In the quiet passing of time, there is a tendency for romance to fade without so much as a whisper. Do not let this become so at Casa Italiana, London’s oldest Italian social club. It has been on Clerkenwell Road since 1960, unchanging as skyscrapers rise and suits become desperately ill-fitting. It’s had a hard year: financial strife.
It’s known simply as The Club, a little venue where post-war immigrants and the generations since come together to dance and sing, cook and cavort. In years past, The Club was open almost every day. Children would be left there to play snooker, cause mischief and buy sweets from the snack bar; on match days, perhaps when Juventus were playing, members would watch la Vecchia Signora (the Old Lady) with a beer; and on Sundays, it was — and gracefully still is — part of a ritual: church, shop, coffee. Fiercely good coffee, by the way. St Peter’s Catholic church remains next door, as does Terroni, London’s first Italian deli.
“Since immigrating, it has always been the focal point for Italian immigrants,” member Mario Zeppetelli says. “My teenage years were spent here. I even met my future wife here, so for this reason alone it remains close to my heart.”
Inside this pocket of Clerkenwell, once Little Italy, now just another part of town, there is beauty to be found. There are old dreamers thinking of home, £3 bottles of Peroni and warm bowls of tomato pasta. There, set within the wood panelling, flags and photos, are card games and a tombola, a rickety music system ready for song. It is a part of London worth protecting.
A hard year, but not one without hope. There have been fundraising efforts from big-name restaurant groups and perfume brands who’ve realised preservation is all. In 2025, I’m told, Casa Italiana will be open more often. Evenings will bring more affordable pasta, glass tumblers of wine, even porchetta. Attention has brought with it younger types — third generation Italians and the like — intent on keeping The Club alive. They will handle it now. And it is warming, fortifying. Because in the quiet passing of time, there must always be a moment to remember where we are, and that we would not be here without those who built it.
136 Clerkenwell Road, EC1R 5DL, @casaitalianauk
