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The UK’s biggest Italian food festival is returning to Manchester this summer
Festa Italiana is back!
The UK’s largest Italian food festival is set to return to Manchester this summer.
Described as ‘the country’s most exciting and vibrant festival of Italian food, drink and culture’, Festa Italiana is a unique celebration of all things Italy.
Festa, which was initially born out of Manchester’s Italian community four years ago, is back with a bang after a COVID-19 break last year with workshops, demonstrations, book signings and some of Italy’s finest cuisine courtesy of celebrated Italian chefs such as Aldo Zilli, Giancarlo Caldesi, Gennaro Contaldo and, Festa founder, Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco.
Festa Italiana
Maurizio’s twelve-year-old daughter, Sienna Cecco, who is also a talented chef in her own right, will be joining the party and leading free kids cooking classes throughout the three day long festival.
Carmela Sereno Hayes, the hugely popular pastaia (specialist pasta maker) and author, will also be making a return to Festa Italiana and running her much talked about pasta workshops all weekend long.
And as for the beverages front?
Festa Italiana
Well, it wouldn’t be a weekend dedicated to Italian cuisine without some authentic Italian booze, would it?
A number of the big labels will be on hand to keep your thirst quenched throughout the weekend such as Peroni, who will not only be serving pints of their famed lager, but will be popping up their portable cinema, too.
Complete with bean bags, deck chairs, popcorn, aperitivo boxes, Peroni (obviously) and themed classic movie screenings of Cinema Paradiso, Romeo and Juliet and La Dolce Vita, the popular lager will have you covered.
Festa Italiana
There will also be a space and activities over the weekend to keep children entertained while their parents feast upon pasta, pizza and Aperol… so, families, worry not.
The festival has been confirmed to take place at Cathedral Gardens on the August bank holiday weekend, Friday 27th to Sunday 29th.
For more information, you can visit the Festa Italiana website here.