San Gennaro is the patron saint of Naples and the festival was first organized in the early twenties by a men's club and mutual benefit society of immigrants from southern Italy. In 1997 after years of rumors about the Mafia involvement, several members of the Genovese crime family were convicted of extortion in connection with the festival.
It's a real mad house but how can you not love a cliche ridden Italian singer and a bag of deep fried zeppole (I ate 6 and reached my calorie limit for the coming week!)
