Piazzas of Little Italy
Little Italys throughout the United States have long symbolized the tremendous contributions Italians have made to this country. Yet many of these historic business and cultural districts are disappearing. Some fading as surrounding neighborhoods grow, others diminished as Italian families gradually dispersed.
Little Italy, San Diego is different. A stable cultural, business, and residential neighborhood since the 1920s, it is Downtown San Diego’s oldest continuous business district. At its peak, over 6,000 Italian families helped build San Diego into the world’s tuna capital and shaped the city’s maritime legacy.
Today, Little Italy is celebrated for its vibrant urban public spaces and art, which honor the neighborhood’s heritage and historic ties to San Diego Bay and the tuna industry. This self-guided tour will take you through the piazzas, each highlighting a facet of Italian culture or local history through distinctive design elements. Many feature bronze statues or busts with story plaques that share the stories of the immigrants and Italians whose contributions shaped the city and the country.
Enjoy the tour, and and don’t forget to Shop Small, Shop LITTLE ITALY!
PIAZZA COSTANZA
Location: North West Corner of Columbia & W. Ash
Dedicated: November 2023
Notable Partners: Lennar, Former Senator Toni Atkins, & County Supervisor Lawson-Remer
Design Features: Bronze bust of Midge Costanza by Gregory Reade with QR story marker; custom concrete story monument and planters with enhanced landscaping and inset image tiles; plum-colored Fermob furniture and branded umbrellas.
Piazza Costanza honors Margaret “Midge” Costanza—social and political activist, advisor to President Jimmy Carter, and champion for women, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups. The daughter of Sicilian immigrants, she became Rochester, New York’s first city councilwoman in 1973 and later the first female Assistant to a U.S. President. After moving to San Diego in the 1980s, she remained a dedicated civic leader known for uniting people across differing viewpoints to achieve common goals.
PIAZZA VILLAGGIO
Location: North East Corner of India & W. Ash
Dedicated: Fall 2002
Notable Partner: The Olsen Company
Design Features: Integrated public space within the Village Walk development; custom fountain with handmade Italian tiles and bronze fish details; enhanced landscaping with Italian cypress trees; coral-colored Fermob furniture and branded umbrellas.
Named for the Village Walk residences, Piazza Villaggio was Little Italy’s first joint-venture piazza, created in partnership with The Olsen Company and the Little Italy Association, as a quasi-public gateway into Little Italy, San Diego. The space invites visitors to relax among Italian-inspired design elements and enjoy the soothing sounds of its fountain while exploring the surrounding storefronts surrounding the piazza.
PIAZZA GIANNINI
Location: South East Corner of India & W. Cedar
Dedicated: September 2018
Notable Partner: Bank of America
Design Features: Bronze bust of Amadeo P. Giannini by Gregory Reade; custom concrete story monument, bollards, and planters with enhanced landscaping and metal quote plaques; mint green-colored Fermob furniture and branded umbrellas.
Piazza Giannini honors Amadeo (A.P.) Giannini, a prominent Italian-American and Californian who founded the Bank of Italy, later transformed into Bank of America. Known as “America’s Banker,” he pioneered branch banking in the U.S. and championed “social equity” with equal access to goods and services for all. The piazza’s design draws inspiration from the Art Deco era, featuring geometric, streamlined, and symmetrical forms.
PIAZZA GRANCINI
Location: Amici Park at North East Corner of State & W. Date
Dedicated: TBA
Notable Partners: San Diego Unified School District & City of San Diego
Design Features: Phase I includes a new concrete pop-out on State; custom brick and wrought formal gate entrance and iron fence enclosing the park; upgraded landscaping with enhanced treescape.
Piazza Grancini is one of the newest public space projects in Little Italy, San Diego. Named after longtime community leader Fr. Steven Grancini, the former park space will be developed in phases over the coming years into a piazza and venue. The project will transform the existing bocce courts and amphitheater into a flexible, secure venue for community celebrations while remaining open for public use when not reserved for events.
PIAZZA DELLA FAMIGLIA
Location: W. Date between India & Columbia
Dedicated: August 2018
Notable Partners: H.G. Fenton Co. & City of San Diego
Design Features: 10,000 sq. ft. public square; 25-foot custom fountain; story monument and planters with enhanced landscaping; official 30-foot Little Italy Christmas tree; ambient Italian and cultural music; red and black Fermob furniture with branded umbrellas.
Piazza della Famiglia is the centerpiece public square in Little Italy, San Diego. Created through a partnership between H.G. Fenton Co. and the Little Italy Association, the piazza serves as a gathering place for residents, visitors, and the neighboring Vici and Amo luxury residential communities. Inspired by traditional European piazzas, the space celebrates the families of the past, present, and future who shape the Little Italy community.
PIAZZA BASILONE
Location: South East Corner of India & W. Fir
Dedicated: November 2003
Notable Partners: City of San Diego, & Cresci-Gilozetti Family
Design Features: Custom concrete pop-out with fountain and mosaic globe centerpiece; bronze bust of GySgt John Basilone by Jon Righetti; bronze story plaque; built-in seating with arbor and enhanced landscaping; U.S., Italian, Portuguese, and Mexican flags.
Piazza Basilone honors GySgt John Basilone, one of the most decorated Italian American war heroes. Inspired by longtime Little Italy resident Tommy Avila, it was the first independent piazza created by the Little Italy Association to commemorate “the boys of Little Italy who never came home” from 20th-century wars. Today, it serves as a memorial where Little Italy, San Diego honors all who have served, continue to serve, and will serve to protect our freedom.
PIAZZA PESCATORE
Location: North West Corner of Kettner & W. Fir
Dedicated: November 2017
Notable Partners: Alliance Residential & Bumble Bee Seafoods
Design Features: Custom water feature and planters with mosaic work by Kim Emerson; bronze statue of “Mr. Columbo” fisherman by Gregory Reade; granite story plaque; enhanced landscaping; aqua-colored Fermob furniture and branded umbrellas.
Piazza Pescatore honors the rich maritime history of Little Italy, San Diego by celebrating the neighborhood’s tuna industry, which brought national recognition in the 1970s and 1980s. Once the hub of the U.S. tuna industry, Italian, Sicilian, Portuguese, and Japanese fishermen worked San Diego Bay, fueling the local economy and supporting immigrant families both locally and abroad.