16/08/2013
AUTUMN IN NAPLES!!!!
Festa di Piedigrotta
Where: various locations in the Piedigrotta area
When: 10 days, early-mid Sept
Tel & website: 081 214 0813, www.festadipiedigrotta.it
September 7 each year is the feast day of the Madonna of Piedigrotta. The festival was born in the Middle Ages from the ashes of pagan fertility rites that took place at the foot (piedi) of Posillipo Hill, which was pierced as early as the first century AD by a tunnel (grotta), connecting Naples with points west. The spot now has a much expanded modern tunnel, as well as the Basilica of Piedigrotta.
Always celebrated with song and dance, the festival entered its golden age from the late 1800s to the 1960s. In 1853, a singing contest was introduced to the programme, and became hugely popular, spawning internationally acclaimed songs such as ‘Te Voglio Bene Assaje’ and ‘O Sole Mio’ (reinvented for Elvis Presley as ‘It’s Now or Never’). Tens of thousands of Neapolitans thronged the streets to listen to the singers and gawp at the elaborate allegorical floats.
After a lengthy hiatus, the tradition was reintroduced in 2007, featuring a concert in Piazza Plebiscito by Bryan Ferry, along with exponents of traditional Neapolitan song. Singer Nino d’Angelo became the artistic director in 2008, scoring a coup by persuading Pozzuoli native Sophia Loren to act as the festival’s patron that year.
The festival will now comprise three parts: a huge concert in Piazza Plebiscito, featuring international stars; a grand parade of allegorical floats going from the Palazzo Reale to the basilica; and the Audizioni competition, showcasing new songs, which will go on for a week in piazze around the city.
Pizzafest
Where: Mostra d’Oltremare, Fuorigrotta
When: 10 days mid Sept
Tel & website: 081 420 1205, www.pizzafest.info
Naples celebrates its most famous dish with visiting chefs, pizza-making workshops and shows.
Independent Film Show
Where: Fondazione Morra, Palazzo Ruffo di Bagnara, Piazza Dante 89
When: 5 days mid Nov
Tel & website: 081 414306, www.em-arts.org
This international avant-garde event showcases some three dozen films and videos.
La festa di Napoli 2010 -
