LITTLE ITALY, THE GODFATHER & THE CORLEONE FAMILY

Today, The Grandma has visited Little Italy in Lower Manhattan to meet the Corleone family, some American-Sicilian friends of her who lived in this beautiful neighbourhood.

Little Italy, also in Italian Piccola Italia, is a neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, once known for its large Italian population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, and on the north by Nolita.

Little Italy on Mulberry Street used to extend as far south as Worth Street, as far north as Houston Street, as far west as Lafayette Street, and as far east as Bowery. It is now only three blocks on Mulberry Street north of Canal St.

Little Italy originated at Mulberry Bend south of Canal, in what had formerly been the Five Points area but is now the heart of Chinatown. Jacob Riis described Mulberry Bend as the foul core of New York's slums.

During this time period Immigrants of the late 19th century usually settled in ethnic neighbourhoods.

Therefore, the mass immigration from Italy during the 1880s led to the large settlement of Italian immigrants in lower Manhattan. The results of such migration had created an influx of Italian immigrants which had led to the commercial gathering of their dwelling and business.

Bill Tonelli from New York magazine said, Once, Little Italy was like an insular Neapolitan village re-created on these shores, with its own language, customs, and financial and cultural institutions.

Little Italy was not the largest Italian neighborhood in New York City, as East Harlem (or Italian Harlem) had a larger Italian population. Tonelli said that Little Italy was perhaps the city's poorest Italian neighborhood.

In 1910 Little Italy had almost 10,000 Italians; that was the peak of the community's Italian population. At the turn of the 20th century, over 90% of the residents of the Fourteenth Ward were of Italian birth or origins.

After World War II, many residents of the Lower East Side began moving to Brooklyn, Staten Island, eastern Long Island, and New Jersey. Chinese immigrants became an increased presence after the U.S. Immigration Act of 1965 removed immigration restrictions, and the Manhattan Chinatown to Little Italy's south expanded.

In 2010, Little Italy and Chinatown were listed in a single historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Little Italy, by this point, was shrinking rapidly.

Little Italy was home to dozens of restaurants that serve authentic Italian cuisine.

Since 2004, Sorrento Lactalis funds neighborhood cultural events in Little Italy.

The Feast of San Gennaro originally was once only a one-day religious commemoration. It began in September 1926 with the new arrival of immigrants from Naples. The Italian immigrants congregated along Mulberry Street in Manhattan's Little Italy to celebrate San Gennaro as the Patron Saint of Naples. 

The Feast of San Gennaro is a large street fair, lasting 11 days, that takes place every September along Mulberry Street between Houston and Canal Streets. The festival is an annual celebration of Italian culture and the Italian-American community.

Little Italy residents have seen organized crime since the early 20th century. Powerful members of the Italian Mafia have operated in Little Italy.

More information: Untapped New York

The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name. 

The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. It is the first installment in The Godfather trilogy. 

The story, spanning from 1945 to 1955, chronicles the Corleone family under patriarch Vito Corleone (Brando), focusing on the transformation of his youngest son, Michael Corleone (Pacino), from reluctant family outsider to ruthless mafia boss.

Studio executives had trouble finding a director; the first few candidates turned down the position before Coppola signed on to direct the film but disagreement followed over casting several characters, in particular, Vito and Michael. 

Filming took place primarily on location around New York City and in Sicily, and was completed ahead of schedule. 

The musical score was composed principally by Nino Rota, with additional pieces by Carmine Coppola.

More information: Smithsonian Magazine

 International affairs is very much run like the mafia.
The godfather does not accept disobedience,
even from a small storekeeper who doesn't pay his protection money.
You have to have obedience; otherwise,
the idea can spread that you don't have to listen to the orders,
and it can spread to important places.

Noam Chomsky