Since 1800 and for over a century the migratory flow from Italy brought generations over generation of Italian-American and made Little Italy’s hood their home in Manhattan. Between 1860 and 1880 nearly 68.000 Italians emigrated to New York and in 1920, there were more than 390.000 Italians living in the City.
The many Italians settled in Manhattan managed to recreate among the alleys of the neighborhood a subdivision among the different Italian areas: the Northerners settled in Bleecker Street, those from Genova choose Baxter Street, while the people from Sicily settled on Elizabeth Street. Even though nowadays those many Italians moved in others districts, in “Little Italy” you can still eat authentic and proper Italian food or find traditional groceries, definitely uncommon in the other areas of Manhattan.