Apricot Festival

A festival that smells of summer

When the apricot ripens in the orchards of the Metapontino, Rotondella prepares for its Apricot Festival, the most anticipated summer event in the small hilltop village in the province of Matera. Overlooking the Ionian Sea, this town in eastern Basilicata makes the apricot one of its identity agricultural products, and for two days at the end of June, the historic centre fills with scents, flavours, and music.

A tradition over twenty years old

Organised by the Municipality of Rotondella, the Festival reached its XXVII edition in 2025: a milestone that tells of a community's loyalty to its territory and its fruit growing. The initiative was created to give visibility to local farms and to promote the Metapontino apricot as a product of excellence, also through support for the petition to enhance the fruit.

What to experience in the square

• Tastings of jams, desserts, liqueurs, savoury dishes, and innovative apricot-based preparations;
• Food stalls with dozens of exhibitors along the streets of the centre;
• The "Golden Apricot" award, a recognition given to the best local farms;
• Conferences and technical debates dedicated to fruit growing and the protection of product origin, with the participation of Coldiretti Basilicata and Campagna Amica;
• Evening entertainment: concerts, dance recitals, and comedy shows.

A village to discover

The Festival is also an opportunity to visit Rotondella, a village with a characteristic circular layout perched above the Ionian plain. Among alleys and viewpoints, you can breathe the authentic atmosphere of a Lucanian village that, for two evenings, becomes the heart of the Metapontino celebration. A convivial, popular event strongly linked to the land and those who cultivate it.