Dance tradition, early multi-sport pro part of Italian heritage Latrobe festival will celebrate

A hometown sports standout of the early 20th century will get his due this weekend as Latrobe celebrates Italian-American heritage and culture.

Paul Ciotti, one of the organizers of the fourth annual Latrobe Italian Festival, is helping to prepare a lineup of Italian-themed entertainers, food vendors and a bocce tournament for the event. Activities are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, mostly along Latrobe’s Thompson Street and McKinley Avenue — near the intersection of Ligonier Street and the Ciotti family’s 512 Coffee and Ice Cream shop.

Ciotti also is shining a spotlight on a Latrobe native — first generation Italian-American Ed Abbaticchio —whom, Ciotti says, deserves to be recognized along with a more well-known Latrobe sports figure, golf legend Arnold Palmer.

Born on April 15, 1877, Abbaticchio had an on-again, off-again career in professional major league baseball — beginning as a second baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies, in 1897 and 1898.

As noted in an article published online by the Society for American Baseball Research, he was acquired by the National League’s Boston Beaneaters in 1902, after playing several years in the minor leagues.

“Ed became quite the baseball player,” Ciotti said. “He played for both Pittsburgh and Boston, and if you Google famous people from Latrobe, Ed Abbaticchio’s name comes up near the top.

“Who would’ve known? I think it’s pretty cool.”

Abbaticchio was traded to Pittsburgh in 1906 while also taking over management of his father’s hotel, located on the site now occupied by Latrobe’s post office.

“He and Honus Wagner were teammates on the 1909 World Series champion Pittsburgh Pirates team,” said Mary Lou Townsend, president of the Latrobe Area Historical Society.

By 1911, Abbaticchio had ended his pro baseball career.

Early in his athletic endeavors, Abbaticchio also played football for the Latrobe Athletic Association. The team became the first to complete a full season with a roster of all professional players in 1897.

That year, Abbaticchio contributed two touchdowns, a field goal and seven extra points as his team defeated the Pittsburgh Athletic Club.

“It’s fitting that he be recognized during the Italian Festival,” Ciotti said.

The Italian influence in the world of dance also will be part of the festivities, represented by the Allegro Dance Company.

Director, founder and choreographer Anna Harsh of Washington County will bring nine costumed performers to present traditional Italian dances beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday on the event’s main stage.

“We’ll touch upon six of the 20 regions of Italy, with lots of different tarantellas and some elegant northern dances,” she said.

Known as the “dance of the spider,” referring to the tarantula, tarantella variations can include spinning, hopping, jumping and playing of castanets or the tambourine.

“You see and hear the instruments and you hear the rhythms,” Harsh said of the tarantellas. “Some are about conflict, some are about passion in general.”

She said the dance also can serve as a community effort to promote “healing of the mind, body and spirit.”

Harsh traces her roots to Calabria, the toe of the boot-shaped Italian peninsula. She founded the Allegro group in 1994, as an outgrowth of her thesis at Slippery Rock University, where she earned a degree in dance.

The group’s stated mission is to preserve authentic Italian dances for upcoming generations, through teaching and performances that foster community.

“I have alumni that now bring their children to dance with us,” she said.

After Saturday’s performance, Harsh will sign copies of three dance-related books she has published.

Guest storyteller Sean Amato will offer a presentation about the Italian game scopa, which means “to sweep” all the cards from the table.