Since 1977, Settimana Italiana has been one of Ottawa’s most iconic summer festivals. Now commonly referred to as Italian Week Ottawa, the festival aims to showcase the many aspects of Italian culture with a variety of events over a 11-day period. Typically held in Ottawa’s Little Italy, activities can range from cooking classes, art gallery tours, pizza crawls, to bike races and Italian car parades.
The 2026 lineup included something never seen in Ottawa: an event highlighting the voices of the LGBTQ+ community. The evening was promoted as a night of literary magic and featured a double-header, beginning with a traditional Books and Biscotti reading and concluding with an event called Queer Italian Voices.
When asked about adding the event to the line up, Vice-Chair of Italian Week Ottawa, Flavia Iannetta, called it a no-brainer.
“We know that there is a lot of intersectionality in our community. When we looked at our programming over the last few years, one gap that emerged was that we were not uplifting Queer Italian voices,” Iannetta explains.
Her hope is that the next generation will feel comfortable in expressing their culture as they wish.
“Even though our italianità manifests in different ways, we are all part of the same community,” Iannetta continues.
The event took place at Bread By Us, an artisan bakery and café in the heart of Ottawa’s Westboro neighbourhood. The host was the bakery’s co-owner and writer, Jessica Carpinone with invited guest, Liana Cusmano, an award-winning writer, poet and filmmaker from Montreal.
Carpinone kicked off the evening by providing some context for the event venue. She described the bakery as a critical through-line that connected her to her culture during a difficult period of estrangement. She recalled pivotal moments in her coming out as Queer and called the evening a historic milestone.
“This bakery is my table and everyone is invited. I set it for all the nonni, the paesani and parenti that walk through the doors. And I also set it for all the kids like me – looking for a place where all their identities can exist and belong in one place,” Carpinone explains.
For Carpinone, baking bread is part of a long history of labour, love and service. As the proud daughter of first- and second-generation immigrants, she was taught how to build bridges with food and serve her community with generosity.
Thinking about her own family, Carpinone remarked that she now sets this table openly and proudly.
“I want the precious kids in my life to come to Sunday lunch and hold hands with anyone they want while stuffing focaccia and prosciutto into their faces.”
For Cusmano, it is written and spoken word that provides a mechanism for addressing layers of grief and possibility. Through poetry, Cusmano details their experience of coming out to their nonna as bisexual and predicting that they will likely never come out as trans.
In Duolingo Owl, Cusmano addresses the additional barrier of limited Italian vocabulary that is typical of immigrants from rural, post-war Italy. The poem concludes with the melancholy observation that “The words I have decided not to say have already died in my throat.”
In Best Foreign Film, Cusmano recounts the scene from the 1999 Oscars where Sophia Lauren cries out the name of Roberto (Benigni) who wins the academy award. The poem skilfully addresses the interplay between identity and the language of home, of family and of lovers.
Reflections offered by both Cusmano and Carpinone eschew the simple narrative of “time heals all wounds” and instead explored the inter-related forces of art, food and the power of a family’s love. Their experiences illustrate how creativity, whether expressed through baking bread or writing poetry can generate patience and understanding.
Asked how they felt to be part of the event, Cusmano said, “Our Queer Italian-Canadian joy tonight is historic.”
Reflecting on the sold-out event, Iannetta expressed her gratitude for all who participated.
“I am glad that the event was appreciated, and I hope it’s the beginning of something bigger.”
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