Clinton is a city in Vermillion County, Indiana. The population was 5,126 at the 2000 census. The city is named after DeWitt Clinton, who served as governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. Many of Clinton's original settlers were immigrants working in coal mines. Most of the immigrants were Italians trying to earn a living through coal mining. Over time, the coal mining industry in Clinton died down but many of the Italian settlers stayed at Clinton.

Clinton hosts the annual Little Italy Festival, a four-day Labor Day Weekend celebration of the area’s Italian and coal mining heritage. Founded in 1966, the event draws over 75,000 visitors annually, featuring Italian and carnival-style food, grapevine-roofed wine garden, grape stomping, tours and more. The festival also provides free stage entertainment, flea market and the largest Italian-theme parade in the Midwest. The festival is also host to the Indiana Bocce Ball championship, boasts one of the few coal mining museums in the nation, and owns one of fewer than 400 genuine gondolas in the United States. The reigning Queen of the Little Italy Festival is 19 year old Clinton resident Kellie Clem.