Festa Italiana 2015:Milwaukee,America

7.30.2015 Milwaukee, WI, USA

How I wish now,I could someday head to Italy again to watch it all in the countryside.From the flag - throwers of Florentine to the traditional game of Bocce to the gondolas on the lakefront to the La-moresca dance from sicily which used bells to emphasize beats to the replica of Trevi Fountain,Festa Italiana 2015 ( July 17 - 19 ) was a day well spent for us.


I wish the peace in the world..
Trevi Fountain @ Festa Italiana America

Life comes full circle.When I was reminiscing about my past vacation to Italy,almost grieving with the fact that 5 days wasn’t sufficient to know about the Italian culture at all,there was a surprise in store.The Italian Fest called Festa Italiana 2015 in Milwaukee,gave me highlights on how culture,food and dance is celebrated in Italy without having to personally head to Italy again.

                                                   Check out my previous post on:
                                                            Backpacking Rome



The traditional game of Bocce

The Parade

The Gandolas

Now the tradition of flag throwers dates back to 11th and 12th centuries when there were frequent battles for control of territories.It was then the Flag throwers accompanied armies throughout central and northern Italy.Since soldiers had no uniforms then ,the flags were used for recognizing and communicating between army units.Watch my #vlog for flag throwers and dance performances:



The Flag Throwers

The co-ordination

The Flag was considered to be of great importance then when the flag bearers had the obligation to protect  their flag with their lives,and never let the flag fall into enemy hands.The performance by flag throwers took us to that era when banner waves and choreography signaled danger or victory.Their costumes symbolize the two factions of the city that made up the army: the blue represents the noble families while the red recalls the people.



 There also were various dance performances that took us to the folk celebrations of Italy.


Many dance performances were done  including Tarantella Napoletana,Tarantella Fantasia and Ribbon dance of love.Tarantella is a very popular native dance of southern Italy , mostly performed during courtship.In this dance,the woman uses liveliness to excite the love of her partner. In turn, the man tries to charm her with his elegance. The dance is one of unity and separation, which sees dancers flying into each other’s arms only to bound away again. It is considered unlucky to dance the Tarantella alone so it is often danced by couples or by two women.


This is the dance called ribbon dance of love,typically done in weddings.And the story goes like when the young couple is married they put them on a pole,pour wine and dance around in ribbons.This dance is for happy ever after.If they make any mistake or if the ribbons become tangled,their marriage is in some form or another sure to fail.

The Queue for the Gelato

When I danced...from the audience


With Pinocchio

 In the end there was an announcement on if we wanted to take part in the dance.They expected less people to turn up,but almost 1/4 of the crowd sitting stood up and went down to participate.In spite of the little chaos,we ended up dancing on a few steps.


Even though we missed Brioche,the ice-cream sandwich because it was sold out,we got hold of Cassatta

                                                      ......And it all ends here

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