Italian Heritage Celebrated at Borough Hall with Food, Frenetic Dancing

Thursday night at Brooklyn Borough Hall, BP Marty Markowitz hosted a gala to celebrate Italian-American Heritage Month. The music and dancing filled the Rotunda, and the food, provided by local Italian restaurants, was mouth-watering. There was one dish where the chef dropped hot oiled noodles onto the middle of a huge round of Parmesan cheese. The cheese melted and coated the noodles -- delicious. (I think Marco Polo was the restaurant behind that one.)

The Borough President honored Robert Catell, Chairman of (what used to be called KeySpan) National Grid US; RoseAnn C. Branda, President of the Brooklyn Bar Association; and Lella De Angelis and the Gargiulo Restaurant Family, among others.

A group of traditionally costumed ladies danced the tarantella -- which, according to Wikipedia, is associated with the large "tarantula" spider, whose bite was allegedly deadly and could be cured only by frenetic dancing. One variation of the legend said the dancer must dance the most joyous dance of her life or she would die.

UPDATE: More photos here.

Photos by MK Metz