John Fante: The Passion That Became a Festival

The John Fante Festival “Il dio di mio padre” started in 2006 in Torricella Peligna, a small town in the Maiella mountains of Italy’s Abruzzo province, where John Fante’s father Nick Fante was born. After making a 2003 documentary film about John Fante, Giovanna Di Lello founded and still directs the festival, which is organized by the municipality. In this essay the author explains her passion for John Fante and how over the years the festival has become a reference point for Fante enthusiasts around the world, featuring numerous writers, musicians, artists, and scholars from Italy, the United States, and elsewhere who come to pay homage to Fante and his works through lectures, concerts, and readings.