Festa Italiana provides Passport to Italy

EXPERIENCING Italy is an unforgettable event. But the world-renowned cuisine and rich culture of Italy can be experienced much closer to home and at a much lower cost at Festa Italiana, presented by U.S. Cellular® on Milwaukee’s lakefront.

From Thursday, July 17 through Sunday, July 20, Festa Italiana is your passport to Italy. Everyone is Italian at the Summerfest grounds, enjoying live music, art exhibits and special displays from the Vatican, ongoing entertainment, fireworks, the magnificent religious exhibits and of course, lots of Italian culture and cuisine!

Festa Italiana offers Italian cuisine from more than 40 vendors. Enjoy freshly baked pizza, an assortment of pasta smothered in delicious sauces, Italian sausage, mozzarella sticks or fried eggplant strips. Cap off your entrée with a helping of gelato or a tasty cannoli.

For Festa visitors who want to learn how to prepare the tasty Italian dishes, the popular Cucina Showcase offers daily demonstrations presented by local chefs and internationally known television chef, Nick Stellino, who cooks his favorite recipes on Saturday and Sunday.

If it’s authentic Italian culture you’re seeking, there is plenty at Festa. A rare bronze replica of Michelangelo’s Pieta will be on display at the Pompeii Sacred Art Exhibit. The Pieta, which depicts the Virgin Mary holding the body of her son Jesus Christ, has been created in many different forms by a variety of painters and sculptors, but Michelangelo’s is the most famous. His masterpiece was unveiled in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City for the Jubilee of 1500.

The St. Valerie Mosaic, originally displayed in the Vatican, also will be at the Festa for viewing. Measuring 6 feet by 11 feet, the masterpiece is truly a “can’t miss” in 2008. In the Golden Age of Opera tent, an exhibit will showcase the legacy of renowned tenor Mario Lanza. His son, Damon Lanza, will showcase the music and life of his father, including rare and unreleased recordings. He will also participate in daily discussions about his father.

A new and exciting attraction at Festa in 2008 will be the Gold Medal Bolla Wines U.S. Pizza Team. The U.S. Pizza Team is made up of pizza dough-throwing culinary acrobats and chefs from across the country. The team, which competes annually at the World Pizza Championships in Europe, has won four gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

Featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Martha Stewart and the Food Network, the team competes in events such as Fastest Pizza Maker, Largest Dough Stretch, Freestyle Dough Tossing and Best Pizza. The team will perform throughout the grounds and at the Cucina Showcase at 7:45 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The festival will have eight stages packed with continuous Italian and contemporary entertainment from noon to close all four days. For no extra charge, festival-goers on Thursday and Friday can see comedian Joe Piscopo on the Miller Lite Oasis. On Saturday and Sunday, Jay and The Americans will entertain the crowd at the Oasis. Other performers of note include the youth sensation Julian Sage Miyata, Aaron Caruso, Giada Valenti, Deana Martin (Dean Martin’s daughter) and The Tenors 3.

One of Italy’s most recognizable landmarks, the San Marco Venetian Bell Tower, also will be added to Festa 2008. A 43-foot-tall replica of the famed Bell Tower will be located east of the entrance to the Mid-Gate and will chime on the hour. The Bell Tower will join the St. Rocco Festival archway replica introduced at Festa Italiana last year.

Each year, Festa showcases a different region of Italy, describing the life and culture. This year the focus is Campania, the most densely populated region in Italy. Campania is home to the renowned Amalfi Coast, the ancient and tragic city of Pompeii and the romantic Isle of Capri.

One of the best aspects of Campania is its contribution to the culinary world. It’s the birthplace of pizza, spaghetti and buffalo mozzarella. In addition, visitors can listen to beautiful Neapolitan music and read about the many famous people from Campania.

Festa Favorites’ returning for 2008 include:

• Nationally known Bartolotta fireworks, which light up the sky every night of Festa and culminate in the spectacular “Abondanzza in the Sky” on the final day of the festival.
  
  
• The Italian Idol Stage, where festival-goers become Festa stars by showing off their singing abilities. There are even prizes to be won for the singer of the night!
  
  
• Bocce ball or “bowling on the green,” the ideal way to get active on the grounds. Engage in friendly competition with friends and family and, if your bocce skills are top notch, enter a team in the tournament on the final day of Festa.
  
  
• The traditional Sunday Catholic Mass and Procession celebrated Sunday by Bishop William Callahan at 11 a.m. in the Maracus Amphitheater.

Returning to Festa Italiana for the first time in 15 years is the carnival and video arcade tailored to children. On the opening day, July 17, festival-goers can enjoy all of the carnival rides for only $1 per ride. And before you leave Festa Italiana in 2008, be sure to visit the art tent on the north end of the grounds, where works by Italian and Italian-American artists in all media will be on sale

Festa Italiana runs from 2 p.m.-midnight July 17 and from 11:30 a.m.-midnight July 18-20. General admission tickets are $12 at the gate, $10 in advance (before July 4) from the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago St. or online at www.festaitaliana.com.

Festa Italiana presented by U.S. Cellular, is sponsored by Miller Lite, Potawatomi Bingo Casino, Palermo’s Pizza, National City Bank, DaVinci Foods, The Boucher Family Automotive Group and Bolla Wines. For additional information about Festa Italiana or this year’s special admission deals, call 414-223-2194 or visit festaitaliana.com.