San Gennaro Day at Cinotti’s: A Taste of Naples in Jacksonville Beach
There are some holidays you celebrate with decorations.
And then there are holidays you celebrate with food.
San Gennaro Day definitely belongs in the second category.
On Saturday, September 19, 2026, we’re celebrating San Gennaro Day at Cinotti’s Bakery & Italian Market in Jacksonville Beach, and for one day, our pastry cases are going to look a little more like they belong on a street in Naples.
We’ll have some of the Italian pastries you already know and love at Cinotti’s, along with a few traditional specialties we don’t normally make. If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to try something new, this might be the day to do it.
Who Is San Gennaro?
Before we get to the pastries, there’s a story behind the celebration.
San Gennaro, or Saint Januarius, is the patron saint of Naples, and September 19 marks the anniversary of his martyrdom. He was a bishop during the Roman Empire and was killed during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Diocletian in the early fourth century. Over the centuries, devotion to San Gennaro became deeply woven into the history and identity of Naples.
Every September 19, thousands gather at the Cathedral of Naples for one of the city’s most famous religious traditions. A reliquary containing what is traditionally believed to be the blood of San Gennaro is brought out, and the faithful wait for the blood to liquefy. For generations, Neapolitans have regarded the event as a sign of the saint’s continued protection over their city.
But the Feast of San Gennaro has also grown into something larger.
Throughout Naples, the celebration brings together faith, family, food and community. Streets are filled with lights, vendors and celebrations, and food is naturally a big part of it. Italia.it even notes that Naples’ pastry shops create special sweets in honor of the saint during the celebration.
And that part sounds pretty familiar to us.
Bringing a Little San Gennaro to Jacksonville Beach
As a fifth-generation family bakery, we understand what it means when food becomes part of a family’s traditions.
Recipes get passed down. Certain pastries remind you of certain people. Holidays have flavors attached to them. And sometimes all it takes is the smell of something baking to bring back a memory you haven’t thought about in years.
Since expanding Cinotti’s into an Italian Market, we’ve had the opportunity to explore even more of those traditions. Our market shelves are filled with products imported from Italy, while our bakery gives us a chance to bring some of Italy’s best-known sweets into the pastry case alongside the recipes we’ve been making for generations.
San Gennaro Day feels like a pretty good reason to have some fun.
On September 19, we’re filling the bakery with Italian favorites.
Some you’ll recognize.
Some you may have never tried.
And a few are making a special appearance just for the celebration.
The Cinotti’s Favorites
We’ll start with some pastries that already have a home at Cinotti’s.
Our cannoli have crisp shells filled with our homemade ricotta filling and finished with powdered sugar.
Then there are our lobster tails, with all those beautiful, flaky layers surrounding a light blend of pastry cream and whipped cream. They’re finished with a generous dusting of powdered sugar, because there’s really no neat way to eat a good lobster tail anyway.
We’ll also have rainbow bars, with their unmistakable red, white and green layers, and pignoli cookies, the classic Italian almond cookies covered with pine nuts.
And, of course, sfogliatelle.
If you’ve never tried one, San Gennaro Day is a good time to fix that. Crisp, paper-thin layers of pastry form the beautiful shell that makes sfogliatelle instantly recognizable.
But those aren’t the pastries we’re most excited about.
Because we’re making a few things we don’t normally have in the case.
The San Gennaro Day Specials
This is where September 19 gets interesting.
We’re making zeppole.
If you’ve ever been to an Italian-American street festival, chances are you’ve encountered these little fried pieces of happiness. They’re simple, warm, fried dough finished generously with powdered sugar.
No complicated presentation required.
Just grab a bag, accept the fact that powdered sugar is probably going to end up on your shirt, and enjoy them.
We’ll also be making maritozzi, a Roman specialty that has become increasingly popular outside Italy. These soft, lightly sweetened buns are split and generously filled with cream. They may look relatively simple sitting beside some of the more elaborate Italian pastries, but don’t underestimate them.
And finally, we’re bringing out babà al rum, or babà rum.
This classic is especially fitting for our celebration because babà has become one of the signature pastries of Naples. The light, yeasted cakes are soaked in rum syrup, creating a pastry that’s tender, fragrant and completely different from most of what you’ll normally find in our bakery case.
These aren’t everyday Cinotti’s items.
That’s the point.
Come Hungry. Leave the Passport at Home.
One of our favorite things about growing Cinotti’s Bakery into Cinotti’s Bakery & Italian Market has been introducing Jacksonville Beach to more of the foods and traditions we love.
San Gennaro Day gives us another chance to do exactly that.
You don’t need to know how to pronounce sfogliatelle perfectly.
You don’t need to have grown up eating pignoli cookies.
And you certainly don’t need to know which pastry you’re going to choose before you walk through the door.
Come in and ask us.
Try something you’ve never had before. Pick up an old favorite. Grab a box and bring a little bit of everything home for the family.
Because when you strip away all the history, festivals and pastries, there is something about San Gennaro Day that feels very familiar to us.
Faith. Food. Family. Tradition.
Those four things have a way of bringing people together, whether you’re standing on a street in Naples or inside a fifth-generation bakery in Jacksonville Beach.
And on September 19, we’re celebrating all four.
San Gennaro Day at Cinotti’s Bakery & Italian Market
Saturday, September 19, 2026
1523 Penman Road, Jacksonville Beach
6 AM–3 PM
Come early, come hungry, and maybe don’t wear black if you’re planning on eating the zeppole.
Buona Festa!