Festa Italiana returns to Manchester city centre for three days of feasting this bank holiday weekend
Festa Italiana is set to return to Manchester city centre this bank holiday weekend with its ‘biggest and best’ offering to date.
Are you ready for three days of Italian feasting?
Festa Italiana, which is now in its eighth year in Manchester, has gone of to become one of the biggest – and the most successful – Italian festivals in the UK, and features dozens food and drink stalls, live entertainment, and a whole host of celebrity chefs.
Founded by Maurizio Cecco – who is also behind Manchester’s legendary collection Italian restaurants, Salvi’s, the family-friendly festival will be free for all to attend.
Taking place this year, as it does every year, over the August bank holiday weekend and turning Cathedral Gardens into an Italian paradise while the sun beams down, anyone heading to Festa Italiana can expect a three-day foodie feast featuring freshly-made pizza, pasta, cannoli, and loads of other Italian delights.
Festivalgoers can also expect to take part in pasta-making workshops, sip a tipple from an Aperitivo bar or the Limoncello Garden, and try endless free samples.
There’ll also be the Piccolo Mercato Italiano mini market, featuring a range of independent and artisanal producers showcasing the very best of Italy’s food, drink, and crafts.
To top it all off, plenty of well-known chefs will also be making special appearances during the festival, including Great British Bake Off star Giuseppe Dell’Anno, chef Francesco Mattana, Carmela’s Kitchen author and tutor Carmela Hayes, and of course, founder Maurizio Cecco himself.
“Festa Italiana is so much more than just a food festival,” Maurizio explained. “It’s a celebration of everything I love about my culture – the passion, the hospitality, the flavour, the music, the chaos.
“Every year it gets bigger, louder, and more exciting and 2025 is going to be the best one yet.
“We’ve got amazing chefs, incredible vendors, fantastic music and some brilliant new surprises. I can’t wait to welcome everyone back to our piazza in the heart of Manchester.”
Read more:
- Pizza Pilgrims – why Manchester’s newest pizza place isn’t ‘just another pizzeria’
- Inside Soots – the tiny new pasta restaurant in the Northern Quarter
- The best pizza places in Greater Manchester… and there’s a lot of them
Festa Italiana 20 will take over Cathedral Gardens from Friday 22 – Sunday 24 August.
Featured Image – Supplied