Food festivals and Sagre in Sabina

So, first things first…

What is a Sagra?

A sagra is quite simply a particular kind of festival that usually revolves around food, and usually one specific seasonal ingredient or dish, which is particularly associated with that town or the local area. Sagre (plural) are run by the people who live in the town, so they are real community affairs where everyone comes together to celebrate the food that they are so proud of. If a particular ingredient is at the centre of attention in a festival, it will usually be cooked in different ways and incorporated into different dishes.

Sabina, like elsewhere in Italy, has many Sagre. Some villages are especially well-known for a particular Sagra. For example, Roccantica and its popular ‘frittelli‘ festival in March.

Visiting a Sagra is a great opportunity to sample some genuine, authentic dishes, cooked by people in the town, and for a reasonable price. (Around 10-15 euros for a starter, main, side, water and wine.)

 

This is our list of Sagre in Sabina…let us know if you think we’ve missed one.

Note exact dates aren’t included below, because the dates can change each year… but keep on eye on our Sabina events listings for more info on a specific sagra: What’s on in Sabina.

 

Sagre in Sabina

January

- Festival of Bruschetta (Sagra della bruschetta), Casaprota

- Festival of Frappa (a traditional Italian dessert made with a dough that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Also called ‘chiacchiere’ or ‘Angel wings’ in English, (Sagra della Frappa), Configni

- Festival of Bruschetta (Sagra della bruschetta), Poggio Nativo

Frappe

 

February

- Festival of Polenta, (Sagra della Polenta), Collevecchio Sabina

- Festival of Bruschetta, (Sagra della Bruschetta), Poggio Mirteto

Bruschetta – toasted bread drizzled with extra virgin olive oil after, (if you like), being rubbed with a garlic clove.

 

March

- Festival of the ‘polenta eater’, (Sagra del Polentone), Castel di Tora

- Festival of Frittello (Frittelli are small fried pieces of vegetables such as broccoli, artichoke, cauliflour, courgette or courgette flowers stuffed with anchovies and mozzerella. Frittelli could also be other fried foods like small pieces of lamb’s brains or sweet ingredients like raisins.) (Sagra del Frittello), Roccantica

Frittelli – bite sized, deep-fried pieces of vegetables. Here, cauliflour was used.

 

April

 

May

- Festival of fried Pizza (Sagra delle pizze fritte), Cottanello

- Festival of broad beans and pecorino cheese (famous for being two very complimentary ingredients), (Sagra delle Fave e del Pecorino), Filacciano

- Festival of fregnaccia (a kind of pancake), (Sagra della fregnaccia), Montasola

- Festival of broad beans and pecorino cheese (famous for being two very complimentary ingredients), (Sagra delle Fave e del Pecorino), Monterotondo

- Festival of Vertuti (an ancient Sabine soup made from legumes and cereals, and flavored with wild thyme and Sabina olive oil. ), (Sagra dei Vertuti), Paganico Sabino

- Festival of cherries, (Sagra delle Ciliege), Petrella Salto

- Festival of broad beans and pecorino cheese (famous for being two very complimentary ingredients), (Sagra delle Fave e del Pecorino), Casaprota

- Festival of Fallone (a kind of small oven baked pizza ‘wrap’ filled with green vegetables – usually swiss chard), (Sagra del Fallone), Selci in Sabina

- Festival of St George’s mushroom and wild asparagus, (Sagra del Prugnolo e dell’Asparago selvatico), Configni

- Show / exhibition of bread and typical ‘dolci’ from Sabina, (Mostra del Pane e dei Dolci della Sabina), Salisano

- Festival of Asparagus, (Sagra degli Sparaci), Percile

Broad beans and pecorino – a perfect match! Image courtesy of Rubber Slippers In Italy.

