In autumn, when nature is tinged with a thousand warm shades ranging from red, yellow and brown, many typical products of the season can be found on the tables of the inhabitants of the villages in the province of Rieti. These products are often celebrated in famous festivals.
In the village where the Via di San Benedetto and the Via di San Francesco cross each other, right in the well-known Santuario del Perdono, one of the oldest festivals in Italy has been held for over seventy years every first Sunday of October. This festival celebrates the “porchetta” (roast pork) of Poggio Bustone.
Poggio Bustone
Those who visit Poggio Bustone are welcomed by the scenery of “I Giardini di Marzo”, dedicated to the memory of Lucio Battisti. From Sunday morning until late evening, it will be possible to taste the famous “porchetta”. Plenty of music and games for kids can be enjoyed.
On Saturday evening, throughout the alleys of the village, the historical re-enactment of Francesco’s arrival in Poggio Bustone “Bono jorno bona gente” takes place, with a medieval dinner in several cellars of the historic centre with shows and music. A tour of taste awaits you in Sabina…
From Poggio Bustone, passing through the impressive beech forest of Fuscello, we arrive in Leonessa, where the festival of potatoes is celebrated since 1989, one of the most popular events in Lazio and central Italy. Thanks to the harsh climate, the considerable altitude and the soil, although not very rich in water, the Leonessa area provides excellent quality potatoes. After the sowing in May, the harvest takes place in mid-October and the festival is celebrated on October 2 with potatoes fried, boiled or “rescallata“ (cooked in a pan a second time). The delicious dumplings with truffles “Un piattu co’ li fiocchi: lu tartufu co’ ‘li gnocchi“ (a grandest dinner: dumplings and truffles).
Porta Spoletina – Leonessa
This motto of the festival, in the typical Leonessian dialect, mentions the various ways of serving the potatoes. French fries are a joy for everyone, they can only compete with the sweet donuts made with potato dough and fried. The rescallata is a simple dish, in which potatoes are cooked a second time in a pan with EVO oil. The potato from Leonessa is certainly not very rich in water, so, cooking dumplings is very easy. It is delicious cooked in any way, but sprinkled with the prized Leonessa truffle, it will be divine.
Participating at this event, we can not only find a row of stands, but also a market with the typical products of the Sabina area and the whole Italy, such as charcuterie of all kinds, cheese, truffles, honey, chestnuts, typical sweets and handicrafts.
Much followed is the awarding of the largest potato, a tradition of the festival accompanied by music, dances in the square and showmen on the stage. To conclude the party, il “Ballo della Pupazza” (the puppet dance), respecting the local tradition.
From Leonessa we reach Borbona, where the “Borbontino Bean Festival” takes place on the third Sunday of October.
Tradition, folklore and gastronomy are mixed in this festival, where success is assured for the borbontino bean, cultivated in the valley, a high quality product, thanks to its organoleptic characteristics. With its very thin skin, it is delicate and digestible.
Antrodoco
Traveling along the Salaria we arrive at Antrodoco, where the Autumn Festival is held on the long weekend of the November 1, with chestnuts, tastings of local products and the competition “Le vie del Marrone” (the chestnut tracks). Cyclists can participate along the circuits with different degrees of difficulty, running through the various stages and, along the route between Antrodoco and Borgovelino, which winds through the surrounding chestnut groves, and taste sweets and glasses of local wine.
A tasting tour of Sabina is waiting for you…