In 2019, The Hill gained something many Italian towns take for granted: a piazza in front of the parish church. Piazza Imo, a privately funded plaza across the street from St. Ambrose Catholic Church, was built as a central gathering place for the neighborhood and its visitors.
From vacant lot to piazza
The piazza sits on what had been a vacant lot facing St. Ambrose, the church at 5130 Wilson Avenue. Msgr. Vincent Bommarito, then the pastor of St. Ambrose, assembled a committee about four years before the opening to decide what should be built on the property, according to MetroSTL. A committee member, Joseph Ambrose, told the outlet that a gathering place in front of a church is common in Italy.
Ground was broken in June 2018. A city photo gallery of Mayor Lyda Krewson’s June 2018 activities shows the mayor joining the Imo family and local leaders at the groundbreaking, and Sophisticated St. Louis reported on the ceremony on June 20, 2018. At the time, the committee hoped to open the plaza that fall.
Who paid for it
The project was paid for with private donations, not tax dollars, the Riverfront Times reported at the groundbreaking. The piazza is named for Ed and Margie Imo, the couple who founded Imo’s Pizza in 1964 and opened their first parlor at Thurman and Shaw, according to the company’s history page. Sophisticated St. Louis reported that the Imos bought and donated the property and the ornamental gates. The Frisella family donated the Italian marble fountain and the piazza’s design, and Tom Rea and Cathy Ruggeri-Rea made a financial gift.
Reported figures for the cost vary. At the 2018 groundbreaking, the Riverfront Times put the project at $3 million to $4 million. At the dedication in 2019, MetroSTL reported that the committee had raised $1.3 million, much of it from Ed and Marge Imo, and that a separate effort was underway to raise $1 million for a permanent maintenance fund.
Dedication
The piazza was dedicated and blessed on Sunday, August 18, 2019, according to MetroSTL. The Italian Tribune described the grand opening as starting with a prayer service inside St. Ambrose, followed by a procession across the street led by an Italian band. Bishop Mark Rivituso blessed the space, and Mayor Krewson called the project a gift to the city. “The whole purpose of the piazza is to come and sit,” Bommarito said, as quoted by MetroSTL.
What is there
The piazza covers about 11,000 square feet. Its centerpiece is a marble fountain imported from Italy, which the West End Word reported is 23 feet in diameter and the Italian Tribune identified as Carrara marble. Other features described in coverage of the opening include walkways of imported Italian granite, benches, stone chess tables beneath the trees and a prayer garden at the back.
The entrance gates are a work of art in their own right. According to the West End Word, each gate, header included, stands 14 feet tall and 9 feet wide and weighs about 3,400 pounds. They were designed by local artist Claude Breckwoldt and produced by Eureka Forge of Pacific, Missouri, and Empire Fence of St. Louis.
The plaza was also intended as an outdoor classroom. The Riverfront Times reported that the committee planned to use it as a learning space for St. Ambrose School students, with an emphasis on science and technology.
The piazza today
Hill 2000, the neighborhood association, describes the piazza as one of The Hill’s major attractions and lists a concert series in Piazza Imo among the neighborhood’s events. A 2026 article in The STL described it as a gathering spot across from St. Ambrose with its Italian-made marble fountain at the center. For more on the church across the street, see our history of St. Ambrose.
For more on the neighborhood’s past, see our History of The Hill timeline.
Sources: Sophisticated St. Louis, City of St. Louis, Riverfront Times, MetroSTL, West End Word, The Italian Tribune, Imo’s Pizza, Hill 2000, The STL, Archdiocese of St. Louis
