LisAmore! festival celebrates Italian heritage in the Northern Rivers

LISMORE Showground will play host to a celebration of food, music and community this July with the return of LisAmore! Italian cultural festival on Sunday 5 July.

Lismore Friendship Festival Inc. president Gianpiero Battista, who moved from Milan to Lismore in the early 1990s, said the festival reflects the evolution of the region’s Italian community, preserving heritage within a largely integrated Australian identity.

“We wanted to celebrate being Italian for a day through a festival that showcases the culture, the music, the food, the happy life, the dolce vita as they say,” he said.

Born in Milan, Battista first came to the Northern Rivers on a holiday to visit his uncle in 1993.

“I remember going to Lennox and we went for a swim. It was one of those beautiful winter hot days and my uncle said, ‘This is our winter’,” he said.

“So, I thought, ‘wow where do I sign?’.”

After settling in Lismore, Battista and his uncle transformed an old building on Keen Street into Cafe Giardino, which became a local institution.

 

He owned and ran restaurants for 15 years, while also studying tourism at Southern Cross University, eventually expanding to a role as councillor on Lismore City Council, where he is currently serving his 14th year.

His story is part of a broader evolution within Lismore’s Italian community – one that has shifted across generations.

Battista said early gatherings once centred around strong community institutions like the Italo-Australian Sports & Recreation Club, where dozens of families would meet.

“My parents came here as well, and I remember when they came here in 2000 to live here with me, they said that when they were going to the Italo Club, for example, which was still there at the time, there were like 60, 70, 80 people,” he said.

But with much of that first generation having now passed, Battista said many of their descendants have lost their connection to their Italian heritage.

“The new generation – the sons of this first generation, they just became Australian pretty much,” he said.

“Some of them don’t even speak Italian anymore.

“If you want to take a symbol of integration, you just have to look at the Italian community in Lismore.”

While Italian culture now appears more subtly in everyday life – in cafés, restaurants and passing conversations – Battista said LisAmore! plays a vital role in bringing it back into focus.

 

“This is the event that was designed to bring out – not just the Italians, but also the Australians who love the food and dance, for one day,” he said.

“It’s another opportunity to meet that is not a wedding or a funeral.”

The festival’s program includes everything from spaghetti-eating competitions for children and teenagers and tug-of-war events to live Italian music and tango lessons.

Authentic Italian food will be on show, including wood-fired pizzas, artisanal pasta, cannoli and espresso from local producers and guest chefs.

Visitors can also explore displays of Italian machinery, enjoy live music spanning traditional and contemporary Italian styles, and take part in dancing and storytelling.

Above all, Battista said the festival is made possible by volunteers and sponsors.

LisAmore! will be held at the Lismore Showground on Sunday 5 July from 10am-3pm.

More information is available at lismorefriendshipfestival.com.au