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In 1984, I made several visits to Providence, Rhode Island to plan for holding the annual meeting of the American Italian Historical Association at the newly restored Biltmore Hotel. Even though I understood that a very large proportion of the population of Rhode Island is Italian, I did not think of it as an "Italian American" state. I thought of Providence as the site of Brown University. While in the city, I was treated to a tour of Federal Hill, another not very well known Little Italy, which at the time was being turned into a more marketable Ethnic Theme Park. It was explained to me by local business boosters that the public funds for the project were a partial compensation for the damage suffered by the neighborhood due to nearby interstate highway construction. Here we see the attempt to create an "Italian Space" through the construction of a piazza with requisite fountain. The piazza also serves as an open air market, and a venue for periodic ethnic celebrations. |
