Astro Gastro

When the Festival Meets the Stars

Astro Gastro is a truly original event that takes place every year in Bondeno, a town in the Bassa Ferrarese area of the province of Ferrara, within the park of Agriturismo La Florida on Via per Burana. The idea is as simple as it is fascinating: to bring together the best of Emilian gastronomic tradition and a passion for the night sky around the same table. While guests dine on local specialties in the covered stand, the astronomical observatory a short walk away opens its domes to offer visitors a glimpse of the universe.

The Observatory and the Digital Planetarium

The astronomical heart of the event is the astronomical observatory housed in the agriturismo's park, managed in collaboration with the Gruppo Astrofili Discovery of Bondeno. During the evening openings, visitors can observe the Moon, visible planets, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies through telescopes; during the mid-August nights, the focus is on the famous Perseid meteor shower. Inside the renovated barn, there is also a digital planetarium, a dome that accommodates about fifteen people at a time and projects a reconstruction of the celestial vault: a perfect educational tool for adults and children who want to understand what they are looking at.

Emilian Cuisine Takes Center Stage

The gastronomic side lives up to the tradition of these lands. The stand offers the great first courses of Ferrarese and Emilian cuisine: tortellini, pumpkin cappellacci, pappardelle, maccheroncini, and strigoli. Among the main courses, you'll find beef tagliata, mixed grills, and rustic specialties like rabbit stew with polenta, accompanied by potato and grilled vegetable sides. To finish, there are homemade desserts, from crostata to zabaglione and fried cream. The kitchen is managed directly by the agriturismo, which produces and processes many of its own raw ingredients.

Musical Evenings and Conferences

In addition to dinner and telescopes, Astro Gastro livens up its evenings with themed conferences dedicated to astronomy and scientific dissemination, as well as some live musical evenings. The informal and family-friendly atmosphere, set in the countryside of the Bassa Ferrarese, makes it a perfect Ferragosto event for families, sky enthusiasts, and food lovers, far from the crowds of larger festivals.

A Signature Event of the Bondeno Area

Astro Gastro has become a summer classic in Bondeno and the Emilia-Romagna region, transforming an evening at an agriturismo into a small journey through the flavors of the plain and the wonders of the cosmos. It demonstrates how even a small town in the province of Ferrara can offer a unique experience.