Nature, outdoor activities, culture, food and wine and events, get five, pay for one! We are in Leonessa, a village for all seasons, home of the famous fried, boiled or rescallata potato.
“patata fritta, lessa o rescallata”.
View of Leonessa
Every season is right to visit this delightful mountain village, a destination for all kinds of outdoor sports and culinary specialities. Leonessa is a territory of beauty and emotions, a precious gem that shines among the warm autumn colours that cover its mountains. Warm red, orange, and yellow shades frame the landscape, making it particularly impressive.
The Mountains of Leonessa in winter
If you are a fan of adrenaline-filled sports, Leonessa is the right choice for you! Trekking, mountain biking, downhill, and other outdoor sports such as cycling, and motorbike can be practiced in summer and winter.
Two thirds of the Leonessa territory are made up of woods and high mountain pastures, gushing streams, and charming valleys. Walking along natural paths, we reach the Rio Fuggio, a stream that winds through a narrow, high valley with evocative rock formations, and then the Bosco della Vallonina, with its beautiful Valli dell’Organo. The Campo Stella ski resort is located in the natural Amphitheatre of Mount Terminillo, while Monte Tilia, reachable by chairlift, hosts a charming mountain lake and offers visitors the opportunity to take pleasant walks in the nature.
Potatoes “rescallate”
After sport, it is time to taste the products and food and wine specialities of Leonessa. You are spoiled for choice! Cheese from high pastures, lentils, spelt and typical cured meats are just some of the traditional excellences. But the main product of the agricultural economy of Leonessa is undoubtedly the potato, celebrated every year with the Leonessa Potato Festival.
“Un piatto co’ li fiocchi: lo tartufu co’ li gnocchi”
Leonessa potatoes can be tasted all year round, prepared as gnocchi with sauce or seasoned with truffles. Potatoes can also be fried or rescallate, simple and tasty like all the recipes of the past, based on boiled potatoes sautéed in a pan with onion and bacon. Even the dessert is made with the tuber, the secret ingredient for the delicious fried doughnuts!
Historical Procession at the Palio del Velluto
To discover Leonessa as it was back in 1500, we must visit the village in the last weekend of June, when the Palio del Velluto takes place. It is one of the most famous historical re-enactments in Italy, with over 600 participants in refined Renaissance costumes and a sequence of heated challenges among the Sesti, the districts of the village, to conquer the precious Palio. The event is accompanied by Renaissance music and dishes from the same period are served in ancient taverns. A delightful dive into the past that will surprise you.
The historic centre of Leonessa is rich in ancient still well-preserved buildings, such as the Mongalli Palaces, one of them nowadays seat of the Municipality, with its valuable portal made of local stone. We also can admire Palazzo Cherubini, where the famous composer Bixio Cherubini was born in 1899, and Palazzo Ettore, the largest palace in Leonessa.
The Margaritiana Fountain
Piazza VII Aprile hosts the Margaritiana Fountain, which dates to the sixteenth century. It was a gift from Margaret of Austria to the town in 1548. Also ancient is the twelfth century Fonte della Ripa, the source of the Ripa Castle and, originally, the only one in Leonessa. Its waters come from the clear and fresh spring of the Rocca.
Church of San Francesco
The Church of San Francesco, with its Romanesque-Gothic façade in local red stone, houses two Renaissance masterpieces, the polychrome terracotta nativity scene, and the wooden Crucifix. In the crypt, we find important frescoes depicting Hell, Paradise, the Madonna dell’Ulivo and some biblical scenes.