Crime and Cuisine on Federal Hill
Crimen y gastronomía en Federal Hill
A food tour with a felonious twist!
The Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence is one of its hottest destinations, home to some of the best Italian food in the world. This tour will give you a smorgasbord of its best bites and drinks, from fine wines to housemade pasta. Come hungry!
The Hill was also home to some historic characters who dabbled on the wrong side of the law. Follow the intrigue of State v. Patriarca, when a future mayor took on a mob boss; learn about the corruption that brought Rhode Island’s banking system to its knees in the ’90s, and about a raid on an illegal dice game that sent a Providence Police Officer through a second-story window.
Every guest will also get a memento from their time on the Hill to take home with them. Spoiler alert: it’s delicious!
Guests under 21 will not be served alcohol on this tour.
In the spring of 1975, women with sledgehammers marched on what was then Franklin Park to attack a dilapidated bathhouse. Built in 1911 to serve the crowded Italian immigrant community of Federal Hill, the bathhouse had become an eyesore. Providence’s first Italian-American mayor, Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, turned the public relations disaster into a coup. Federal Hill had been the epicenter of the Italian immigrant experience in Rhode Island, and Buddy made the park a memorial to that history. The gateway arch decorated with “La Pigna,” a symbol of hospitality, now welcomes people into the home of the Italian diaspora to celebrate Italian culture.
