As many good stories do, this one begins in Italy.
In 1889, Constantine Vitale opened a fireworks shop in his small Italian town, turning his fascination with pyrotechnics into a family business.
When he immigrated to the United States in 1920, he brought that expertise with him. After settling in New Castle, Pennsylvania — north of Pittsburgh — he opened up a fireworks business — one that would eventually become Pyrotecnico.
More than a century later, the company is in its fifth generation, producing fireworks, drone and light shows for everyone from Cardi B to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, as well as communities across the country.
But nothing has compared to this.
“I think if he would see the company today, he would probably be incredibly proud, but probably think we were a little crazy,” Constantine’s great-grandson and current CEO, Stephen Vitale, told NBC News.
On July 4th in Washington, D.C., Pyrotecnico plans to launch more than 850,000 fireworks, aiming to shatter a world record previously set by a megachurch in the Philippines a decade ago.
The 40-minute display will launch from eight barges on the Potomac River and two land-based sites — West Potomac Park and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In all, about 58,000 pounds of fireworks were transported from western Pennsylvania to the nation’s capital, where a crew of 75 Pyrotecnico employees will bring the show to life.
To create the display, designer Jason Farrell traveled the world in search of the right fireworks. The finale will feature shells from Spain, Italy and China.
“Each country had kind of has their own take on how they create fireworks, so everybody has kind of a specialty of what they do,” Farrell said.
The fireworks will be synchronized to a live soundtrack performed by a military band made up of musicians from several branches of the U.S. armed forces. The set list spans six decades and includes “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” “Sweet Caroline” and “Party in the U.S.A.”
“There’s something about the feeling and the honor of doing a firework display on the Fourth of July in Washington, D.C.,” Vitale said. “It’s Independence Day at its best.”
