Italian culture traditions: Festivals

The Italy food culture is celebrated by what can only be described as diet busting Italian food festivals. Bring it on.

In Rome it feels like a food festival every weekend. If money belts are supposed to be buckled tighter nobody mentioned that to the Romans. Oil, gold and property mortgages may drop and fluctuate but restaurants in Rome are doing a brisker trade than ever!
Most food festivals, or should I rather say, more food festivals happen in Summer. In Rome and Lazio (amongst others):


 

• Amatrice in Rieti celebrate Amatriciana. The full name is "Sagra degli spaghetti all'Amatriciana". The 30th and 31st August. They celebrate their Amatriciana pasta - fried bacon and tomato sauce.


• Ariccia in Castelli Romani (just outside Rome) celebrate "Sagra della Porchetta" in the 1st week of September. There is a youth festival with music and good food (good prices).


• Montefiascone (Viterbo) has a BIG and widely praised wine festival, dedicated to a white wine called "Est, Est, Est!"
  
  A Cardinal named Johannes de Fuch was sent by King Henry V to mark the best cellars with the words "Est" - "IT IS!". Apparently the cardinal was so impressed with the wines from Montefiascone he marked "Est, Est, Est" on the taverns, what's more, after having done the wines thorough justice he was later buried in the graveyard of San Flaviano Montefiascone.