This year, La Gazzetta Italiana is excited to feature Little Italy’s all over the country. And where better place to start than in our hometown of Cleveland! Cleveland’s Little Italy centers around the historic section of Mayfield Rd. and Murray Hill. It is said that in the mid-1800s, Italian sculptor Giuseppe Carabelli began his famous granite and marble works at the top of the “hill” on Mayfield Rd. This area became home to many Italian immigrants and Little Italy was born.

In 1906, Angelo Vitantonio, a resident of Cleveland’s Murry Hill neighborhood, patented the first “official” pasta machine. By 1911, it was estimated that 96% of the inhabitants of this area were Italian-born and another 2% were of Italian parents. Tony Brush Park was dedicated in 1993 for the champion boxer and Little Italy resident Anthony Brescia.