On your right side is the Italian American Museum.  The museum is located in a former bank which had been established on Mulberry Street in 1885.  The bank fulfilled not only basic banking functions but also was a link uniting immigrants with relatives who had stayed in Italy.  In the bank building were also located a telegraph office, a post office and a tourist office.The museum opened its doors to visitors in 2001.  The exhibits of the museum relate to the history of Italians in America.  Having visited the museum, you will be able to plunge yourself into the history of Little Italy, its distinctive atmosphere brought by Italians from their distant homeland.The museum we have just mentioned is not located here by accident.  Around Mulberry street is an area called Little Italy.  The borders of Little Italy in prior times came up against those of Chinatown.  At the end of the 19th century the region was bigger, because through the Immigration Center on Ellis Island the greatest percentage of immigrants were Italians.  There were more than 2.5 million of them.On the streets of Little Italy drift aromas of coffee, salami and pizza.  The facades of buildings and the street lights are decorated with the national colors of Italy - red, white and green.  If you have come to New York in September, you must visit Little Italy on 19 September.  On that day neighborhood joyously celebrates the feast day of St. Januarius.  The statue of Saint Januarius is carried reverently through the main streets of the region for the next ten days of the festival and Little Italy is turned into a bustling carnival sea. In the years of the Great Depression all the famous Mafiosi of New York lived in Little Italy and most liked to spend a great deal of time in Umberto's Clam restaurant  (178 Mulberry Street).  The atmosphere of the Italian district is well shown in the films The Godfather, The Godfather 2 and Mean Streets.  Additionally in the film, The Godfather 2 it is possible to see the Immigration Center on Ellis Island.Photo Little Italy by Nikolas Moya is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0