April 30 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm. $25. Baltimore’s Little Italy neighborhood was once home to Jewish immigrants from Germany and Russia. Surprise! The 1850s Gold Rush in California brought some of the earliest immigrants from Italy, who rented rooms from homeowners in Fell’s Point and along the harbor as they made plans to continue west to seek their fortunes. Lucky for us, many put down roots in Baltimore and never left. Some even opened restaurants.

One of Little Italy’s longest standing restaurants is Chiapparelli’s. In 1925 at the age of 26, Pasquale Chiapparelli arrived in the United States aboard the Conte Rosso from Naples. A tailor by trade, he came to Baltimore to join other family members who had immigrated here before him. In the early 1940’s he opened a pizza place with his brother that would later become Chiapparelli’s restaurant.