Visitors who come to Springfield to hit the Basketball Hall of Fame or tour the Quadrangle museums might never glimpse this vibrant Italian-American community, yet it's hiding in plain sight. Historically, the South End was Italian: a dense neighborhood stretching from State Street south to Mill Street, and from Main Street west to Interstate 91.
It used to go all the way to the Connecticut River, but the construction of the elevated interstate ripped up the heart of the South End beginning around 1960. "We lost a lot of the residences," says Franco Daniele, president of the Mount Carmel Society, established in 1897 by Bracigliano immigrants. "But we're trying to hold together the businesses."
Daniele, who immigrated as a teenager in the 1960s, imports food. Italian businesses here, it seems, often have something to do with food. While many South End families have dispersed to nearby towns and other parts of Springfield, the restaurants, delis, and markets still draw them back to the old neighborhood.
One stalwart is Albano's Market on East Columbus Avenue, the central artery of the Italian neighborhood until I-91 was built on top of it. On the advice of Sarno and Daniele, we made a beeline to the old-fashioned storefront for a cup of lemon ice. Melissa Ketchell of Enfield had the same idea. She was making a quick stop on the way to see her obstetrician. "Every time I get pregnant," she said, resting a hand on her belly, "I get a craving for lemon ice." Why Albano's? "My mom used to come here."
Filomena Bruschi runs the grocery with her sister Theresa D'Angelantonio. "We've been making Italian ice here for 66 years," Bruschi said. "We make it the old-fashioned way, like ice cream without the cream. We're the last store that does it." And they don't make it in cool weather. Bruschi's husband cranks out the frozen treat only from Memorial Day to Columbus Day.
