'A true Italian festival:' Local eats at Latrobe event draw hundreds
Latrobe can’t compete in size with the best-known Italian festival in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Little Italy Days in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood.
But what the fourth annual Latrobe Italian Festival lacks in scale, attendees and vendors say it more than makes up for in local charm.
“I consider this a true Italian festival,” said Alicia Antitomas, owner of Sapore di Italia home bakery in Murrysville. She believes the Bloomfield event has grown too large and lost some of its character.
Business was good for her Sunday — by 1 p.m., she had sold out of limoncello loaves, spicy pepperoni bread and some of her other most popular treats.
A majority of the on-theme vendors, including Antitomas, are based in Westmoreland County. Several are even from Latrobe, itself.
That left the hundreds of people who turned out to the event’s second and final day with more than enough Italian eats to choose from, mostly along Thompson Street and McKinley Avenue.
Linda Reagan, 69, of New Stanton, had only just arrived with her husband when she picked up a box full of cookies and nut rolls from Aroma Italiano, which is based in Latrobe.
“We’re going on a diet Monday,” she said with a laugh.
Geno Garia, 11, and his brother, Enzo, 13, proved the only volunteers for a round of musical chairs set to the music of professional accordionist Elena Stenkina. For their troubles, they each earned a cannoli.
“I just did it for the food,” said Geno Garia, 11, wiping bits of powdered sugar from his mouth.
Driving traffic to local businesses was part of the idea when Mike Ciotti, owner of 512 Coffee and Ice Cream, started the festival with his father, Paul, in 2022.
“Small businesses, you’re always trying to figure out ways to bring business, especially in small towns,” Mike Ciotti said.
The result has been folks coming in from all over the state (though mostly from Latrobe and surrounding communities). Joey DiSalvo, owner of DiSalvo’s Station Restaurant, said he met a couple from Philadelphia on Saturday who are hardcore Italian festival fans.
“We’re just so excited to bring people far and wide to Latrobe via an Italian event,” DiSalvo said.
Jack Troy is a TribLive reporter covering business and health care. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in January 2024 after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh. He can be reached at
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