Little Italy, Cleveland

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Little Italy is a neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio located at the base of Murray Hill, between Cleveland's University Circle neighborhood and the suburb of Cleveland Heights. It houses many of Cleveland's well-liked Italian restaurants and serves as the center of Italian culture in the Greater Cleveland Area. Often described as one of Ohio's most cultural and progressive neighborhoods, the area is also home to many private art galleries and two private schools, and is within walking distance from Case Western Reserve University.

Each August on the Roman Catholic Feast of the Assumption, Little Italy stages an Italian cultural festival, the Feast of the Assumption Festival.

[edit] Fast facts

The first pasta machine was invented in Cleveland's Little Italy by an Italian immigrant named Angelo Vitantonio, who received a United States patent for the product in 1906.

Guarino's was the first Italian restaurant in Cleveland, and arguably the first Italian restaurant in the state of Ohio. It is located just past Murray Hill on Mayfield Road.

Chef Boyardee's cooking skill became notable when he opened his first restaurant called "Il Giardino d'Italia" in the Little Italy section of Cleveland in the 1940s.

Cleveland's Little Italy was home to the largest Mafia organization between New York and Chicago, comprised of family names like Porrello and Lonardo. The organization was the seat of power for families that operated in Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Toledo, Detroit, and Akron.