Che bella figura!

Long before Brangelina, Bennifer, and TomKat, there was NoLIta – the Manhattan neighbourhood that lies east of SoHo and south of NoHo.  Confused yet?!   The portmanteau NoLIta derives from “North of Little Italy”, and in mid-September the neighbourhood comes alive for the Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples.  Since the early 1920s, Italian-Americans have been replicating Italy’s Feast Day celebrations in NoLIta by holding street parades, music performances, and serving food – lots and lots of food.  

And while the San Gennaro festivities have stood the test of time,  many Italian-American families have been moving out of Manhattan in recent decades, taking with them NoLIta’s uniquely Italian character.  In fact, during the 1990s an influx of young, urban professionals moved in to NoLIta housing, and expensive retail boutiques and trendy restaurants followed.  

You’ll still find a lot of elderly Italian-American residents in NoLIta though, many of whom worship at The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral.  The cornerstone of the historic church was laid in June 1809, and the property was New York’s only Roman Catholic cathedral for the next 70 years, until the new and much larger St. Patrick’s Cathedral opened on Fifth Avenue.   And if you are lucky (or not), you might even see the ghost of Patrick Toussaint lurking around.

So while you’ll encounter history, cuisine, and shopping in NoLIta, what you won’t find is a lot of green space.  According to official 2012 statistics, there are only 255 trees in the whole neighbourhood (yes, someone counted).  But I guess that doesn’t bother the likes of David Bowie, John Mayer, or Daniel Craig – they’re all current residents of this lively, dynamic ‘hood.