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For our Where to Find Italy in the U.S. series, we head to Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s Little Italy.  

Where

Bloomfield is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, PA, about three miles from the downtown area. It is bounded by Penn Avenue to the north-east, Centre Avenue to the south-east, and East Busway to the west. The main street is Liberty Avenue, where many shops, restaurants and bars are concentrated, including those of ��������-American descent.

Brief history of the neighborhood

Bloomfield began as the John Conrad Winebiddle Plantation, which provided food to the troops stationed at nearby Fort Pitt during the French and Indian War in the 18^th century. It was later broken into lots which were sold for development. Bloomfield was annexed to the city of Pittsburgh in 1868. The first immigrants were predominantly German. They built typical row houses which still stand today.

�������� immigrants began arriving in the 1880s, mostly young men looking for work opportunities, often traveling back and forth between the U.S. and Italy. By the early 1900s, more permanent communities of �������� immigrants had settled in Pittsburgh, with a high concentration of ��������s in Bloomfield. In 1905, they established the Immaculate Conception Parish.

A second surge of �������� immigration to Pittsburgh took place right after World War II, when many Abruzzesi (from the central region of Abruzzo), displaced and impoverished, having suffered particularly heavily from German occupation, moved to the area, explained via email to me Melissa Marinaro, the director of the �������� American Program at the Senator John Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. The History Center’s Detre Library & Archives houses the �������� American Collection’s archives, described as “one of the largest repositories of �������� American artifacts, photographs, oral histories, and archival materials in the U.S.,” accessible to the public. The Heinz History Center is also home, since 1990, to the �������� American Program, dedicated to preserving and interpreting the history and culture of �������� Americans in Western Pennsylvania through exhibitions, educational programs, publications, and community outreach.

While Bloomfield is currently associated with Pittsburgh’s Little Italy, Marinaro points out that, “historically speaking, it hasn’t been the only one; there were and still are pockets of people with �������� heritage all over the city.”

[The Little Italy Days festival takes place every year in August.]

Bloomfield today

While you can still hear �������� spoken in the neighborhood, Bloomfield is now home to a diverse community and, since the early 21^st century, has been attracting a younger crowd. “Recently housing prices in Bloomfield have soared as young professionals and baby boomers move back into the city,” Mary Menniti, a Pittsburgh native and the founder of the �������� Garden Project, told me via email. “I’m certain the immigrants who originally inhabited the area would not believe what their modest row houses are selling for.”

“There aren’t nearly as many �������� residents as there once were, in fact I found it difficult to find �������� Americans who still maintain vegetable gardens,” Mary said. “At one time even the smallest backyard plot would have been used to grow fruits and vegetables.” Mary has an extensive knowledge of �������� American gardening history and techniques. As the founder in 2010 of the �������� Garden Project, she works to document the stories and traditional methods of �������� American gardeners across the U.S. The inspiration for the project came from her grandfather, Antonio, who immigrated from Italy to the U.S. in 1912. “He had a large garden in the backyard of the house where I lived, just a few miles from his home. He spent all day, almost every day in that garden,” Mary recalls.

Where to eat and shop �������� in Bloomfield

While there aren’t as many �������� and ��������-American restaurants, shops, barbershops and businesses as there used to, Bloomfield has retained an �������� feel to it. I asked Menniti and Marinaro to recommend a few authentic �������� places in the neighborhood.

Mary Menniti: “There are still several �������� restaurants, grocery stores and an �������� gift shop. The Pleasure Bar restaurant has been in Bloomfield since 1941 and retains a retro feel and serves classic �������� American food. There are two �������� grocery stores, �ٴDzԲ��ٱ������’s  and Groceria ��������a. Both make fresh pasta, sauce, sausage and pastries and have an �������� deli counter. Merante Gifts is a wonderful �������� gift shop which also offers �������� cookies and hosts cooking classes and private dining events.”

[Maria Merante Palmieri, the owner of Merante's Gifts. Photo credit .]

Melissa Marinaro: “I’m a regular visitor at Merante’s Gifts. Owner Maria Palmieri (neè Merante) comes from a noted family of grocers in South Oakland, another part of Pittsburgh historically known for its �������� residents. She sells imported �������� goods, like kitchen wares and gadgets, hand painted ceramics, and decorative objects. Merante’s Gifts also has a bakery in the storefront; the warm smell of anise and vanilla in the air reminds me of my nonna’s kitchen. Dan Cercone Barbershop is another staple of Liberty Avenue, Bloomfield commercial district, and one of the most iconic storefronts of Little Italy. Now operated by grandson Dennis Scullion, it has been in its location since 1931.”

For more ‘��������-ness’, head to the small park beneath the Bloomfield Bridge, where there are public bocce courts, which the locals apparently love. Marinaro noted how “bocce is a popular sport in Pittsburgh and courts are a regular feature around Western Pennsylvania  (if you know where to look).”  

[Playing bocce in Bloomfield. Photo credit .]

Festivals & Events

The started in 2002 to celebrate Bloomfield’s �������� heritage. The festival takes place every year over the course of four days in August (this year August 16-19) and features ��������-themed entertainment and food, a celebrity bocce tournament, �������� cooking shows, a pasta eating contest and more.

The Columbus Day Parade has taken place along Liberty Avenue every year in October on Columbus Day weekend since 2001, although there are talks of moving back to downtown Pittsburgh.

A guided walking tour of Bloomfield focusing on food is offered by .��

What’s your experience of Bloomfield? Share with us in comments.