Amici House

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The Amici (Friend) House is a historic house in San Diego’s Little Italy—originally a single-family residence by the Giacalone family and later a residential rental property. Antonino Giacalone and his wife, Josephine were a part of the Italian fishing community in Little Italy and arrived in San Diego in 1916. Mr. Giacalone was considered one of the best fishermen during the 1920s and 1930s, the community even dubbed him as “Cadorna,” which translates to “the general.” Originally from Sicily, the Mazzara del Vallo area, the Giacalone’s were active in the community, generous with their hospitality and active in the local church. Cadorna and Josephine had four sons (Joe, Frank, Tom and Nick) and two daughters (Josephine and Margaret).

The Giacalone family’s home was originally located on W. Date Street, between Columbia and India Streets, where the Piazza della Famiglia stands today. In 2014, when the Piazza della Famiglia broke ground, the Little Italy Association partnered with HG Fenton to move the house to Amici Park on W. Date and Union Streets and preserve the historic home.

Today, the Giacalone family’s house is now the Amici House and home to The Convivio Society for Italian Humanities, a nonprofit organization that promotes Italian arts, culture and heritage in San Diego. Convivio works to preserve the local Italian community’s history digitally and through photographs, documents and oral histories. The public can visit Amici House to learn about the San Diego Italian community.

Current Resident

Convivio
Convivio promotes Italian cultural heritage, fosters the arts and humanities, and nurtures community building.

Italian Honorary Consulate in San Diego
By Appointment Only

AMICIBAR by Convivio
Thursday: 7:00am to Noon
Friday-Sunday: 7:00am to 2:00pm

250 W. Date Street
San Diego, CA 92101

Phone: 888 862 4825