This weekend marked the 25th annual Festa Italiana celebration of Italian heritage in Sacramento. Sponsored by the Sacramento Italian Cultural Society, Italians, Italian Americans and beyond gathered at the Croatian American Cultural Center Saturday and Sunday for a festival resembling a two-day-long Italian wedding. Under the hot Sacramento sun, shaded by large canopies, festival-goers enjoyed musical entertainment by the likes of Italica and Moreno Fruzzetti and dancing from the society’s Balliamo dance troupe. Husband and wife Victor and Eva Musammam have been attending the festival for 20 years and are big fans of Fruzzetti. “I have all of his CDs,” Eva said. Eva was born in Bari,

Everyone can be Italian this weekend at the Italian Cultural Society of Sacramento’s Festa Italiana. The 25th annual Italian festival has much more to offer than the stereotypical spaghetti and meatballs. Once held at the Cal Expo, the fair is now at the Croatian-American Cultural Center at 3730 Auburn Blvd. This year’s Festa Italiana is set up to represent authentic festivals in towns across Italy. It started as a small picnic in the park by the society’s Gioventú young people group, the festival has grown to an average 6,000 visitors per year. Bill Cerruti, executive director of the Italian Cultural Society, said the Italian-American community of Sacramento wanted something to celebra

Festa Italiana continues through Sunday, Aug. 2nd     Northern California’s Italian community gathers together for two days of Italian style food, music, dancing, fun and friendship at  its 24th annual Festa Italiana.The entertainment lineup features the popular singer Moreno Fruzzetti, and the great Italian and popular music of Italica and Don Garibaldi bands and dancers. There are Bocce games, Italian cars and a bicycle and motorscooter show.Try the Italian regional food specialties, Italian wines and beer, by some of Sacramento’s best Italian restaurants. Shop the market place and purchase traditional Italian products, free food tastings, Italian jewelry, ceramics, gourmet fo

Sacramento's Italian community is known to produce gourmet food, but there's much more to the community than Biba, Sofia's and Hot Italian. With this weekend's Festa Italian opening Saturday and running through Sunday at The Croatian Culture Center, we take a look back at the role Italian immigrants and their descendants played in Sacramento's history. Italian Americans have a long history in the Sacramento area. Agriculture and food processing are just some of the many successes of Italian Americans who settled in the area in the early 1850s, but their successes are hardly limited to that. Early Italian Americans Many of the earliest Gold Rush settlers who migrated in the "Mother Lode