To many St. Louisans, “The Hill” is an Italian neighborhood known for its nationally acclaimed restaurants, specialty groceries and bakeries, tiny “shotgun” houses and fire hydrants proudly painted green, white and red, the colors of the Italian flag. Yet this image just touches the surface, for this 50 square block area in South St. Louis is not merely one of the city’s few ethnic neighborhoods, but among its most stable, tightly woven communities.