agosto / August 2022
Hogan visits Little Italy,
announces funding for major
security improvements
[click image to watch video]

Governor Larry Hogan announced that more than $500,000 will be spent on security upgrades that will make Little Italy safer for businesses, residents, and tourists, according to state staff.


[excerpted from Tony Montcalmo's story in
the Little Italy Lodge La Notizia newsletter]

“It’s part of who we are.”

In 2011, Charles "Buck" Corasaniti, son of Sue & Joe Corasaniti, Little Italy Lodge members and Saint Leo Church stalwarts, was sponsored by his parents in the Little Italy Lodge Scholarship Program and awarded one of four scholarships (including one to his twin brother, Sal).
Buck entered the Business program at the University of Delaware in 2011, completed the program in 2014, including a semester of study in Nanjing, China, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, with Minors in Economics and International Business. While at UD, Buck performed as an actor with the Harrington Theatre Arts Company and sang with “The YChromes,” an all-male a cappella group. It was within this group of friends where he met his wife, Caitlin.
When Buck graduated from UD, he joined Enterprise Holdings, progressed to Branch Manager, then transferred to California to be near Caitlin who was enrolled in a PhD program at the University of California for Biomedical Engineering.
In spite of their school, location and job changes, Buck & Caitlin still managed to arrange for their wedding in October 2018 at Saint Leo Church - “back home” for Buck. Now, they are settling down near family, friends and community in Baltimore, having purchased their first home in Dundalk, along with their rescue dog, Leo.
Buck is now with Aya Healthcare, the largest travel nursing agency and healthcare staffing company in the world, initially as a Nurse Recruiter and now in their Finance Department. Caitlin works in the research labs at the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
Throughout his years at Calvert Hall College High School and the University of Delaware, Buck could be found, along with his parents and brother, volunteering at various Saint Leo's and Little Italy community events.
“It’s part of who we are,” said Buck about their attachment to the parish, neighborhood, and Baltimore.

Civil War Museum
PRESIDENT STREET STATION - 1849
National Register of Historic Places
[excerpted from the book, Baltimore's Little Italy:

The President Street Station, one of the oldest big city railroad stations in the nation, played an essential role in the story of Italian immigrants as they arrived in New York City and (some) continued onto Baltimore.
Construction was completed in 1850, an era when New York City was jam- packed with European immigrants arriving daily on steamships. Groups naturally began to spread out into the states. By railway, they predominantly traveled to New Jersey, Philadelphia and Baltimore. plus other points south and west.
"President Street Station is really your Ellis Island," said local historian and researcher, Robert Reyes. The building currently houses the Baltimore Civil War Museum, which opened in 1997 and is operated by the nonprofit organization, Friends of President Street Station.
"Immigrants continued to arrive in Baltimore to flock with their kind. They set up pretty much right where they got off the train - a good explanation for why today's Little Italy restaurants are in houses. When some couldn't find work because of discrimination and economical conditions, homeowners took on boarders which naturally required cooking for - and feeding them. Some of those boardinghouses evolved into restaurants.
What remains of the 1849 head house of President Street Station is diminutive compared to its size when a 208-foot train shed was once attached to its back. Tracks along Pratt Street connected the station with the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Camden Station (circa 1850s, now home to Oriole Park at Camden Yards). Horses once dragged train cars between the two stations.

601 S. President Street
Baltimore, Maryland
443-220-0290

About the Museum
Today the oldest surviving railroad station in an urban setting, President Street Station stands proudly among new skyscrapers and a redeveloped waterfront. Sited near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Harbor East, and Little Italy neighborhoods, the station welcomes visitors to learn about Baltimore’s 19th century railroads, perilous journeys to freedom along the Underground Railroad, President Lincoln’s travels through the city, and how Massachusetts soldiers traveling through in 1861 confronted danger and death just steps away from the station’s grand entrance.

Hours & Admission
Friday – Monday 10 am–4 pm
Adult [age 20+] – $3
Student – $2
Child [12-under] free
Student Tour Groups – $1
Adult Tour Groups – $3

Fall Events
Many festival volunteers needed!
Serve our Italian American community

  • Collect admission at one of four entrances (2.5-hour shift)
  • 10 strong people to help set up (7am-noon)
  • 10 strong people to help break down (5-8pm)
  • Decorating crew to hang festival decor (8am-noon)
  • Servers for vino & beer stands

Please consider volunteering? If you and/or your family & friends are willing to help, contact Mike Gallerizzo with your volunteer preference and contact information. Adult volunteers of all ages are welcome! This is also a great way for high school students to earn service hours!
EVENT POSTPONEMENTS

  • Saint Leo's Church Feast of Saint Gabriele usually planned for August will not occur in 2022. There is just not enough time, help, and resources. However, AIAC's Italian Heritage Festival will help to make it up to give us our "festival fix!" Join us there October 9th!
  • The organizers of the annual Madonnari Arts Festival in Little Italy have announced that their fall event will not occur in 2022 - "The Little Italy Madonnari Arts Festival has been postponed until next year due to the unpredictability of the current variant of COVID-19."

Host families are needed for
Italian exchange students
(or other nationality)
A host mom hugs her exchange student in Manhattan Beach, California. The mom is one of many host families and has
hosted 12 students through the years - most of them Italian.

ASSE International Student Exchange Programs
949-494-4100 ext. 400
Blast from the past
Circa 1900 - Although Locust Point in Maryland was an entry port for a million-plus immigrants, typically Italians did not enter the United States at this port; there were throngs of Germans amongst the earliest immigrants. The immigration pier and depot was built in 1867 by the B&O Railroad and the North German Lloyd Shipping Company. By the 1890s, a larger number of people came from the Russian and Austrian Empires. Over 1.2 million immigrants landed at the pier between 1868 and 1914, making Baltimore the third largest port of entry in the U.S. at the time - after New York and Boston.

 Include caption, people ID, location, approximate year, and your name.
Photos must be Little Italy or Italian immigrant-related.
from our email box
"Maybe you should make it more known - the fact your organization is unfunded - to all those who read your newsletter (which, by the way, is really good). I just learned something new - I did not know you were a 501(c)(3) and I would bet most people don't know that either. Thanks for all YOU do for the Italian communities!"
~ Anita Riley

Paid sponsors
212° Mortgage is a small, agile team devoted to securing you the best possible home loan solution that fits the goals and objectives you have set for yourself and your family. As a team, we will go the extra mile to ensure that the mortgage process is simple, easy, and quick as possible.
“I enjoy educating my clients on all of the mortgage programs available to them; to find the right fit for their specific need. I make my clients part of the mortgage process and not just subject to it.”

410-420-2071
1676 Campbell Road
Forest Hill, Maryland
Promotion Center for
Little Italy, Baltimore

CELEBRATING 12 YEARS!

Newsletter Editor:
Director & Co-founder

Editorial Advisor:
Co-founder


a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established 2010

Not yet on Neighborhood News distribution list?
Add your email address to receive this FREE monthly
e-newsletter about all things Little Italy.