Mural Comes to Life in Little Italy
Driving north up Preston Street, towards Somerset, it is impossible to miss Little Italy’s newest piece of public art; the Corso Italia Community Mural painted by local artist Ryan Smeeton. Located at 125 Preston Street, the mural was commissioned in May of this year by the Preston Street Business Improvement Area (BIA), and funded, in part, by the City of Ottawa. The artwork is meant to depict the essence of Ottawa’s Little Italy, with its rich and complex history, while also paying tribute to some broader aspects of Italian culture. The components of the mural tell an interesting story of the local community and reveal some lesser-known pieces of history on Preston Street.
The focal point of the mural is a beautiful tarantella dancer, painted wearing traditional costume. Tarantella is a lively southern-Italian folk dance, which has remained a part of Ottawa’s Italian Canadian community for decades. Carina Della Valle, dance teacher at Ottawa’s Fonte D’Amore Tarantella Group, says that the organization has seen declining numbers in recent years as traditional arts receive increasingly less visibility. “Ottawa has a strong Italian presence, and to be able to see the representation - younger representation - is so important for the newer and younger generations of Italians,” says Carina.
The mural also includes some more literal connections to local history. The Corso Italia Portal Archway, depicted in the top left corner, was commissioned, and paid for, by the merchants of the Preston Street BIA in 2011. It stands today at the intersection of Carling and Preston, acting as a luminescent gateway to the Little Italy area.
Along with the archway, St. Anthony’s Church, located on the southeast corner of Booth and Gladstone, is a present-day structure with deep historical roots that has been included in the painting. St. Anthony’s was first built in 1908; it burnt and was rebuilt twice between the years of 1908 and 1925. “The mural perfectly encapsulates the Italian community [in Ottawa],” says Carina Della Valle. “We practice at St. Anthony’s Pudua [church], most girls drive by the mural every time they come to practice. It is a full circle moment to be able to visualize all these elements in such a stunning piece of art.”
Hidden in the bottom right corner is a lesser-known piece of local history; a black and white painting of Chappie’s Lunch, the first Italian Restaurant on Preston Street. Chappie’s Lunch was opened in 1945 by Albert “Chappy” Caramanico.
The restaurant was family-run, with Chappy as the manager and his wife, Mary (Cianci) Carmanico, as the cook. All seven of their children worked at Chappie’s Lunch, either in the kitchen or as servers. At that time, patrons could order a plate of spaghetti and meatballs for only fifty cents. “The inclusion of Chappie’s Lunch is meant to pay tribute to the many Italian Canadian immigrants who landed and established their lives and businesses in the Little Italy area – making Preston Street the commercial hub it is today,” says Lindsay Childerhose, Executive Director of the Preston Street BIA.
Finally, a yellow fiat lies at the bottom of the Corso Italia Community Mural, acting as a nod to the Italian Car Club of Ottawa. The Club is known for their historic Italian Car Parade, which has taken place as part of the Italian Festival for over forty years.
As part of the 2023 Ottawa Italian Festival, an official mural launch was held on June 11th. Onlookers were delighted to find that the yellow fiat, painted in the mural, had made an appearance in real life - alongside a group of excited, young tarantella dancers in traditional costume. Standing in front of the mural, joined by members of the community, including Councillor Ariel Troster, the Fonte D'Amore Tarantella Group performed a traditional dance for the audience. Grace, a young member of the dance group, had this to say about seeing herself represented in a large-scale piece of public art; “the mural makes me happy that our Italian heritage is an important part of our city and makes me proud to be an Italian Canadian.”
About the Corso Italia Community Mural:
This mural could not have been possible without the support of City Councillor Ariel Troster and the City of Ottawa. A special thank you to Trina Costantini-Powell and the National Congress of Italian Canadians for identifying the culminating features of local Italian Canadian history to be included in this piece.
Thank you also to Tim Middleton and Toofan Chramin for allowing the Preston Street BIA to use their wall as a canvas. Lastly, thank you to Ryan Smeeton, the incredible artist who painted this piece.
The Corso Italia Mural was part of a two-mural project. The other mural can be found at 50 Beech Street.