Philadelphia’s historic Italian Market has long been a place where cultures, traditions and generations of immigrant families converge.

This summer, residents and visitors have a chance to experience the market beyond its celebrated food and storefronts through Our Market Tours, a free guided walking experience offered this weekend as part of the Philadelphia Visitor Center’s Neighborhood Jawnts series.

Neighborhood Jawnts launched earlier this year in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia and local community partners. The initiative aims to highlight the “vibrant culture, creativity, and small businesses that shape neighborhoods throughout the city.” How that’s achieved is through experiences focused on food, art, history, and the voices of local leaders and residents.

Neighborhood Jawnts overall offers 20 distinct experiences across Philadelphia, with tours taking place every weekend from Friday through Sunday—including this weekend in the Italian Market.

Set for July 31 through Aug. 2, Neighborhood Jawnt’s partnership with Our Market Tours will offer immersive excursions that blend public art, oral histories, archival photography and digital storytelling to reveal the people, neighborhoods and cultural legacies in this unique area of the city.

Our Market Tours come from Our Market Project, a community-driven arts initiative led by visual artist Michelle Angela Ortiz. OMP has been serving the City of Brotherly Love with a variety of creative experiences since 2019. But really, it’s been a 55-year investment for Ortiz’s family.

The visual artist has 25 years of experience working in communities and utilizing public art as a way to amplify “the existing voices and the existing power of the community.” The Project was conceived specifically as a way to invest in the South 9th Street Curb Market, or what’s popularly known as the Italian Market. On the tour, participants will hear about immigrant families that overcame discrimination spanning the Italian, Irish, Jewish, Lebanese, African-American, Southeast Asian, Mexican, Central American and South American communities.

The tour — which was developed in partnership with Beyond the Bell Tours — in the past has featured 30 stops with historical stories about people like Anthony Palumbo, an Italian immigrant who owned a boarding house and provided shelter, food and work before opening up his famous banquet hall; or Mighty Writers, who provide literacy programs for children of immigrants; or areas like a subsection of the space on Washington Avenue now being impacted with gentrification by turning produce stands into parking spaces.

Additionally, attendees can download and use Our Market’s free digital tour app to bring historical images and first-hand community stories to life through video. It’s an immersive way to peek into the past and see what was happening throughout history in certain spots of the area, much of which many people walk over every single day.

Philadelphians and beyond can get a feel for Our Market Project’s mission by visiting ourmarketproject.com as well, which features over 70 stories collected from neighbors, business owners or people who shop in the market. There’s also a full breakdown on where to find the different artwork in the area from the organization, and of course, ways to book your tour.

Tickets for each Neighborhood Jawnts tour are free, with advance registration required. To find out more information on this weekend’s tour series specifically, visit eventbrite.com

MORE: Queen Village Restaurant Week returns with prix fixe menus at neighborhood favorites

Keywords

Italian Market,

Philadelphia,

Neighborhood Jawnts,

Our Market Tours,

Our Market Project,

Michelle Angela Ortiz,

Philadelphia Visitor Center,

South Philadelphia,

walking tours,

public art