Some of Cardiff’s best-known Italian businesses are coming together for one big Festa d’Italia this September, bringing Italian food, wine, music and culture to Cardiff Bay.
The Cardiff Italian Festival takes place on Sunday 20 September, celebrating the strong connection between the Italian and Welsh communities and giving visitors the chance to experience a taste of Italy without leaving Cardiff.
And, of course, food is going to be a big part of it.
Some familiar names from Cardiff’s Italian food scene will be getting involved, including Elgano, Calabrisella Group, Roma Eat and Khione Sicilian Delicatessen, bringing together flavours from different regions of Italy.
Italian drinks will also feature, with Vinitalia and Volare joining the festival.
But organisers say they don’t want this to be simply another Italian food festival.
The idea is to tell a much bigger story about Italy and the generations of Italian families, entrepreneurs and businesses that have made Wales their home.
Festival organiser Robert Maggi said: “When we imagined the Festival, we decided from the very beginning that we did not want to create just another event dedicated to Italian food. We wanted to tell the story of Italy.
“Certainly through food and wine, which represent an extraordinary part of our culture. But also through businesses, products, music, art, associations, entertainment, families, motoring, traditions and people.”
The festival has instead been created as a meeting place where Cardiff’s Italian community can come together while giving the wider Welsh public an opportunity to discover more about Italian culture.
Visitors can expect businesses, exhibitors, artists and associations alongside the food and drink, creating a showcase of Italian life that goes far beyond what’s on the plate.
Robert added: “An opportunity for Italians to come together. An opportunity for the Welsh public to discover more about Italy. A showcase for companies and exhibitors. A space for associations. A moment in which entrepreneurship, culture and community can coexist.”
Behind the festival is AIIG – Italians in Wales, an independent network bringing together Italian entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who live and work across Wales.
The organisation supports and promotes Italian businesses through networking, collaboration and knowledge sharing, while also celebrating the country’s culture, traditions and values.
There’s also an important Welsh connection at the heart of what they do.
Organisers say many Italian-owned businesses have grown thanks to the support of the Welsh communities that welcomed them, and the festival is an opportunity to celebrate that relationship.
It’s a connection that runs particularly deep in South Wales, where generations of Italian families have become part of the communities they originally came to call home.
The Cardiff Italian Festival will bring that history together with the city’s modern Italian food and business scene for one big celebration.
So if your idea of a good Sunday involves plenty of Italian food, a glass of wine and a little taste of la dolce vita, Cardiff Bay might be the place to be on 20 September.
The Cardiff Italian Festival, Festa d’Italia, takes place in Cardiff Bay on Sunday 20 September 2026.
