Food festivals and events in Lunigiana 2026: the complete guide

In Lunigiana summer is not measured in degrees, but in sagre, the village food festivals. From June to October almost every village lights up its own feast: long tables under the stars, one dish cooked properly and the whole village at the stove. Village by village, hamlet by hamlet, it is the truest way to get to know this valley and to eat its food where it was born.

Five appointments in 2026 already have their date on the calendar: the Festa del Libro in Montereggio, Mulazzo (24 to 26 July), the Premio Bancarella in Pontremoli (26 July), the Mangia…Longa walk in the Zeri valleys (26 July), Bancarel'Vino in Mulazzo (7 to 9 August) and Medievalis in Pontremoli (19 to 23 August). All the others come back every year in the same period, but the exact day is published by the Pro Loco, the local volunteer committees, shortly before the feast.

We watch the sagre from Mulazzo, where we have been cooking since 1977. Some people come for our family paella and then discover the feasts of the valley; others tour from village to village and look for somewhere to have a proper dinner. Either way, Mulazzo is the right starting point. Below you will find all the appointments of the summer, beginning with those whose date is already certain. If you would first like to know what awaits you on the plate, start from the guide to what to eat in Lunigiana; if you are putting a weekend together, there is what to see in two days.

How the sagre work in Lunigiana

The sagre of Lunigiana are community feasts, not tourist events: you eat at long tables, under the village marquees, with dishes the Pro Loco prepare the way they are made at home. One rule matters more than any other: arrive early. The specialities are cooked in limited quantities and the most popular evenings fill the village quickly. For the rest, let your appetite lead the way.

Festivals and events in Lunigiana with a confirmed date in 2026

These are the events whose 2026 date is already confirmed: the fixed points to build your weekend in the valley around. Put them in the diary and the rest falls into place by itself.

The great summer food festivals of Lunigiana

Besides the appointments with a fixed date, from late June to late August Lunigiana is one village feast after another. These are the best loved summer sagre of the valley, to chase dish by dish.

• Festa della Fame e della Sete in Filattiera: the sagra that opens the Lunigiana summer at the end of June, in the historic village, with testaroli, spalla cotta and cheerfully crowded tables. The 2026 edition ran from 26 to 28 June: note it down for next year.
• Sagra del Panigaccio in Podenzana: the best known in the valley, at the Parco del Gaggio, around the middle of August. Panigacci served non stop with cured meats and cheeses, and music every evening.
• Sagra delle Focaccette in Fornoli di Villafranca and in Olivola (Aulla): focaccette cooked in the testi, to be filled with cured meats and cheeses.
• Sagra della Polenta e Capra in Olivola (Aulla): a country dish of this land, around the middle of August.
• Sagra della Torta and Sagra della Salsiccia in Canepari (Fosdinovo): savoury pies, sausages and asado, between early and mid August.
• Sagra dei Pomi in Codiponte (Casola in Lunigiana): the "rotella" apple served beside the Romanesque parish church, at the end of August.

When the valley changes its larder: autumn

From September come the porcini mushrooms (the Festa del Fungo in Monti di Licciana Nardi) and the chestnuts, at the heart of many feasts: La Castagna Racconta in Licciana, the Castagna Comanina in Comano, the chestnut festivals of Treschietto and Ponticello. At the end of September, in Mulazzo, there is also Bancarel'Miele, dedicated to Lunigiana PDO honey. We write about these flavours in the guide to typical dishes.

Beyond the food: events worth living

Summer in Lunigiana is not only about the table. There are historical re-enactments and traditions that are worth the journey for the spectacle they put on, and that ask for nothing more than a good dinner to round off the day. For these, our kitchen in Mulazzo is the right way to close the evening.

• Filetto Rinascimentale in Filetto (Villafranca): the walled village returns to the Renaissance, with flag throwers and falconry, in mid August.
• I Mestieri nel Borgo in Ponticello (Filattiera): blacksmiths, stonecutters and carpenters at work in the medieval village, around the middle of August.
• C'era una volta Albiano 1266 in Albiano Magra (Aulla): the re-enactment of the founding of the village, on the last weekend of June.
• Comano Cavalli in Comano: one of the largest horse fairs in Lunigiana, from the middle to the end of September.
• Disfida dei Falò di San Geminiano in Pontremoli: not summer, but worth the note. In January the two districts challenge each other with bonfires on the river, in one of the most spectacular traditions of the valley.

Mulazzo, where the feast is at home

We are in Mulazzo, and here the feasts almost carry a family name: many of them begin with "Bancarel'". They are the appointments that mark our seasons, all a few steps from the restaurant.

• Festa del Libro di Montereggio, from 24 to 26 July: our hamlet of Montereggio is the "village of booksellers", the only Italian village in the international Book Town network. In the nineteenth century the travelling booksellers set off from here, and it was here, in 1952, that the Premio Bancarella was born, now held in Pontremoli.
• Bancarel'Vino, from 7 to 9 August: the wine festival since 1983, turning 43 in 2026, with more than 40 wineries, tastings and the historic wine competition through the streets of the village.
• Bancarel'Miele, on 19 and 20 September: dedicated to Lunigiana PDO honey, the same one we serve on the bruschetta with lardo.
• Bancarel'Green, on 10 and 11 October: new for 2026, in its first edition, all about sustainability, recycling and natural products.

In July, up at the Santuario della Madonna del Monte, there is also the Festa del Voto. From Mulazzo you are in the middle of everything: many of these feasts are within half an hour by car, Filattiera and Pontremoli right next door, Podenzana and Bagnone a little further. You can do a different sagra every evening and always come back to sleep in the same place.

With us, after a day of villages and long tables, you find our Spanish and Lunigianese kitchen: the family paella since 1977 and, beside it, the flavours of the valley you already love, testaroli with pesto (€8) and homemade torta d'erbi (€6). If you are looking for other addresses between one sagra and the next, we have gathered our recommendations in where to eat in Lunigiana. And if you want to base yourself here to tour them all, there are our eight rooms above the restaurant.

All the feasts of the Mulazzo municipality in 2026

The sagre of the other valleys are confirmed by the Pro Loco at the last minute, but here at home the calendar comes out complete: every year the Mulazzo town council publishes the summer programme, hamlet by hamlet. For 2026 the programme is a rich one, from July to the end of September, on top of the Bancarel' feasts and the Festa del Libro you find above. Here are all the others, village by village.

July

August

September

In short

The sagre and events of Lunigiana bring the valley to life from June to October and are the most sincere way to get to know this land: barely touristy, very real and nearly all within a few minutes of Mulazzo. For our own municipality, the 2026 calendar is already complete, feast by feast, hamlet by hamlet. Start from the appointments with a confirmed date (Festa del Libro and Premio Bancarella at the end of July, Bancarel'Vino and Medievalis in August), check the others on the village's official channels and let your appetite lead the way. And if you pass through Mulazzo, you know where to find us.