Visiting Arthur Avenue in the Bronx means Italian food

Fresh mozzarella, handmade pasta and hero sandwiches loaded with ham, tomatoes, peppers and cheese — it's all here in the delis, restaurants, shops, cafes and bakeries along Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street.

Some of the best-known places include Tino's Deli, Madonia Brothers Bakery and an old-school, family-style restaurant called Dominick's.

A scrapbook on display at the deli shows photos of other famous visitors — including Robert DeNiro and Hillary Clinton — chowing down and posing with enormous hunks of cheese and whole salamis.

David Greco, whose father founded Mike's Deli, recommends the Michelangelo hero, with prosciutto and heavenly fresh mozzarella, as one of the best things on the menu.

Yet you can still find old women chatting away in Italian in the back row of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, surrounded by marble columns, stained glass windows and statues of the Madonna.

The Arthur Avenue retail market is just under a mile from the B or D subway line's Fordham Road station.

Or take Metro North Railroad from Grand Central in Manhattan to the Fordham station in the Bronx and walk about a half-mile to the market.