ITALIAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE FILM: THE VILLAGE – Life In New Haven's Little Italy. Sunday, June 5 @ 2:00 pm / Doors open at 1:30 at the Italian Center, Carmichael (6821 Fair Oaks Blvd, 95608 CA) Admission $10. Around 5 million Italians arrived in the United States during the “Great Migration” in the years between 1880 and 1930.

They were preceded by the earlier migration of northern Italians in the 1850’s and after who settled in the West and the major cities of the nation to form the first “Little Italy” neighborhoods. During that period one out of four immigrants to the United States were from Italy. They established hundreds of “Little Italy” communities across the United States. Many of these communities have remained and prospered while others are being revitalized.

One such “Little Italy,” and one of the oldest that has remained, is New Haven, Connecticut. During the years of the “Great Migration” immigrants from the Southern Italian town of Amalfi settled there and established a village where people lived, worked, worshipped, played and shared values. Targeted for demolition by Urban Renewal planners in the1950’s, the neighborhood resisted and survived.

Today, New Haven’s “Little Italy“ district is a vibrant, compact bastion of Italian American culture and is known for its Italian restaurants, bakeries, and pizzerias lining its Wooster Street location. Its two legendary pizzerias, Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria Napoletana established in 1925 and Sally’s Apizza established in 1938, are run by generations of the original families and continue the rivalry of who makes the best Pizza. Salvatore Consiglio’s Italian Restaurant, established in 1938, is also run by the same Italian family.

The area has an old world flavor and is accented by a Green and Red Neon Arch, “Little Italy” banners and Italian flags. This film tells the story of this Little Italy neighborhood.

The Public is invited, Refreshments included.