Gardens will be Little Italy for weekend

CATHEDRAL Gardens will be turned into a Little Italy once again as Manchester’s Italian food and drink festival returns this year.

Festa Italiana will fill the square with street food stalls, bars, a producer’s market, cookery demonstrations, live music and family fun for a weekend-long celebration of Italian culture.

More than 26,000 people enjoyed last year’s event, where highlights included a recordbreaking 50-metre long pizza.

This year’s event promises an even bigger programme including a dedicated children’s food festival, Bambini Cucina; more hands-on masterclasses, and a programme of special banquets.

Visitors can look forward to everything from pizza and pasta to porchetta and prosecco and everything in between with even more restaurants, bars and brands joining in the festivities.

The live music stage will also be ramped up with artists and musicians performing throughout the entire festival period this time.

Founder Maurizio Cecco, who owns Manchester’s family-run Italian restaurant group Salvi’s, plans to make the festival an annual fixture.

“We have an amazing foundation this time on which to build,” he said.

“Last year we were starting from scratch, we were creating something new, and we had no idea how popular the event was going to be.

“To see so many people come and enjoy our Festa was staggering and fantastic! This year we are back with so much more for visitors to enjoy – from the live music to the number of producers involved, it’s going to be much bigger and even better. We only just got started last year!”

Festa Italiana is back from July 13 to 15 and will be open from 11am to 11pm each day, with free entry. For more information visit festaitalianauk.com