‘It’s full of life’: the battle to save social club at heart of London’s Little Italy

The Casa Italiana club is a lifeline for Italians but now faces closure if it can’t attract younger members

There are few signs left of London’s lost Little Italy, but one is hard to miss. On a smart road in Clerkenwell is a humble shop with a huge Italian flag running across its signage. In chunky capitals on top of the green, white and red, it reads “Casa Italiana S. Vincenzo Pallotti”. But, to regulars, it’s simply “The Club”.

Since the 1960s, this place on Clerkenwell Road has been a hub for the Italian community living in the capital, many of whom arrived after the war and congregated in the then-affordable part of the city.