L’immigrazione italiana a San Diego assunse una connotazione importante dopo il 1950. A seguito dell’attività della pesca del tonno, il nostri connazionali discesero dalla Bay Area fino a San Diego. La comunità iniziò ad aumentare numericamente nella zona di Little Italy, storicamente la India Street, dove moltissimi ancora abitano. La conseguente costruzione dell’autostrada I-5 portò alla distruzione di una buona parte del quartiere e con l’aggiunta poi del declino della pesca del tonno, Little Italy quasi rischiò di scomparire. Dopo circa trent’anni vissuti nell’ombra, la fondazione del 1996 della ‘Little Italy Association’ ha portato alla rinascita del quarteire tricolore con l’apertura di ristoranti e rivendite di prodotti artigianali ed accessori legati all’Italia. Nel 2006, l’Italian Historical Society di San Diego ha creato l’Italian Community Digital Archives, un progetto destinato a preservare la storia e la cultura italiana attraverso la raccolta di materiale fotografico e artefatti. Da allora, Little Italy è tornata a splendere sotto il sole di San Diego.
While many Little Italys across America are diminishing either due to the growth from adjacent ethnic neighborhoods or the dispersion of Italian families from these areas, San Diego’s Little Italy is a stable ethnic business and residential community – and has been since the 1920s. Little Italy San Diego represents the city’s oldest continuous-neighborhood business district.
At one time, more than 6,000 Italian families lived here and toiled to build San Diego into the center of the world’s tuna industry. Unfortunately, even San Diego’s stronghold has suffered nearly 30 years of decline due to the construction of a major highway and the decline of the tuna industry. But, in the early 1990s, property owners and family-run businesses decided to take matters into their own hands. Today, San Diego’s Little Italy is not only a model urban neighborhood in its own city, but a model for the Little Italys throughout the country.
The neighborhood’s annual calendar is packed with things to do; all fun and exciting ways to celebrate the Italian heritage. From art events to concerts to the Taste of Little Italy there is something for everyone. Little Italy Mercato is their year-round weekend farmers market. Sunday Family Film Nights are open to the community as is the Little Italy Summer Film Festival. The neighborhood plans to host a First Responder’s Celebration, the Marine Band San Diego Summer Concert and a Labor Day Stickball Tournament. And this only scratches the surface. The thriving Little Italy neighborhood in San Diego is something to be envied by all ethnic groups alike. If you live on the West Coast or are planning a visit, it is absolutely clear that this should be part of your itinerary.
Photos courtesy of www.littleitalysd.com.
