Corso Italia is a neighbourhood in

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 anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada, situated on

St. Clair Avenue West St. Clair Avenue is a major east-west street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was laid out in the late 18th century by the British as a concession road (the Third Concession), north of Bloor Street and north of Queen Street West, Queen Street. ...

, between Westmount Avenue (just east of

Dufferin Street Dufferin Street is a major north–south street in Toronto, Vaughan and King, Ontario, Canada. It is a concession road, two concessions (4 km) west of Yonge Street. The street starts at Exhibition Place, continues north to Toronto's northe ...

) and

Lansdowne Avenue Lansdowne Avenue is an arterial road in Toronto, Ontario. It runs north–south and starts at Queen Street West and proceeds north to St. Clair Avenue West. Lansdowne Avenue is primarily a four-lane arterial road, with two lanes regularly used fo ...

. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood of

Corso Italia-Davenport Corso Italia-Davenport is a neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its boundaries, according to the City of Toronto, are the CNR tracks to the west, Morrison Avenue to the north, Westmount Avenue to the east on the northern portion and ...

. The neighbourhood includes numerous

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non ...

s, clothing shops, shoe stores,

restaurants A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, food markets, as well as several gelaterias and bakeries. The community is considered Toronto's second Italian

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

after

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

on College Street. There is also a significant

Latin American Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-eth ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

community in the area.

History

The community is the eastern half of what was earlier known as

Earlscourt Earlscourt is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred on St. Clair Avenue West, with Dufferin Street, Davenport Road, and Old Weston Road forming its boundaries. It is contained within the larger city-recognized neighbourhood ...

. Earlscourt was originally settled by British immigrants in 1906, and was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1910. By the 1970s, Italian immigrants from

on College Street, moved northward to St. Clair Avenue. One of the largest celebrations on St. Clair Avenue West was when

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which involved an estimated 300,000 fans, shutting the street down for nearly 20 blocks between Caledonia and Oakwood. In 1981, about 35,000 Italians lived in this area, however, by 1991, had dropped to 20,000. Although the character of Corso Italia is still Italian, the demographics of this neighbourhood have changed drastically with a smaller Italian population than originally. Much of the Italian population has moved to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular,

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

, and Caledon. Corso Italia was a Business Improvement Area (BIA) in Toronto in 1984.

References

External links

Corso Italia BIA

Ethnic enclaves in Ontario European-Canadian culture in Toronto Neighbourhoods in Toronto Little Italys in Canada {{Toronto-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links