In this article, I examine the formation of the first Latin Quarter in London (ON) at the end of the nineteenth century, and thus at the dawn of modernity. I analyse how these first (mostly Southern) Italian immigrants attempted to soothe their need for a sense of belonging, how they negotiated their collective nostos and, concomitantly, how they dealt with the palpable nostalgia for a return to their Mediterranean homeland.
Through the use of various published and original sources this study outlines the reception and settlement of Italian immigrants in a modern Canadian urban environment. Substantial Italian migration and immigration to Toronto began in the late nineteenth century. The first migrants and immigrants were dispersed across at least four relatively distinct, inner-city neighbourhoods. Over time, and in particular after World War Two, one of these neighbourhoods grew to become one of the largest settlements of its type outside of Italy. Now in the process of gentrification, the area known as College Street Little Italy served a pivotal role in the accommodation of Italian immigrants in Toronto.
A city of trades: Spanish and Italian immigrants in late-nineteenth-century Buenos Aires, Argentina
