It was an honor to be in San Jose the other week and meet the Little Italy San Jose Foundation, which is building a world-class Italian district in San Jose next to the HP Pavilion. As in many parts of California and the world, this history of San Jose is enmeshed with that of Italy. The Italian fishermen, agriculturists and other professionals who embedded themselves in the rest of California also hung their hat in San Jose. Indeed, this city of the South Bay is the birthplace of A.P. Giannini, the founder of the Bank of Italy which eventually became today’s Bank of America.
Little Italy San Jose has several exciting projects in the mix. First, they have created the Piazza Piccola Italia which is filled with bricks that memorialize the Italian experience in San Jose, past and present. Here are a few bricks from the Piazza.
Little Italy San Jose is also installing bocce ball courts in the Guadalupe River Park, which is nearby to the local high schools and universities. On top of that, the organization has also commissioned an arch to announce visitor’s arrivals in Little Italy San Jose.
The area is commercially attractive due to its proximity to the foot traffic going to and from the HP Pavilion. Several businesses, such as Paesano Ristorante Italiano and Bel Bacio Imported Coffee have sprung up to take advantage of this worthwhile opportunity.
Perhaps former San Jose Vice Mayor Frank Fiscalini put it best, saying “As a longtime Italian American resident in San Jose, it is hard to find a corner of San Jose that was not influenced by Italian American families. I am proud that our story will live on in Little Italy San Jose.”
Indeed it will. Next time you are in San Jose, make sure to stop in on Little Italy!