sieur de Tracy. ...

. There were also a few traders and artisans who came mainly from northern Italy. In the nineteenth century, larger scale Italian immigration began to develop. These immigrants were predominantly male farmers from the southern regions. These immigrants, mostly temporary, worked in railways, mines and lumber camps. In the early twentieth century, the composition of immigrants began to change. It was then characterized by permanent immigrants and family reunification. The majority of immigrants worked in the construction and maintenance of railways (

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rai ...

). Soon they built their own churches and institutions such as the magnificent

. The largest wave of Italian immigrants arrived with the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Between 1946 and 1960, thousands of Italian workers and peasants landed in the

Port of Montreal The Port of Montreal (french: Port de Montréal) ( ACI Canadian Port Code: 0395, UN/LOCODE: CA MTR) is a cruise and transshipment point located on the St. Lawrence River in Montreal, Québec, Canada. The port operates as an international contai ...

or in the Port of Halifax (famously Pier 21) and proceeded on to Montreal by train (with a majority admitted under the family reunification). A large part of them settled around the Jean Talon Market and the Church of Madonna della Difesa, giving birth to Little Italy. From 1961 to 1975, immigration had diversified and was characterized by a high proportion of workers in manufacturing and construction. It was after the 1970s that a sharp decline in immigration from Italy occurred.

Church of the Madonna della Difesa

The ''Church of the Madonna della Difesa'' (french: Église de Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense) was designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 2002. Since its construction in 1918, this church has been closely associated with the Italian community in Montreal. The parish was established in the 1860s. The building and its interior decoration, were made in stages by artist

Guido Nincheri Guido Nincheri (1885 – 1 March 1973) was a Canadian painter and designer working mainly in stained glass and fresco. Biography Guido Nincheri was born in Prato, Italy in 1885. He studied art in Florence and immigrated to Montreal in November 19 ...

, whose work was influenced by the structure of a typical Italian parish church from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

era. The walls and ceilings are painted in bright coloured

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

Parks

* Dante Park is a park in Little Italy, bordered by Dante Street to the north, de Gaspe Street to the west, and Alma Street to the east. The park was inaugurated on June 26, 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the predominantly

parish of the

. It is located opposite the church.

Jean-Talon Market

The ''Jean-Talon Market'' (French: ''Marché Jean Talon'') is a farmer's market located in the heart of the Little Italy. This market opened in 1933 and was named after Jean Talon, the second

Intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of ...

. It went through numerous renovations in the early 2000s, resulting in most of the market being sheltered, and there is also underground parking. The main entrance was opened in the summer of 2005.

References

External links

Société de développement commercial (SDC) of Little Italy
{{coord, 45, 31, 53.8, N, 73, 37, 8.5, W, display=title Ethnic enclaves in Quebec European-Canadian culture in Montreal Neighbourhoods in Montreal