OLD FORGE, Pa. — Jeff Casella, chair of the Felittese Festival, has always felt at home over the stovetop. He's preparing food for the Felittese Festival in Old Forge, an Italian tradition that started nearly 100 years ago.
"When our relatives came over from Felitto, and they pretty much settled in this area, they built a church on this ground called St. Mary's, and then this church actually burned down," said Casella.
The congregation rallied together to build a new church, inspired by the Santa Maria Chapel back home in Italy, where many people left to work in the coal mines in Old Forge.
"Old Forge has a huge influence in Felitto. A lot of citizens from there came here, so we brought back in the mid-'80s, and we still are going strong today," he added.
This weekend, both communities on opposite sides of the world will be celebrating the pride they have for their Italian heritage together.
"In Fellito itself, they celebrate those same traditions that we're doing here," Casella said.
The biggest tradition happens in the kitchen, using generational recipes that Pat Revello says are essential to family gatherings.
"It's a lot of work, but my family likes doing it, and my kids enjoy doing this very much," said Patrick Revello, owner of Revello's Old Forge Pizza.
For a decade, Revello's Old Forge Pizza has been a headliner at the Felittese Festival.
"There's food here that brings families together, like pizza fritas and tripe. People come from all over back to Old Forge for the pizza fritas and the sausage and peppers," Revello said.
At this year's festival, some of Casella's family members from Italy are traveling to our area to celebrate Old Forge and Felitto, Italy becoming twin cities.
"We're officially going to be registered on the Italian registry, and there will be a registry of it in the United States as well to officially show that we are twin cities."
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