A brief tour with us to Little Italy/ University Village in Chicago.

1. Little Italy/ University Village
Emily Caldwell
Nathan Kubik
Nathalie Kacik
Demetri Bairaktaris
Aaron Koopman

2. History
 Developed in the late 19th century when Italians
developed a social group in the near West
region outside the loop.
 Oldest Italian village
 The University of Illinois is within the area -
approximately 25,000 students
 Established first The Italian Socialist Federation in
1908
 Over 150 Italian organizations within area

3. Demographics
 Current Population: 7,111
 90% Black or African-American
 6% White
 4% Other
 55% Female
 2.95 Persons per household
 Median household income: $48,173
 21% below poverty level

4. How to…
1. Get on Red Line stop at Loyola towards 95th/
Dan Ryan
2. Switch to Blue Line at Jackson Stop
3. Get off at Racine
4. Walk right out of the station down Racine Street
until you reach Taylor St.
5. In both directions you will find the main
attractions

5. Our Adventure

6. Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii
Established in 1911, is a community center open to people of all
religions and faith. It is one of the main churches located in the
area.

7. Arrigo Park
Located right in the center of the Little Italy village. It is an open park,
with its main attraction being a Christopher Columbus statue. The park is
named after Victor Arrigo, an Italian American who served as Illinois
State Representative. The Christopher Columbus statue was built to
stand at the opening of the 1893 World Columbian Exposition.

8. Piazza DiMaggio
Built in 1998, and was a gift from Chicago to the people of Little
Italy. It has a fountain and two monuments dedicated to Joe
DiMaggio, son of an Italian immigrant, and famous baseball
player.

9. National Italian American
Sports Hall of Fame
Founded in 1977 in
Elmwood Park, was later
relocated to Chicago. It
is described as being
“dedicated to
preserving and
promoting the history
and heritage of Italian
Americans in sports.”

10. Famous Eateries

11. Famous Eateries

12. Different Cultures

13. Arrivederci!

14. Works Cited
 Cipriani, Lisi. Italians in Chicago and the Selected
Directory of the Italians in Chicago. 1933.
 DeRosa, Tina. Paper Fish. 1980.
 Holli, Melvin G., and Peter A. Jones, eds. Ethnic
Chicago: A Multicultural Portrait. 1995.
 "United States Census Bureau." University Park
(village) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau.
N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

15. Nathan’s Reflection
Visiting Little Italy was a great experience for me because it showed
me more of Chicago. Rather than being isolated to Rogers Park and
the Loop, I was able to go outside of my usual boundaries and visit a
different community. Upon arriving to Little Italy, I was expecting is to
be much more “Italian”. But the truth was that you really had to look
for the Italian aspects of the community. They were not hard to find in
the long run though. There are many honorary streets named after
Italian people, multiple bakeries, pizzerias and restaurants, and statues
in honor of Christopher Columbus and Joe DiMaggio. These were
some of the great Italian features that we found throughout Little Italy.
My curiosity was sparked by a man who told us that Little Italy was the
home to some of the original Mafia families in Chicago. I was also
intrigued by how tranquil and calm the community was. At arrival, it
no longer felt like I was in the city of Chicago. The people, cars and
interactions were sparse and the atmosphere was very relaxing. This
experience opened my eyes to all that Chicago has to offer. It
showed me that there are not only many different neighborhoods in
Chicago, but there are locations that can make you feel as if you
have left Chicago all together. Little Italy was truly a taste of another
culture, right here in Chicago.

16. Emily’s Reflection
The excursion to Little Italy/ University Park reminded me
to be open-minded to new experiences. Chicago is a
multicultural and diverse area where there are different
communities living together. I think that we went into
the neighborhood with a certain expectation. I thought
that we would be encompassed with a specific
heritage, but we discovered that Chicago is a
multicultural and diverse area where there are different
communities living together. Although the town is
known as Little Italy or University Park, the Italian culture
is not as prevalent throughout the area. Social aspects
are changing where there are a multitude of cultures
sharing the same area. This assignment has reminded
me that there are other areas beside Michigan Ave.
and Rodgers Park. Although they might be comfortable
areas to me, stepping outside my comfort level will be
the best way to learn, grow, and gain experience.

17. Aaron’s Reflection
In our group’s adventure we went to explore University Village. During our
adventure we found several thing interesting about our time here. First, we
went to explore what was called “Little Italy”. Here we discovered many
small restaurants that held the Italian theme. However, to our surprise it was
not as big or elaborate as we had anticipated. It mainly consisted of one
street. Even within this street, however, there were American, Thai, and
Chinese restaurants sprinkled throughout our walk. Certainly the majority of
places to eat were Italian, but prior I think the our group as a whole had
an image of literally Italy in Chicago with bread getting sold on streets and
people with thick Italian accents roaming the streets. This is not at all what
we came across. It really felt like another neighborhood with a few Italian
restaurants. I do not think I would personally recommend this spot to
anyone looking for a taste of Italy.
The University of Illinois – Chicago is also located in this neighborhood and
where it gets its name. The college certainly sets a college feel in the
neighborhood, which really makes it fun to explore. There are a lot of kids
our ages roaming the streets. We walked the campus just briefly and I
discovered I would not of liked to go there. The campus is so much
morespread out there than here at home. It really does not feel like a very
close and welcoming community like I found here at Loyola. Going to see
the campus made me personally feel like I made the right decision to
attend Loyola.

18. Demetri’s Reflections
Visiting Little Italy was very interesting. I was
expecting there to be an Italian dominance in the
culture there, and although there may have been
more pizza places than an average area, I was sort
of surprised to see it just for the diverse
neighborhood that it was. There were many other
types of restaurants that had Tai food and Chinese.
The town contained many UIC students because it
was right by the campus. I would probably go
back.

19. Nathalie’s Reflection
Little Italy was a great experience for me. Even though I live
relatively close to Chicago and have been to UIC before, I never
knew about the existence of the Italian village. My favorite part of
the village were the different Italian restaurants, the majority of
which were located on Taylor St. Walking by them made it appear
as if I were walking down a street in Italy, and the smell of pizza in
the air solidified that feeling. There were multiple Italian flags and
street names, which showed the nationalism and pride of the
people living there. Going to Little Italy made me realize how many
different cultures and immigrants live in the Chicago area, not far
from Loyola. Walking through these different villages and towns
makes it appear as if it were a taste of a different country. Exploring
this area was a great opportunity to get out and visit a cultural
district so close to Loyola, which most of us were probably not
aware of. We were surprised to see that the different Italian
restaurants and attractions so far from each other. In order to find
something new, we had to walk a few blocks. We became curious
to know when the Italian immigrants arrived here, and if the
amount of Italian residents and businesses in the area decreased
over the years. I am glad that we were able to visit Little Italy, its
different attractions, and even talk to an Italian from the area, who
offered us directions on new sights to see.