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If you're like most people in the United States, your nearest “Italian” restaurant is probably a pizza parlor where, if you're lucky, you can order a mediocre Fettucine Alfredo or Eggplant Parmesan. But imagine the sort of kitchen you would find in Moonstruck or Big Night, where the air is pungent with tomato sauce, simmered over a low heat for hours, and fresh Italian oregano, or the busy streets of Roman Holiday, filled with beautiful young couples enjoying gelato in the cone. Or maybe you were lucky enough to have an Italian nonna of your own, who placed steaming plates of seafood risotto in front of you after you'd spent hours out in the winter chill.

If you live in Los Angeles, now's your opportunity to live those flavors.  Taste of Italy  seeks to represent one of the best Italian traditions—the precise, rich, and often laborious cooking that is unique to the country.

Once you walk into the festival, you're not in a Kansas pizza parlor anymore. Here, you'll be greeted by dozens of Italian-American restaurateurs, whose businesses have received the highest of Italian culinary accolades. Each of the restaurants represented have received the Marchio Ospitalitá Italiana—one of the highest prizes awarded in Italy to restaurants of extraordinary caliber. Along with numerous food stands, there will also be a selection of fine Italian wines on offer and live performances.

Presented by the Italian American Museum  in Los Angeles in collaboration with the Italy America Chamber of Commerce West, Taste of Italy takes place October 17, 2012. All proceeds benefit the Italian American Museum in Los Angeles.