 

June

- Festival of Crostata (A kind of shortcrust pastry tart – usually jam) (Sagra della Crostata), Collevecchio

- Festival of Snails (yes, really.) (Sagra della Lumaca), Fiano Romano

- Festival of Snails (another one), (Sagra della Lumaca), Monterotondo

- Festival of Cherries (Sagra delle Cerase), Palombara Sabina

- Festival of peaches (Sagra della Perzica), Palombara Sabina

- Festival of Bruschetta (Sagra della Bruschetta), Poggio Moiano

- Festival of bread, (Sagra del Pane), Selci

Crostata. Traditional jam fillings for this sweet pastry tart include cherry, peach, apricot or berries.
Photo by Geomangio

 

July

- Festival of the Rosciola olive (Rosciola is an cultivar of olive native to the Lazio region) (Sagra della rosciola), Colle di Tora

- Festival of Panzanella (a traditional tomato based salad) (Sagra della Panzanella), Monterotondo

- Festival of Sagne Stracciate (a kind of roughly torn pasta dish representative of ‘cucina povere’) (Sagra delle sagne stracciate), Paganico Sabino

 

August

- Festival of Porcini mushroom fettuccine (Sagra delle Fettuccine ai Funghi Porcini), Ascrea

- Festival of Penne all’arrabbiata (spicy tomato pasta) (Sagra penne all’arrabbiata), Casaprota

- Festival of Stringozzi (a type of pasta local to Sabina) (Sagra degli Stringozzi), Casperia

- Festical of Fregnacce with Persa (a simple pasta dish made with Marjoram) (Sagra delle Fregnacce con la Persa), Castelnuovo di Farfa

- Festival of Fettuccine ‘alla Trebulana’ (a special kind of fettuccine recipe passed down over generations, unique to the Monteleone Sabino area), (Sagra delle Fettuccine alla Trebulana), Monteleone Sabino

- Festival of Pizza (Sagra della Pizza), Collalto Sabino

- Truffle festival (Sagra del Tartufo), Petrella Salto

- Festival of Panzanella (a traditional tomato based salad), (Sagra della Panzanella), Poggio Catino

- Festival of the Ciambella (a kind of Italian doughnut), (Sagra della Ciambella), Poggio Nativo

- Festival of Porchetta (whole roast pork well-seasoned with plenty of salt, pepper and rosemary), (Sagra della Porchetta),  Selci

- Festival of Frascarelli (a recipe very similar to polenta), (Sagra dei “Frascarelli”), Oliveto near Torricella in Sabina

- Festival of Fettucine (Sagne is local slang for fettucine – a type of pasta), (Sagra delle Sagne), Scandriglia

- Festival of Maccheroni a Fezze, (Sagra dei Maccheroni a Fezze), Monte San Giovanni

Stringozzi, also sometimes called Strangozzi. The name derives from the pasta’s similarity to shoelaces. Photo by kag2u

 

September

- Festival of Castrato (weaned, castrated lamb) and Stringozzi (a pasta typical of the area), (Sagra del Castrato e degli Stringozzi), Cottanello

- Festival of wine, (Sagra del Vino), Poggio Catino

- Festival of local desserts, (Sagra dei dolci locali), Torricella in Sabina

- Festival of Porchetta (whole roast pork well-seasoned with plenty of salt, pepper and rosemary), (Sagra della Porchetta),  Poggio Nativo

 

October

- Festival of Polenta (Sagra della Polenta), Casperia

- Festival of  Stringozzi (a type of pasta local to Sabina) (Sagra degli Stringozzi), Castel di Tora

- Festival of bruschetta and sausage (Sagra della bruschetta e della Salsiccia), Castelnuovo di Farfa

- Festival of the ‘pea bean’ (Fagiolo a pisello  - ‘pean bean’ – is a type of bean typicical of the Colle di Tora area, and so called because its shape is reminiscent of a pea. It is notable because it has no skin.)  (Sagra del Fagiolo a Pisello), Colle di Tora

- Festival of chestnuts, (Sagra della Castagna), Turania

 

November

- Festival of the ‘Polenta eater’ and the new seasons wine, (Sagra del Polentone e del Vino Novello), Montasola

- Festival of olive oil, (Sagra dell’Olio d’Oliva), Montelibretti

- Festival of the red chestnut, (Sagra della Castagna Rossa), Marcetelli

- Chestnut festival, (Festa della Castagna), Paganico Sabino

 

December

- Festival of Panpepato (a kind of sweet, very dense, and sticky cake containing nuts, which is very popular at Christmas. Also called Panforte) (Sagra del Panpepato), Collevecchio

- Festival of u’filaretto (a type of bread from Filacciano made with aniseed) (Sagra de u’filaretto), Filacciano

- Festival of Bruschetta, (Sagra della Bruschetta), Monteleone Sabino