Festa Italiana is Manchester’s largest, most exciting, and vibrant festival of Italian food, drink and culture. Taking place at Manchester’s Cathedral Gardens, the event is now in its sixth year with 35,000+ happy folk expected to pass through over the Bank Holiday August weekend.
Brought to you from the team behind Manchester’s independent family-run restaurant Salvi’s, Festa Italiana celebrates the city’s Italian community and heritage. It takes its inspiration from traditional festivals in Italy and chucks in a healthy portion of Mancunian charm to create a perfect balance for a weekend of the very best in authentic food, drink, music, performance, and art.
This year, the free-to-enter weekend-long celebration will return to Festival Piazza, Cathedral Gardens, on bank holiday weekend, 25th – 27th August 2023.
A passion project dreamt up by Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco, the intention is to bring the Italian community of Manchester together as one, with local restaurants, sponsored Italian bars, celebrity chefs, children’s workshops and artisan produce.
This is year six for Festa Italiana and it has been undeniably booming year-to-year since its inception in 2016 (the pandemic meant that the event had to take an enforced break.)
The 2023 edition will boast some of those Festa faves that many regulars have come to know and there’ll be some exciting new additions and surprises that are yet to be revealed. The varied weekend-long programme will include workshops, demonstrations, signings and banquets from celebrity chefs and award-winning authors.
Headlining the chef demo tent again this year will be larger than life Italian chef (and mentor to Jamie Oliver) Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast.) The lineup will also include Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch), Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno, Masterchef UK 2021 quarter finalist and ICG Cooking Competition Award winner Sofia Gallo, and Festa boss-man, Salvi’s owner Maurizio Cecco.
Bringing something new to Festa Italiana 2023 will be Birrificio Angelo Poretti who are planning to host the ultimate ticketed dining experience. Festival goers can pull up a chair and enjoy classic Italian food from Salvi’s and enjoy an authentic Italian lager from Poretti’s Piazza.
Poretti has been elevating mealtimes for over 140 years so what better way to showcase the lager than at the UK’s largest Italian food festival. Poretti will have its own dining area at this year’s Festa Italiana where guests can enjoy a delicious sit-down meal with a menu that has been designed to pair perfectly with Poretti.
This experience is a ticketed event on Saturday 26th August and the area is then open to all on Sunday 27th August, where guests can gather, grab a Poretti and dine on their favourite food from the festival food vendors. More information to come.
The Salvi’s team will be joined at the Festa by some of Manchester’s best Italian street-food vendors and restaurateurs selling everything from handmade pasta to arancini, gelato and more. Live musicians and performers will be on stage supplying an authentic Italian vibe throughout the event.
Italians are all about food and family so there will be fun spaces and activities for the kids including pasta masterclasses all weekend by Carmela Sereno Hayes (Carmela’s Kitchen).
There’s loads more great stuff to be announced, so make sure to check the Festa Italiana social media channels for updates. Follow @festaitalianauk
For more info about Manchester Festa Italiana visit festaitalianauk.com
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