Italy Pavilion, Italian themed area in World Showcase at Epcot, United States.
The Italy Pavilion is an Italian-themed area in Epcot's World Showcase featuring architecture inspired by Venice, Florence, and Rome. Replicas of St Mark's Campanile and the Doge's Palace frame the space, with restaurants and artisan workshops creating a living recreation of Italian urban life.
The pavilion opened with Epcot's World Showcase in 1982, but its original plan was never finished: a Phase II expansion with a gondola dark ride and a Roman ruins walk-through was cancelled, leaving a blank wall at the rear. The site stayed incomplete until Via Napoli opened in 2010, designed by Florentine architects Stefano Nardini and Raffaella Melucci.
Since 2001, Venetian mask artisans from Balocoloc in Venice have painted masks by hand in the pavilion throughout the day. Musicians, clowns and acting troupes also appear in the piazza, and the Sbandieratori di Sansepolcro have performed flag-throwing shows there since October 2014.
The pavilion has several dining options: one focuses on Neapolitan pizza, another on traditional Italian dishes, and a third on wines and small plates. These restaurants are popular and reservations beforehand help secure a table more easily.
Via Napoli's three wood-burning ovens are each sculpted as the face of the god after whom an Italian volcano is named: Etna, Vesuvio and Stromboli. The long communal table in the centre of the room was built in Florence and has hand-painted tiles showing monuments across Italy.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,340 contributors worldwide.