Neil
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.
Georgie
And I'm Georgie.
Neil
If I told you I'd been for a walk to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, you'd know straight away I was in
London.
Georgie
But what if my walk went past cafes selling mozzarella and ricotta where I smelled freshly made cannolis and
focaccia... Where would I be then?
Neil
Focaccia and mozzarella... you'd be in Italy, right?
Georgie
Yes, Italy, or 'Little Italy' to be exact - the neighbourhood in some cities where Italian communities settled and
made their home.
Neil
These Italian arrivals opened shops and cafes selling food to their own communities. Soon dishes like spaghetti
and meatballs attracted the attention of local people, and gradually Italian food became famous around the
world. In this programme, we'll be taking a walk through two Little Italys, one in Argentina, the other in New
York, and, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. But before that, I have a question for
you, Georgie. According to a recent YouGov poll, which Italian food is most popular with British diners? Is it:
a) pizza?
b) lasagne? or
c) garlic bread?
Georgie
I think it must be pizza.
Neil
Okay, Georgie, I'll reveal the answer at the end of the programme. One country Italians moved to was
Argentina. In 1898, Giuseppe Banchero arrived in the neighbourhood of La Boca, the Little Italy of Buenos
Aires, where many Italian immigrants started restaurants. Here, Hugo Banchero, grandson of Giuseppe, tells
his story to Veronica Smink, reporter for BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain:
Hugo Banchero
Well, my grandfather came from Italy, from Genoa, from Liguria. He was born in the centre of Genoa and
arrived here in 1898 at the age of seven and a half, and this pizzeria where we are was founded on March 28,
1972. We have been here for 91 years.
Veronica Smink
So what culinary traditions did they bring with them?
Hugo Banchero
Well, our culinary tradition is pizza, and we incorporated the faina from Genoa, which is a pizza with chickpea
flour...
Georgie
In 1898, Giuseppe founded his pizzeria - a restaurant selling pizza. When a business is founded, it's
established someone starts it, or sets it up.
Neil
Giuseppe brought the culinary traditions from his home in Liguria in northern Italy, including regional pizzas like
faina and fugazzetta. The adjective culinary describes anything connected with cooking.
Georgie
But probably the best-known Little Italy in the world is an area of Manhattan's Lower East side in New York.
Ninety percent of Italian immigrants who arrived in the US at the turn of the century came through this
neighbourhood.
Neil
De Palos, one of the original shops selling Italian food in Little Italy, has been serving customers for 113 years.
Here, Lou De Palo, co-owner and great-grandson of the original owner, Salvino, explains more about his family
history to BBC World Service programme, The Food Chain:
Lou De Palo
1925... when my grandmother, Concetta, and my grandfather, Luigi, got married, they open their own shop...
it's the shop we continue today being the fourth generation working alongside my sister, Maria, my brother, Sal,
and our children, the fifth generation. Our business has expanded; expanded to present the full food culture
of the 20 regions of Italy. Little Italy is the stepping stone of the Italian immigrant. This is where many of the
Italians first came through Ellis Island, and then settled here, and then eventually moved into mainstream
America throughout the rest of the country.
Georgie
Lou De Palo is the fourth generation of his family to run the shop, and his children will be the fifth. Phrases like
fourth or fifth generation describe the children of people whose parents immigrated to a particular country.
