A martyred bishop, immigrant homesickness and culinary bounty are once again coming together for the annual Feast of San Gennaro, which takes over much of New York City’s Little Italy for 11 days beginning Thursday. This is the festival’s 98th year.
What is the Feast of San Gennaro?
The festival itself dates back to the 1920s, when Italians from Naples who had settled into downtown NYC pined for their home. They founded the Feast of San Gennaro to honor a bishop who was martyred in 305 A.D. during a time when Christians were being prosecuted by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. It started as a one-day block party.
As the story goes, San Gennaro, the Bishop of Benavento, visited some deacons and laymen who had been jailed for their beliefs, knowing full well he too would be arrested for doing so. He was not only thrown behind bars but also tortured, as festival history recounts, but he did not renounce his Christian beliefs. That torture included being “thrown headlong into a furnace,” which he survived along with several other assassination attempts.
Finally his tormentors lopped off his head, but San Gennaro still prevailed. His head and blood were collected by those loyal to him, and the blood was preserved in vials that remain in a cathedral in Naples to this day.
Twice a year the dried-out blood in the vials liquefies, according to legend — once on the first Sunday of May, which is the date his relics were transferred, and again on Sept. 19, the day he was beheaded.
To this day he remains the patron saint of Naples, and the festival represents “our ancestors, our culture and our traditions,” organizers say.
When is the Feast of San Gennaro?
The festival kicks off Thursday and runs through Sept. 22. Official festivities begin with the Blessing of the Stands at 6 p.m., when a parish priest blesses every stall along the festival’s streets, which are festooned with decorations. The 11-day run is interspersed with religious events, musical performances, eating contests and more.
A total of 11 blocks are closed down throughout Little Italy and lined with food stalls, craft kiosks, games and a host of other attractions that draw more than a million visitors annually.
The festival takes place on Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston, Hester from Baxter St. and Centre St, and Grand from Baxter St. and Centre Market Place, according to the feast’s organizers.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, the anniversary of San Gennaro’s martyrdom, a religious service will be held at 6 p.m. at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, segueing into a religious procession.
Centerpiece: the Grand Procession
In homage to Bishop San Gennaro is the Grand Procession at 2 p.m. Saturday, a parade of gondolas, floats bearing celebrities, the Clarity Festival Band and of course a statue of the martyr himself, looming over it all. This year’s procession honors the U.S. armed forces.
Chef Anne Burrell, known for creating Italian culinary concoctions, will serve as the Grand Marshall. Burrell, an upstate New York native who apprenticed under Italian chefs, made her name on Food Network shows such as “Iron Chef” and “Worst Cooks in America.”
The food at the Feast of San Gennaro
Speaking of food, there is a lot of it. Zeppole nuggets of fried dough liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar are filling, cheap and oh so delicious. There are also rice balls, pork bracciole and pastries, all recommended by Eater New York. Cannoli is a given, as are meatballs, sausage and peppers, and other mouthwatering Italian fare.
