It was an evening spent celebrating the finest tastes from Italy, as the Consulate General of Italy in Kolkata partnered with the Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI) to celebrate Festa Italiana 2024 on November 21, commemorating the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World. The evening saw participation from nine top brands from Italy that have made their mark in India, including Bauli, Ducati, Gustora and Carrera
Photographs by Soumyajit Dey
‘This is one of our flagship events, meant to promote the Italian businesses that are making a mark in India. It’s great to start the 2024 edition of Festa Italiana in Kolkata, and we are proud of the collective effort by all the brands present here,’ said consul general Riccardo Dalla Costa, who hosted the event at his Alipore residence
The evening was made doubly special as IICCI president Alessandro Giuliani and secretary general Claudio Maffioletti both came down from Mumbai. ‘The commitment I have made to Kolkata doesn’t stop here. The culture of this city is very close to our culture in Italy, and I am very passionate about bringing us both closer together,’ said Giuliani. Maffioletti added: ‘The energy of this city remains unchanged since I last came. There is a very tangible contribution by the 800 Italian companies operating in India, and we intend to take this to another level by June 2025’
Consul Daniele Panfilo expressed his joy of watching the event transpire. ‘It was great to watch the Italian Cuisine Week come to Kolkata as various events around West Bengal and Odisha. The promotion of Italian brands is one of our main goals, and Festa Italiana is one of the flagship events to establish our country’s unique know-how and lifestyle,” he said
Pankaj Parekh, the chairman of IICCI North-Eastern Council, Kolkata, highlighted the significance of the event in the context of the larger India-Italy relationship. ‘Today is extremely special, because it is the first time that our national president is here for Festa Italiana. We believe that it is a sign of bigger things to come’
Actor (from left) Sonali Gupta and musician Bickram Ghosh enjoyed catching up with consul-general Costa. ‘Gathering at an outdoor lawn with some exquisite Italian food, complemented by the winter nip made it a memorable evening. It was doubly special as I am preparing for a musical collaboration with the Italian consulate, where saxophone player Gianni Denitto and I will perform at the Indian Museum on December 13’
