Feast of St. Anthony
The neighborhood’s signature weekend since 1904 — Mass at St. Leo’s, a street procession, live music, and Italian food into the night.
Baltimore, Maryland · Est. 1880s
Benvenuti a Piccola Italia
Baltimore’s Little Italy is at its best when the lights come on — long dinners on narrow streets, feast-day processions, bocce under the lights, and the bells of St. Leo’s, ringing since 1881.
1881St. Leo's parish founded
1904First Feast of St. Anthony
15+Family restaurants & bakeries
3 blocksFrom the Inner Harbor
The neighborhood
Old-world warmth, three blocks from downtown.
For more than a century, Little Italy has been an important cultural and ethnic icon for Baltimore. Italian immigrants settled here in the late 1800s, arriving by rail at President Street Station and building a tight-knit community of homes, shops, churches, and restaurants on a handful of narrow streets.
Today it remains a real residential neighborhood — and a beloved destination. Come for a long dinner, stay for a feast-day procession, a film projected on a brick wall in summer, or an evening of bocce with neighbors who'll happily teach you the rules.
Read our full history → What's in Little Italy
Four ways to fall for the neighborhood.
Eat
Restaurants & Bakeries
A dining district of family-run trattorias, brick-oven pizza, and a century-old pastry shop. Veal, seafood, and cannoli filled to order.
Explore → CelebrateFestivals & Feasts
The Feast of St. Anthony in late spring and St. Gabriele in August fill the streets with processions, bocce tournaments, and live music.
Explore → PlayBocce in the Piazza
Play on the public courts at D’Alesandro Park, or watch league night unfold under the lights from spring through September.
Explore → HonorFaith & Heritage
St. Leo the Great has anchored the neighborhood since 1881 — generations of baptisms, weddings, and the feast-day faithful.
Explore → The year in feasts
Summer belongs to the streets.
Feast of St. Gabriele
Summer’s second feast — a procession after Sunday Mass, bocce under the lights, and long tables that stay full past dark.
Madonnari Arts Festival
Street painters kneel on the pavement and turn a city block into a chalk canvas, one masterpiece at a time.
Columbus Celebration
Italian Heritage Month — the parade, the piazza, and the Italian Heritage Festival benefitting St. Leo’s Church.
A dining district
Fifteen kitchens. One long, lingering meal.
From white-tablecloth classics to a focacceria counter and a pastry shop that's been filling cannoli since 1956, Little Italy is built for a slow dinner and a walk afterward. Many restaurants offer free private-lot or valet parking — so you can leave the car and stay a while.
See all restaurants → Plan your visit
Easy to reach. Easier to stay.
Getting here
Three blocks east of the Inner Harbor and walkable from Harbor East and Fells Point. Look for the marble stoops and the green, white & red.
Parking
Free street parking (3-hour limit), free on Pratt Street after 6 p.m., several pay garages, and valet at many restaurants.
Parking details →Stay over
Neighborhood B&Bs and nearby harbor hotels put you steps from dinner and the morning espresso.
Where to stay →Come hungry. Leave famiglia.
Questions, group visits, or want your business listed? We'd love to hear from you.
Get in touch →