There are many reasons to visit the area of Tuscia and the seacoast north of Rome, especially if you are foodies.
This green land kissed by the sun and the sea offers amazing products in every season, you can find delicious artichokes in winter, olive oil, red and white wine, hazelnuts, mushrooms and chestnuts in fall, and seafood in summer.
To taste all these delicacies, you could visit one of the many restaurants scattered around the area, but If you like something more peculiar, you could choose to go to one of the many sagre (festivals). We take them very seriously here!
Northern Latium has an incredible calendar of food and wine festivals.
Bomarzo, the house of a spectacular 16th-century Sacred Grove also called Park of the Monsters, blends a festival dedicated to the cookie, with a parade and a Palio. The parade of the historical procession with hundreds of people dressed in Renaissance costumes begins at Palazzo Orsini, and it is accompanied by a musical band, followed by the flag-wavers, the Priori dei Rioni (district’s priors) with their banners, the jockeys on horseback, the Capitano del Popolo (People’s Captain). Finally, it will be the turn of the triumphal carroccio pulled by white oxen carrying the new “Palio”. The festival closes with the Palio, an exciting horse race with jockey, in honour of the patron S. Anselmo. The five districts of the town: Dentro, Borgo, Poggio, Croci and Madonna del Piano will compete for the cloth made each year by a different local artist, like a small Palio of Siena we might say!
Ladispoli is renowned for the artichokes, a fundamental ingredient for pasta and second courses, mixed with meat and even fish, and celebrated as a star during the three-day festival generally held at the end of April, a date based on the agricultural calendar and the artichoke harvest.
At the end of May, Passoscuro holds a festival for the tellina, a tiny and delicious clam, with three days of celebration to taste the mythical mussel that makes a plate of spaghetti simply unique. All accompanied by concerts and cabaret shows.
These green lands are perfect for growing fruits, and so near the archaeological area of Vulci, and in July the melon festival is held. One of the most prestigious agricultural products in the area, three days of music, games, shows, food and wine. At lunch and dinner, you can taste melon-based products at the food stand, with musical entertainment and exhibitions by local artists.
If it’s the wine that you prefer, the nearby Cerveteri, the cradle of the Etruscans, explodes in August for a sparkling festival where it’s possible to taste local products, in particular peaches, watermelons and grapes and of course the famous wine, served in kiosks and in the typical caves near Piazza Santa Maria, the main square. The seven districts of the town challenge each other, first with the grape pressing competition, then with a parade of allegorical floats.
While, still in August, Caprarola, famous for the Farnese Palace, celebrates one of its best products, the hazelnut, famous for the production of chocolate cream.
Sutri, rich in ancient Roman and Etruscan history celebrates its bean in September, when the temperature lowers a bit, becoming perfect to enjoy a richer meal after exploring its famous amphitheatre.
During fall the festivals are richer in events and are mainly dedicated to wine, oil and chestnuts.
Several festivals between October and November are dedicated to the grape harvest, and they are the chance to taste some delicious new wine, you only need to set your itinerary and move from town to town.
October is the month of the delicious chestnut, the protagonist of many festivals in the Tuscia area, from Vallerano to San Martino al Cimino and Canepina, but the most famous is certainly the one of Soriano nel Cimino, where you will be welcomed by the fragrance of roasted chestnuts, mixed with the one of hot spicy red wine, perfumed by cinnamon, pepper, orange and cloves. A perfect pairing, definitely not to be missed!
The northern part of Tuscia, rich in treasures of art and archaeology, is also very well known for the green gold, the extra-virgin olive oil, produced between Viterbo, Vetralla and Canino, which you can taste and buy in the many local shops but if you want to dip yourselves in this dense, thick, and perfumed fluid the festival of Blera, Vignanello and especially Canino in November and December are perfect for you!
The Canino oil festival is an unmissable event that has been in the hearts and diaries of all of us for years in the town of the Latimer mark the one that headed to the olive tree is not a simple festival but the feast of the year par excellence! And it could not be otherwise, because the oil that has been produced here since time immemorial is among the most renowned in the whole of Italy, a product that has its roots in millenary cultural traditions, in ancient recipes handed down from father to son and in an economy that is still largely based on the pressing of olives. It will be possible to taste the new oil in the typical canteen, get to know the production process inside the mills, buy it at the stands of the oil mills and enjoy it on the bruschetta.
If you wish to taste something unusual, here is an idea for you: Tuscania houses a festival in January dedicated to the “cauliflower frittella”. The program of the festival includes a parade on horseback and the blessing of the animals. Curious to know how this typical pancake is prepared? The traditional recipe is made with flour, water, cauliflower in pieces or tufts and salt or sugar, according to one’s taste.
Are you ready to tantalise your tastebuds and discover the incredible mix of flavours that the region Latium has to offer? We organize tours to discover the best gastronomical realities of the region Latium!
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