‘A labor of love:’ Community brings Festa Italiana to life
Community brings Festa Italiana to life
The beloved festival celebrates Italian culture and its rich history in Syracuse.
One of Syracuse’s most beloved cultural events returned to downtown last weekend, drawing crowds of families, volunteers and longtime community members.
Under a white tent in front of City Hall, organizer Ginnie Lostumbo greeted visitors beside a family photo book and a clear box filled with small red tickets.
More than 25 years ago, her father had a plan to organize a large festival celebrating Italian culture. Years later, Lostumbo continues to bring that vision to life.
“The Italian community is shrinking,” Lostumbo said. “But the effort we put into this says a lot about our community.”
Across the square, her cousin Julian Corsello, a 10-year volunteer, welcomed guests into the Heritage Display inside the City Hall atrium.
“Putting all of this together — with the different requirements, personalities, and the effort of getting volunteers — is a labor of love from the community, and it’s our moment each year,” Corsello said.
Visitors from Oswego, Binghamton and across Upstate New York gathered in Syracuse last weekend to celebrate Italian culture and heritage. This year’s Festa Italiana featured Italian-American food vendors, a Bocce tournament, the Heritage Display and live music.
The various activities at Festa 2025 were made possible by a group of about 200 volunteers, with nearly 70 of them working more than one day, Lostumbo said.
“It’s camaraderie,” Lostumbo said. “We have all different types of nationalities in our volunteers, you don’t have to be Italian.”
The proceeds from the three-day event are donated to food pantries. Lostumbo said the main reward volunteers receive is the opportunity to give back to the community.
When asked why she decided to volunteer, Debbie Cashier, a long-time friend of Lostumbo, said, “I do it to honor my family and my grandfather, who started the tradition of having fireworks at festivals, so I do it in his memory.”
Just a few blocks away, the Christopher Columbus monument has stood for nearly 91 years since its installation.
“Our grandparents helped build this city, and even though money was very tight, they donated to the Columbus monument,” said Cashier. “That’s why we’re so opposed to having it removed.”
An Italian rendition of “Guantanamera” by Nino Samiani and Mike Caruso played across the square as teams prepared for the traditional Italian sport Bocce, competing for a chance to win a cash prize.
Ginna Paduana and Genevive DeSpiritio arrived at 8 a.m. on Saturday to sign up for the tournament.
Paduana and DeSpiritio play on a four-woman team that competes in a Monday night church league at St. Peter’s Our Lady of Pompeii from June through the end of August.
“Bocce is part of our Italian heritage, and we carry this forward as part of our roots, but you also don’t really have to be Italian to play,” said DeSpiritio.
Enrico Fabrizzi, one of the Bocce tournament moderators, has been volunteering for the past five years.
Italian culture was also celebrated at this year’s Festa through the Heritage Display, which showcased the history of Syracuse’s Italian community. The exhibit featured art paintings and photographs of prominent Italian American figures and families.
A pushpin map of the Italian peninsula invited visitors to mark where they were from, with most pins clustered in southern Italy. Named after the Italian city of Siracusa, Syracuse continues to feel the influence of southern Italian culture.
On Saturday alone, the display welcomed 300 visitors, Corsello said.
“Sometimes I’ll hear someone cry when they recognize a face in a photo, and they’ll come up to me and say, ‘My name is such-and-such, I was born in this place, and I just saw my Aunt Margaret in that picture’ — and I walk away thinking, that made it all worth it for the community, because it mattered to them,” Corsello said.
Corsello worked Festa 2025 alongside his sister, Kathy, who shares his passion for volunteering at Festa Italiana.
“It’s a jolt of excitement every year, and it gives us energy,” Kathy said. “It’s like a big family picnic.”
One of the most popular parts of this Festa “picnic,” as Kathy called it, was the food. Visitors enjoyed classics such as Italian ice, cannoli, gelato and other New York favorites like chicken riggies, Utica greens and sugared pizze fritte.
Sicilian Breeze Italian Ice offered hand-crafted Italian ice served by Tonny Maggi. Alongside his brother-in-law, Maggi has been making and serving Italian ice at Festa for 25 years although they are based in Liverpool, NY.
“The Italian community in Syracuse is very tight-knit; it’s like a really big love thing,” said Maggi.
Throughout the square, music could be heard coming from two stages, featuring live performances by artists such as The Rip Cords, Freeway Band and Coro Italiano from Friday to Sunday.
Offstage, Paolo Saltarello on mandolin and Felice Mucedola on accordion walked among visitors, singing, playing and dancing. The duo, who usually dress as gondoliers, is known for performing Italian music throughout Central New York.
“’Bella Ciao’ is the song most people recognize and ask us to play,” Saltarello said. “Here, it’s more festive, so we can sing more traditional Italian songs.”
Family is the word Lostumbo used to describe the bond among vendors like Maggi, musicians like Saltarello and Mucedola, and volunteers such as Kathy and Julian Corsello.
Kathy Scott, who has volunteered for several years but is not of Italian ancestry, said, “I’m first-generation Irish, but I told Ginnie, ‘You need volunteers,’ so now I’m helping.”
Music was still playing when food vendors began to clean-up.
“It’s a great time here,” said Lostumbo. “You come and you meet your friends from work, from when you were growing up, or from school because we welcome everybody.”
is a contributor for The NewsHouse.
is Assistant Visuals Producer for The NewsHouse.