In Italy, a sagra (plural: sagre) is a local festival, very often involving food, and frequently a historical pageant and sporting events: when the sporting event is a historical recreation as well, such as a joust or a horse race in costume or armour, it is called a palio.
The various sagre almost always have their origins in old country fairs or similar entertainments, but many of them now aim at visitors or even foreign tourists, and some, like the Quintana of Foligno, had lapsed for many years but have been recently revived.
A sagra is often dedicated to some specific local food, and the name of the sagra includes that food; the array of gastronomic specialties covered across Italy is amazing: for example, we find a Festival delle Sagre astigiane, a Sagra della Rana (frog) at Casteldilago near Arrone, a Sagra della Cipolla (onion) at Cannara, a Sagra della Melanzana ripiena (stuffed eggplant) at Savona, a Sagra della Polenta at Perticara di Novafeltria, a Sagra del Lattarino at Bracciano and so on. Among the most common sagre are those celebrating olive oil, wine, pasta and pastry of various kinds, chestnuts, and cheese.
But the best thing is that you can eat as much as you can and taste the real traditional recipes, delicious dishes you will for sure remember after you get back home.
Here is the list of some sagras in Lazio you might be interested in starting from this month:
18/10/2014 – Canterano (RM)
Sagra del Tartufo
18/10/2014 – Canterano (RM)
A Canterano il Tartufo si Mangia a Ritmo di Vinili
10/10/2014 – 19/10/2014 – Monterotondo (RM)
Fasti d’Autunno
16/10/2014 – 19/10/2014 – Villanova di Guidonia (RM)
Villanova Beer Festival
17/10/2014 – 19/10/2014 – Montelanico (RM)
52^ Sagra della Castagna
09/10/2014 – 26/10/2014 – Ciampino (RM)
6° Oktober Fest Ciampino
25/10/2014 – 26/10/2014 – Sambuci (RM)
Festa della polenta
09/10/2014 – 26/10/2014 – Ciampino (RM)
Oktober Fest Ciampino 2014
31/10/2014 – 01/11/2014 – Castelnuovo di Farfa (RI)
Halloween Gothic Fest 2014
31/10/2014 – 01/11/2014 – Castelnuovo di Farfa (RI)
Halloween Gothic Fest
01/11/2014 – Rocca S. Stefano (RM)
Festa d’Autunno
11/10/2014 – 02/11/2014 – Vallerano (VT)
XIII Sagra della Castagna di Vallerano
01/11/2014 – 02/11/2014 – Castelmenardo di Borgorose prov. Rieti (RI)
Vecchi e Nuovi Sapori del Borgo Antico
01/11/2014 – 02/11/2014 – Riofreddo (RM)
XXXI Festa della Castagna
01/11/2014 – 02/11/2014 – Rocca di Cave (RM)
36^ Sagra del Marrone
08/11/2014 – 09/11/2014 – Rocca Canterano (RM)
La sagra della Rola e festa del Cornuto
07/11/2014 – 09/11/2014 – Blera (VT)
Per San Martino ogni Mosto Diventa Vino
08/11/2014 – 09/11/2014 – Rocca Canterano (RM)
Sagra della Rola Festa del Cornuto
07/11/2014 – 16/11/2014 – vignanello (VT)
XV Festa dell’Olio e del Vino Novello – IV Raduno Camper
Enjoy your meal! 😉