Ciao Philadelphia: A month-long celebration of Italian culture

Although Philadelphia is often considered the birthplace of America, Andrea Canepari, the Italian consul general here, calls it a very European city.

This month, the consulate general of Italy is holding its third Ciao Philadelphia, a monthlong celebration of Italian culture in the Philadelphia region. Many of the events are free but require tickets.

This year, the celebration has expanded and will include events in Pittsburgh and Maryland, along with the regular environs of Philadelphia, South Jersey, and Delaware.

Ciao Philadelphia will host daily events throughout October to help develop bridges between Italy and this region, Canepari said.

Events range from Sunday's Columbus Day Parade and Italian Festival to a demonstration day at the Simeone Museum on Saturday, where an Alfa Romeo RLSS, a Bugatti T35, and an Alfa TT33 will run the South Philadelphia museum's racecourse. Canepari said the Simeone Foundation has one of the largest collections of Italian cars in North America. "Sometimes Italy is linked just with food and wine, which is great, but if you come to this museum, you can see these cars with innovations made in Italy and Italian design," Canepari said.

There will also be arts-focused events, such as film discussions (head to St. Joseph's University on Oct. 13 and 26), and on Oct. 30, there will be a tribute to Frank Sinatra at Levittown's St. Michael the Archangel Church.

A full listing of events is at ciaophiladelphia.com.

Ciao Philadelphia will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of Temple University Rome.

Canepari said Philadelphia and Italy have the perfect conditions to grow together in areas that include economics, art, and innovation.

"We can do a lot more together," he said. "It's important to work together to achieve those opportunities."

Through Nov. 4, various venues, ciaophiladelphia.com