The lower area of the French Quarter has been called “Little Palermo.” Now a free self-guided tour app launched by “New Orleans Insider Tours” provides over forty points of historic interest in the French Quarter and ten spots outside New Orleans as Sicilians migrated. From 1885-1915 over 60,000 Sicilians arrived in New Orleans.
Each spot has GPS, photos, audio, and text. Many spots have video interviews with the chef, sculptor, or other person connected to the site.
Numerous antidotes about the Sicilian Migration are told in the App. Examples: The first individual cocktail in America was made in New Orleans at the Jewel of the South Bar by Joseph Santini. A new bar has opened in honor of maker, where you can have that drink.
During the Civil War in April 1862, for seven days as the Confederates left and the Union Army had not yet arrived, The Mayor turned to The Italian Brigade to act as policemen and save New Orleans from looting and burning as was the case in Algiers.
After the Dingley Tarriff of 1897 was passed on importing pasta, elevan pasta factories opened in the French Quarter.
In April 1862. A Sicilian was the pilot of 1804 War Hero Capt. Stephen Decatur’s ship that sailed into Tripoli during the First Barbary Coast War.
The app can be downloaded by a QR Code. It is part of ten tours offered by New Orleans Insider Tours.
Link to desktop version of Tour App for New Orleans Insider Tours “Little Palermo.”
Link to Desktop version of New Orleans Insider Tours Little Palermo App
