A celebration of Italian music, food and culture is heading to Santa Barbara this weekend.
La Piazza, a new Italian music and food festival, will be held at the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery and Towbes Plaza.
On Friday, the festival opened with live music from Camille Miller on violin, Tommaso Benciolini on flute, and Jacopo Giacopuzzi and Alvise Pascucci on piano.
Projections of famous Italian movies played in the background as people crowded into the Faulkner Gallery to enjoy the peaceful yet vibrant music.
Benciolini, Giacopuzzi, Miller and Pascucci will be joined by violinist Jessica Guideri to perform at a second concert at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The final concert at 3 p.m. Sunday will include Benciolini on flute, Antonio Artese on piano and the Antonio Artese Trio, which includes Artese, Luca Alemanno and Mark Ferber.
La Piazza’s food festival will run from noon to 4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Towbes Plaza and will include a fresh pasta stand, bread and olive oil tastings, and booths offering a variety of authentic Italian products.
The festival also will include an Italian Culture Seminar presented by the UC Santa Barbara Italian Studies program on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m, a pasta-making workshop at 1 p.m. Sunday, and a kids’ corner with materials for making your own pizza-bookmark.
Several local businesses, including Arnoldi’s Cafe, Barbieri Wine Co., Ca’ Dario, Manifattura, Aperitivo, Olio e Limone and Via Maestra 42 will be offering special menu items in celebration of the festival.
The festival is produced by La Piazza Inc., under the direction of o Giacopuzzi, in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Public Library.
