Patrimonio urbano e cibo etnico: la Little Italy di New York e la sua immagine per uno studio comparato. Aspetti preliminari di un progetto in itinere

The article identifies the Italian Districts around the world to be conceived as an Urban Heritage, linked to cultural identities that are recently recognizable through the culture of the ethnic food. Among the districts, it focuses on the Little Italy of New York as a case study for the introductory methodology of more research developments. This essay, is a part of a larger project for the identification of all “Little Italies” and Italian Districts around the world to create a data base by a joint Research Project of the two Universities Sapienza of Rome and Politecnico di Torino. The “food & heritage” coupling arises from the awareness that food and cultural identity are the backbone of any region, according with the inclusion of gastronomic landscapes of the UNESCO sites. The essay highlights some important stages leading to the creation of the Little Italy’s most famous in the world and its urban image, through literary sources, guides, and iconography in order to consider how and why the district has become an urban heritage