Little Italy (, ; ) is a neighbourhood in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It is centered on

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

between Jean Talon Street and St. Zotique Street in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

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

, south of Villeray and Jarry Park. Little Italy is home to Italian Canadian-owned shops and restaurants, the Jean-Talon Market, as well as the Church of the Madonna della Difesa, built by Italian immigrants from the

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; ) 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 Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobas ...

area in

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

to commemorate the apparition of

the Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loret ...

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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

population in Canada after

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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

History

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

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

region served in the

Carignan-Salières Regiment The Carignan-Salières Regiment was a 17th-century French military unit formed by the merging of two other regiments in 1659. Approximately 1,100 men from the regiment were sent to New France in 1665 to deal with the threat of the Iroquois to the ...

. 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 () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; ) was a Rail transport, railway system that operated in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the List of states and territories of the United States, American sta ...

). Soon they built their own churches and institutions such as the Church of the Madonna della Difesa. The largest wave of Italian immigrants arrived with the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

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

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'' () was designated as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of 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 of national historic significance. Parks C ...

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 1 ...

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

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

era. The walls and ceilings are painted in bright coloured

fresco Fresco ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

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 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 Public administration, 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 ...

. 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