The Federal Hill neighborhood has a salient role in the history of Providence due to its central location within the city. This part of Providence is best known for its Italian American community and abundance of Italian restaurants. Federal Hill is bounded by Westminster Street to the south, Route 6 and Route 10 to the west and north, Interstate 95 to the east; the area borders Downtown to the east, Smith Hill and Valley to the north, Olneyville to the west, the West End and South Providence to the south. Atwells Avenue is the cultural centerpiece of the neighborhood, with many famous restaurants densely clustered along it between Interstate 95 and Harris Avenue, it contains a mix of other typical urban businesses such as sandwich and pizza shops, convenience stores, a hotel, tattoo parlors. The gateway arch over Atwells Avenue near Downtown is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Providence; the La Pigna sculpture hanging from its center — a traditional Italian symbol of welcome and quality — is mistakenly referred to as "The Pineapple" and has become the symbol of Federal Hill.

Other important streets in the neighborhood include Broadway, home to restaurants as well as professional and legal offices, but to the historic Columbus Theater now used for movies and live performances. Other than a commercial and warehouse section in the area of Dean and Washington Streets, most of the rest of the neighborhood is residential catering to college students. Johnson and Wales University maintains the Renaissance Hall dormitory on Federal Hill as well. Most cross streets in the historic neighborhood between Atwells Avenue and Broadway are one-way due to their narrowness. A few streets remain paved with cobblestone. DePasquale Plaza, sometimes referred to as "the heart of the neighborhood," is a popular spot for outdoor dining and people-watching; the plaza features a central grand fountain surrounded by outdoor dining. In the summer of 2018 the plaza's "famous" fountain was in a state of partial disrepair, with only two levels flowing and the base filled with plants. In May 2019 the fountain was restored and working, despite restoration work having set back by an automobile collision only a month earlier.

Federal Hill received its name after a 1788 Fourth of July ox roast celebration on the plain adjacent to the hill. The organizers of the celebration intended to celebrate the ratification of the Federal Constitution by the 9 of the 13 states needed to create the United States; because anti-federalist sentiment was strong in Rhode Island, General William West led 1,000 armed farmers to Providence to stop the celebration. A compromise was reached and the celebrants agreed to celebrate Independence Day only and not the ratification of the Federal Constitution; the issue remained hotly controversial in Rhode Island for two more years until the state became the last of the original thirteen states to join the union. The area of Federal Hill was called Nocabulabet, believed to be an anglicized version of either a Narragansett or Wampanoag phrase meaning "land above the river" or "land between the ancient waters."Federal Hill's Atwells Avenue is named for Amos Maine Atwell, who led a syndicate of businessmen developing the western areas of the city in 1788.

The area developed into a working class area during the early 19th century in part due to reverses in commercial shipping. In 1840, only the lower streets of the hill were occupied, that by Irish immigrants who worked in the nearby textile shops and foundries. Yet, by the early 1850s, the part of Atwells Avenue that we think of today as "Little Italy" was clustered with two and three story tenements that housed the large influx of those who fled the famine of 1845 to 1851. A third of these people came from the Barony of Truagh and surrounding townlands; this area, encompassing Northern County Monaghan and Southern County Tyrone, had for centuries been the fiefdom of the McKenna clan. Not incidentally, McKenna was, by far, the most common name on Federal Hill in the 1860s; the 1870s saw the first arrival of immigrants from southern Italy, with greater numbers arriving in the next two decades. By 1895, the Hill was divided evenly between Irish and Italians; these were tension-filled times, as both groups fought for jobs and respect from the Yankee majority.

More can be read about the Irish period on the Hill at http://federalhillirish.com/. The first two decades of the 20th century witnessed heavy Italian-American immigration into Federal Hill, making it the city's informal Little Italy. Though the area today is more diverse, Federal Hill still retains its status as the traditional center for the city's Italian-American community. Providence's annual Columbus Day parade marches down Atwells Avenue. In 1954, Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca Sr, the newly appointed boss of the New England Faction of La Cosa Nostra, made drastic changes to the family, the biggest being moving the family's base of operations from Boston to Atwells Ave in Federal Hill, he ran the crime family from 1954 until 1984 from the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business on Atwells Avenue. The business was known to family members as "The Office." According to the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the 02903 zip code, in which Federal Hill is located, was 65.8% White, 12.4% Black or African American, 7.2% Asian, 0.7% American Indian, 8.4% from other races.

Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.2% of the population. According to the Providence Plan, a local nonprofit aimed at improving city life, 47% of residents are white, 32.1% Hispanic, 14.8% are African-American. These are all above the citywide averages

The 2001–02 season was the 107th season in the history of Plymouth Argyle Football Club, their 77th in the Football League, 5th in the fourth tier of the English football league system. Their 12th-place finish in the 2000–01 season meant it was their fourth successive season playing in the Third Division; the club began the 2001–02 season in the Football League Third Division, following a disappointing 12th-place finish the previous year. There were signs of change at the club and they finished the season as champions, breaking numerous club records in the process, including a record haul of 102 points, they achieved 31 wins, 9 draws, 6 defeats, from 46 games. Their leading goalscorer was Graham Coughlan with 11 goals in all competitions – an outstanding achievement for a centre-back; the club reached the Second Round of the FA Cup, drawing 1–1 at home with Bristol Rovers before losing the replay 3–2. They entered the League Cup at the First Round stage and were eliminated away to Watford 1–0.

They competed in the Football League Trophy where they bowed out in the First Round after a 2–1 defeat away to Cheltenham Town. Notable players to begin their careers with the Pilgrims this season included Coughlan, Marino Keith, Jason Bent. Legend Win Draw Loss Pld = Matches played. All players are listed by position and surname; the following players have been named in the most starting line-ups. This line-up may differ from the list of players with most appearances. In Out In Out

Frank Schepke was a German rower who competed for the United Team of Germany in the 1960 Summer Olympics. He was born in Königsberg, Germany, in 1935. Kraft Schepke was his brother. At the 1959 European Rowing Championships in Mâcon, he won a gold medal with the eight. At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he was a crew member of the German eight. At the 1961 European Rowing Championships in Prague, he won a gold medal with the coxed four, he was twice—in 1959 and in 1960—awarded the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, the highest West German sports award. Both he and his brother retired after the 1961 rowing season from competitive rowing. In the same year, he finished his PhD at the University of Kiel in agricultural sciences, he worked as a consultant for farmers, in life founded an industrial cleaning company. Aged 55, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of owning his own farm, he produced biologically grown produce, he stood in the 1965 West German federal election in the Stormarn – Herzogtum Lauenburg electorate for the National Democratic Party of Germany, a far-right and ultranationalist party founded the previous year.

He left the party in 1969. At the 2009 and 2013 German federal elections, he stood as an independent in the Plön – Neumünster electorate. Schepke was the initiator in 2004 behind a regional currency KannWas for Schleswig-Holstein. Schepke died on 4 April 2017 in Kiel