How Federal Hill became Rhode Island’s iconic Little Italy food hub

• Federal Hill’s Italian culinary reputation developed gradually, starting in the early 20th century with establishments like Marconi’s Restaurant (1914) and Scialo Bros. Bakery (1916).
• The influx of Italian immigrants, primarily from Naples, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries shaped the neighborhood’s culinary identity.
• Federal Hill’s historical significance as a hub for Italian food has been recognized nationally, with recent accolades from publications like National Geographic and Travel & Leisure.

How did Federal Hill gain its reputation for Italian food? 

Start with a look at a timeline of restaurants and markets in Providence and you’ll get it.

1914: Camille’s is opened at 174 Atwells Ave. by Pasquale Parolisi as Marconi’s Restaurant. It moves to its current space in a small part of a mansion on Bradford Street in 1919. In 1952, it is renamed Camille’s Roman Gardens by Jack Parolisi in honor of his wife.

1916: Brothers Luigi and Gaetano open Scialo Bros. Bakery on Federal Hill. Gaetano returned to Italy in 1925, and Luigi ran it until his death at 103 in 1993 when daughters Carol Gaeta and Lois Ellis began to run the bakery. New owners took over in 2021.

1922: Giuseppe DeGiulio and his wife, Maria, open Joe’s Acorn Market on Atwells Avenue. Their sons, Joseph, Gerald and John DeGiulio, retired the business in 2002.

1924: Angelo Mastrodicasa opens Angelo’s Civita Farnese on Federal Hill. Angelo’s begins as a lunchroom frequented by men who immigrated from Italy and are working to earn enough to bring their families over. The restaurant is now operated by Jamie Antignano, fourth generation.

1952: Tony’s Colonial begins selling imported and domestic Italian foods on Federal Hill in Providence. Tony and Elina “Gina” DiCicco have been running it since 1969.

1953: Caserta’s Pizza opens on Spruce Street. They made a name with the “Wimpy Skippy,” more than a spinach pie.

1955: Joe Marzilli’s Old Canteen opens on Federal Hill. It’s run by Joe and then son Sal Marzilli until 2025.

1972: Alan Costantino buys Venda Ravioli. It quadruples in size as a food emporium when it moves to its current location at 275 Atwells Ave. in 2001.

Antonelli’s Poultry on DePasquale Plaza is said to have opened in the late 19th century. What’s certain is that Christopher Morris ran Antonelli’s beginning in 1969 until his death in 2024.

Historic Federal Hill

It’s hard to believe that Federal Hill was used mainly for grazing cattle until the 1820s. But that’s the history. It was only in the mid-1800s that it became home to many of Providence’s artisans and working class. A wave of Irish immigrants moved into Federal Hill in the 1840s.

But as Italian immigrants began to arrive in large numbers in the 1880s, the neighborhood took on a different flavor.

All things Italian became the main attraction.

Federal Hill attracts shoppers from all over the state

Joan Nathan is a Providence native and a groundbreaking writer who links food with culture and has won the biggest prizes for culinary writing, especially about Jewish foods. She recounted the appeal of Federal Hill from her youth.

Nathan, 82, recalls her father taking her shopping on Federal Hill, where the foods were exotic to her. Stores sold freshly made mozzarella, homemade clam sauces, linguine and cookies. Sausage would hang from the rafters and olives were sold out of barrels.  

People came from all over the state to shop on Federal Hill, she said.

Years later, in 1984, Nathan wrote “An American Folklife Cookbook” and returned to Federal Hill for research. One chapter featured the DeGiulio family, who were the owners of Joe’s Acorn Market in Providence. Their family history as butchers went back 700 years in Italy. They brought that to Providence.

They weren’t alone.

Many Italian immigrants arriving in the late 1800s and early 1900s, brought their skills as bakers and their cooking skills along with their favorite foods. Most came from Campania, the region that includes Naples. They brought their local Italian cooking, mostly Neapolitan, with accents from Sicily, Calabria, Puglia and Abruzzi. 

As they settled on Federal Hill, they opened cafés and markets. Maybe they started with a pushcart. Eventually, restaurants followed, many of them.

A wave of them opened in the 1980s, building on a 20-year period of growth. They included The Grotto Azzura, later the Blue Grotto (1980); Roma (1983); Plaza Grille (1987); Cassarino’s (1988); Andino’s (1989); and L’Epicureo, which added table service to Joe’s Quality Market (1991).

In the news

The world noticed. Mary Ann Esposito filmed segments of her long-running “Ciao Italia” on Federal Hill in 1989. Bobby Flay arrived in 2001 to film “FoodNation” for the Food Network.

National Geographic just named Federal Hill as one of the eight best Little Italy neighborhoods in the United States, along with those in Boston, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia and Cleveland.

Two years ago, Travel & Leisure reported on the most authentic Little Italys, placing Federal Hill at No. 3 behind Boston’s North End and San Diego.

Spoiler: It’s all about the food.

Editor’s note: This story was first published in June 2025.