When historian and author Lauren Coodley moved to Napa in 1975, it was “a very authentic, unspoiled place,” still blue collar, affordable and rural. The East Napa neighborhood known as Little Italy boasted boardinghouses, family-run grocery stores and bocce ball courts. Italians had began settling in Napa toward the end of the 19th century, living near the railroad, ranches and river, and by the 1940s and 50s, the Italian American community was close-knit, self-sufficient and industrious.