Changes

Unfortunately for the Italy pavilion, the money that was originally designated for the Southern Italy expansion was eventually used for the construction of [[Horizons]], [[Journey Into Imagination]], and [[Morocco]] as well as early work on [[The Living Seas]] <ref> http://progresscityusa.com/2009/03/01/neverworlds-epcots-italy-pavilion-phase-ii/ </ref>.

Although without a feature attraction, Italy did open with the rest of World Showcase on October 1, 1982. The pavilion was designed to feature Florentine, Venetian, and Roman architecture, including a 100 ft. recreation of St Mark's Campanile (a bell tower) <ref name= "Spence"/>. When the pavilion opened, it housed one restaurant “L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante” and two shops “La Gemma Elegante” and “Il Belle Cristallo” <ref name= "Spence"/>. The pavilion is also home to the Theatre al Fresco where various street performers have been found over the years<ref name= "Spence"/>.

Since its creation, the Italy pavilion has seen a relatively small number of changes. The only major change came in 2007, when L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante closed <Ref name= "Epcot"> The Epcot Explorer's Encyclopedia: A Guide to Walt Disney World's Greatest Theme Park </ref>. Although the restaurant was very popular, Disney chose not to renew the dining contract with the restaurant’s owner Alfredo the Original of Rome Inc <Ref name= "Epcot"/>. Disney’s decision was due in part to the fact that Alfredo had initially promised to construct a second dining location in the pavilion in 1983 <Ref name= "Epcot"/>. Disney wanted the second restaurant in order to meet the dining demand in World Showcase. With no second restaurant built, and the initial contract now up, Disney decided to instead award the sponsorship to a new company- The Patina Restaurant Group <Ref name= "Epcot"/>. Following Alfredo’s closure On August 31, 2007 <ref> https://www.mouseplanet.com/guide/404/Walt-Disney-World//World-Showcase--Italy/LOriginale-Alfredo-di-Roma-Ristorante </ref>, the restaurant was replaced by a new restaurant “Tutto Italia”, which opened on September 17 of that year <ref name= "Yesterday"> http://www.yesterland.com/alfredo.html </ref>. Following the change in sponsorship, in 2010 Italy finally got a second restaurant “Via Nopoli” <ref name= "Yesterday"/> . This was followed by the opening of Tutto Gusto (a wine bar) which opened in 2012 <ref> http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/05/01/review-the-new-tutto-gusto-wine-cellar-and-tutto-italia-restaurante/ </ref>.