L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURS DAY,   JULY  11,   2013 PAGE  27 The genius loci of San Francisco's little Italy: it all started with the food! ELIZABETH VASILE Genius Loci is a Latin term, meaning spirit of place. Geographers, historians, and other scholars use it to refer to that element, or quality, or founding principle, that makes a place uniquely itself, that pervades or gives rise to, as a spirit would, all that takes place in an area. One might think of it as a geographic genome. For San Francisco as a whole, a unique combination of conditions came together in the early days, to form a local spirit that might be called "tolerance, innovation, and testing the limits". These conditions include San Francisco's distance from the rest of the world at the time of its initial growth spurt in the 1850s, its settlement by young fortuneseeking, unaccompanied men from everyplace, and the unfamiliar challenges and opportunities they faced with limited resources, all of which made for a remarkable degree of license and inventiveness. It is this genius loci that has given the world Silicon Valley, the gay civil rights movement, the publication of controversial poems like Howl, and the nation's first topless bars. For San Francisco's historic Italian community, the genius loci is, not surprisingly, food. But not in the image that may come immediately to mind, of the restaurants and cafes lining Columbus Avenue today, although these are in keeping with that spirit. But rather in a broader and deeper sense, where the cultivation, distribution, processing, and planning of food production formed the basis of the local Italian-American economy and the innovations it brought to the larger community. By the 1860s, the earliest Italian settlers in San Francisco were growing vegetables and fruits along Mission Road and in the Bayview, and later would expand their gardens to the Hayes Valley and Civic Center areas. The first wave of Italian immigrants to San Francisco came from the north of Italy; these early ortolani gardeners were mostly from rural Liguria. They found that with the addition of a little manure and irrigation, San Francisco's sandy soils were extremely fertile. They grew eggplant, peppers, favas, broccoli, and fennel — all new additions to the American diet of the time. While their rural brethren did the farming, Italians from Genoa proper were in charge of the Colombo Market Arch located at Sydney G Walton Square wholesale marketing of the produce of these early truck farms. The first wholesale market was located on the 500 block of Sansome street. By 1876, these Genovese had organized Colombo market, a covered produce exchange nearby. Colombo Market took up an entire city block bounded by Front, Davis, Jackson, and Pacific. Today the only visible trace of Colombo market is the brick arch on Front Street, which now serves as an entry to Sydney Walton Park. But here, in this unassuming place, was the beginning of an Italian-American rise to prominence not only in the city's wholesale produce market, but also its scavenger services (garbage collecting), canning industry, and eventually its banking industry. It all started with the food! More about how this history unfolded will be shared in a future issue. The story is also told in Italy in the City, a cultural history walking tour through Jackson Square and North Beach, by Genius Loci Tours. Genius Loci's director, Elizabeth Vasile, is an Italian-American cultural geographer based in North Beach. The Challengers Countdown Reception The representatives of the three countries taking part at the Luis Vuitton Cup, the Challanger competition prior to the America's Cup, reunited last Tuesday, July 2, at the Cannery Building located in Fishermans's Wharf in San Francisco. The glamorous event was hosted by Consul General of Italy Mauro Battocchi, Consul General of Sweden Barbro Osher, and Consul General of New Zealand Leon Grice. The Challengers Countdown Reception featured also America's Cup team representatives of Italy, Luna Rossa Challenge, Emirates Team New Zealand and Sweden (Artemis). During the night the numerous attendees were entertained by Italy's tenor Pasquale Esposito, Sweden's Voice of Sweden Choir led by Grammy Award Winning Ragnar Bohlin and New Zealand's World Champion Kapahaka Company Te Waka Huia. Food, dessert, and wine were provided by each host nation. Photo credits: Judy verona From left, Consul General of New Zealand Leon Grice, Consul General of Italy Mauro Battocchi, Consul General of Sweden Barbro Osher Consul General Mauro Battocchi introduces Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito Team Luna Rosa representatives at Challengers Countdown reception July 12, Fri. - Italy of the Future. The exhibition will open on the 12th of July at 6:30 pm and will remain on view, Monday to Friday, 9:30am - 4:45pm, until the 23rd of August. Italian Cultural Institute (814 Montgomery Street, San Francisco). Info www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it/IIC_SanFrancisco/ webform/SchedaEvento.aspx?id=796&citta=SanFrancisco July 18, Thurs. - Regional Lunch, From the Arberesh - with Lucia Clemente and the IAHF Arberesh Club. 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. social hour, 12:00 lunch is served. Reservation by Tuesday, July 16. Cost: $12 IAHF members, $14 non-members. (408) 293-7122 July 25, Thurs.- Annual Museo Italo Americano Auxiliary fundraiser: Antipasti Buffet. Featuring Italian regional specialties will be held at the California Culinary Academy. $75.00 per person - includes, antipasti, appetizers, wine, coffee and dessert. For more information, please call (415) 6732200 July 25, Thurs. - Italian films at UC Berkeley: Bianco, Rosso, e Verdone (White, Red, and Verdone), 1981, Carlo Verdone. 159 Mulford Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, www.iisaucberkeley.org/summerseries Aug. 1, Thurs. - Italian films at UC Berkeley: Non ci resta che piangere, (Nothing Left To Do But Cry) 1984, Massimo Troisi, Roberto Benigni, 159 Mulford Hall, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, www.iisaucberkeley.org/summerseries Aug 2, Fri. - Ageless: Works by Elena Civoli Brittain & Nola Pardi Proll. August 2, 2013 — November 24, 2013 . Museo ItaloAmericano (Fort Mason Center, Building C, San Francisco, CA 94123). For information call (415) 673-2200 Aug. 3 & 4, Sat. & Sun.-28th Annual Italian Family Festa, Sacramento's Super Italian Festival, Sponsored by the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento. At the Croatian Center (3730 Auburn Blvd., Sacramento 95821). For information (916) ITALY-00 or visit www.festaitalianasacramento.com

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