Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Sagre in Lazio - my June picks

Wow, the days are flying by! It's already time for my Sagre and Feste picks for June! I hope some of you managed to get to the sagre I recommended last month. From now until, well, winter, the number of sagre and feste in Lazio and indeed Italy seems to increase every month. For the novice reader, a sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, that frequently ties in with a historical pageant or sporting event, such as a joust or a horse race (where it is called a palio). Here, from a veritable feast of feste, are my highlights for June.


Sagra delle Fettuccine
Grotte Santo Stefano, Prov. di Viterbo

One of the things I enjoy about sagre is that they put traditional food in context. They are educational. For example, this sagra is about a type of pasta. Now, before you skip this section, you may be interested to learn that Fettuccine is a flat, ribbon-like pasta (the name translates literally to "little ribbons") and is similar to tagliatelle (from Bologna). It's made with flour, eggs and salt, and is a traditional pasta used in many Roman dishes. The Sagra delle Fettuccine, now in its 12th year, celebrates this local food hero. Grotte Santo Stefano, a small town near both Viterbo and Bomarzo (the one with the weird sculptures in the park), will come alive on the weekend of the 15-17th June with live music (and a disco on Saturday night), food stalls and good cheer. The fabled fettuccine will be available with a variety of sauces, and if you fancy more than one, then the 'Tris' is for you:  a trio of fettuccine with Ragu`, wild boar (cinghiale), and Porcini mushrooms. When you're all fettuccined-out, you can try other local dishes such as beans with pork rind (my father-in-law's favourite!), tripe, or sample a glass of the local wine....

The stands open at 7:30, and further information (in Italian) can be found on the Pro Loco Santo Stefano website.


Sagra della Ricotta
Guadagnolo - Capranica Prenestina - Prov. di Roma

Capranica Prenestina, nestled in the Monti Prenestini mountain range in the Lazio sub-Apennines, is hosting a Sagra della Ricotta on Sunday 17th June. The town, approximately 40km to the east of Rome, will showcase homemade, traditional ricotta in every dish and style possible. Food stalls will open at 10am, with music and dance performances taking place throughout the day. More information (in Italian) can be found on the Pro Loco Guadagnolo website.


Sagra del Cinghiale
Castel San Pietro Romano - Prov. di Latina

Just down the road from the sagra above, there's the Sagra del Cinghiale (Wild boar food festival). I love wild boar. I actually prefer it to pork, although it is very gamey. Over the weekend of the 23rd-24th June, Castel San Pietro Romano, approximately 40km to the east of Rome, will host loads of food stalls, selling wild boar, porchetta, and many other (admittedly very meaty) food types, mixed fresh with pasta to eat there and then, or as salsicce to take home. There's also music, local food and craft stalls, and, of course, cheap, yet really good quality, local wine. I'm drooling already... 

For more information (in Italian), click through to the Pro Loco site.


Sagra della Frittella
Paliano - Prov. di Frosinone

If wild boar isn't your thing, what about pancakes? On the same weekend as the sagra above, the 23-24th June, frittelle, a kind of fried pancake, will be celebrated in the town of Paliano, approximately 60km to the south east of Rome. Both sweet and savory frittelle will be available, along with the local Rosciola oil, and other local products. Various cultural and sporting events will be held during the two days, with music and cultural performances every evening.


Palio del Velluto
Leonessa - Prov. di Rieti

By the end of June, you may be sick of sagre, and want to go to a non-food-related event. Thankfully, during the last week of June (29th June-1st July), Leonessa holds its annual "Velvet Contest", a historical eight day commemoration of Saint Peter (the Fiera di San Pietro). The Palio del Velluto takes its name from the local weaving style and was held from at least 1464 until 1557, when the event was abolished by the local Governor after a dispute that resulted in four deaths. Mercifully though, things are a little more civilized nowadays, and the games are back on.


The games are fought between the six quarters of the city - Corno (Horn), croce (cross), Forcamelone, Poggio, Terzone, and Torre (Tower). In addition, there aere various music and dance performances, concerts, taverns with dishes of the day, jugglers and other street performers throughout the city to evoke the atmosphere of 16th century. All in all, a great day out! More information (in Italian) can be found here.


Finally, I want to quickly mention the infiorate (street flower petal displays) that will be popping up throughout Lazio for Corpus Domini on the 16-18th June. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should check out this post.

OK, so there you have my hand-curated picks of the best sagre and feste coming up in June. There are many, many more. Please leave a comment below if I've missed your personal favorite or if you know of any other sagre or feste that are worth mentioning.

Buone sagre a tutti!


Photo credits:
Sagra delle fettuccine
Pappardelle al cinghiale

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2 comments:

  1. This post had me drooling too...would love to be at the Sagre delle Fetuccine, but no tripe, please! Hated this dish as a child when my mom cooked it.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Laura. There are so many sagre on at the moment and they all sound lovely. I get so hungry when I pick out my favorites!

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