Even if you couldn’t trace your roots back to Italy, Norwich’s Taste of Italy food festival on Saturday gave visitors a chance to eat like a native of the old country. The smells of pungent garlic and simmering sauces wafted across the city’s harbor area as Howard T. Brown Park was transformed into a backyard Italian feast for the day, courtesy of Norwich Italian Heritage & Cultural Committee and the 14 participating restaurants and community groups.

Group president and festival coordinator Frank Jacaruso said the festival, now in its 27th year, began as one of a series of events celebrating the 500th anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in America. “After our first food festival, people started coming up to us asking if we planned to do it again,” Jacaruso said. “Now it’s 27 years later.”