Little Italy (french: La Petite-Italie; it, Piccola Italia) is a neighbourhood in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
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 thirteen ...
, Canada. It is centered on
Saint Laurent Boulevard 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 N ...
and St. Zotique Street in the
borough of
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, south of
Villeray and
Jarry Park
Jarry Park (french: Parc Jarry) is an urban park in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jarry Park has total area of 36 hectares. It is considered by the City of Montreal as one of its large p ...
.
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-Julie ...
, as well as the
Church of the Madonna della Difesa, 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
it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman)
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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 o ...
in ''La Difesa'', an area of Campobasso.
Montreal has the second largest
Italian 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 anc ...
. 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 a ...
.
History
The Italian presence in Quebec dates to the seventeenth century, when Italians from the
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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region served in the
Carignan-Salières Regiment. 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 rail ...
). Soon they built their own churches and institutions such as the magnificent
Church of the Madonna della Difesa.
The largest wave of Italian immigrants arrived with the end of
World War II. Between 1946 and 1960, thousands of Italian workers and peasants landed in the
Port of Montreal 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 bein ...
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, 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 ide ...
era. The walls and ceilings are painted in bright coloured
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of Mural, 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 ...
s.
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
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 ...
parish of the
Church of the Madonna della Difesa. 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 o ...
.
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.
See also
*
Italians in Montreal
*
Via Italia
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
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie
Restaurant districts and streets in Canada