Autumn Festival

An autumn evening in the heart of Tuscia

The Autumn Festival is one of the most simple and heartfelt initiatives on the calendar of the Pro Loco of Nepi, in the municipality of Nepi, Viterbo province, at the gateway to the Agro Falisco. It is not a street fair with stalls and lights, but a community dinner: you book your spot, sit together in the hall of the Santa Famiglia Church, and enjoy the best of what the Tuscia autumn has to offer. It is a formula that, year after year, brings together members, families, and curious visitors on one of the coldest nights in November.

The spirit of Saint Martin

The festival takes place in the wake of Saint Martin's Day, November 11th, which throughout northern Lazio marks the moment when, according to the saying, «every must becomes wine». It is the time for new wine, roasted chestnuts, and the first lit fireplaces: a rural tradition that is still very much alive in the Viterbo Tuscia region and which finds a cozy, home-style expression in Nepi, without any spectacular pretensions.

The table: the autumn menu

The menu is built around warm, seasonal dishes. For the 2025 edition, the Pro Loco proposed a now-recognizable sequence:

• Saint Martin appetizer, with local cured meats and products;
• Chickpea and mushroom soup, the signature dish of the evening;
• Mezze maniche pasta with pumpkin and sausage;
• Roasted capocollo pork with plums and apples;
• Traditional dry pastries;
• Roasted chestnuts and new wine to conclude the dinner.

This is a cuisine that does not chase trends: legumes, mushrooms, pumpkin, chestnuts, and pork are exactly what the land of Upper Lazio offers in November, and this is the reason why the formula has been working for years.

Nepi, the village hosting the festival

Nepi is a village of ancient origins, founded by the Falisci, famous for its Borgia Fortress, the 17th-century aqueduct that crosses the center, and the mineral water springs that have made its name known well beyond regional borders. The Pro Loco calendar marks the entire year of the town: the Pecorino and Cooked Salami Festival in May, the Borgia Palio in June, the festivals of Saints Tolomeo and Romano in August, and the Nepi Onion Festival. The Autumn Festival ideally closes this series, bringing the community back indoors and around a single table.

Why it is worth going

Those looking for a show will find little; those looking for the authentic Italy of small towns, however, will find much. The Autumn Festival is an opportunity to get to know the home-style cooking of Tuscia, to talk with those who truly live in Nepi, and to taste a new wine that, in this part of Lazio, is never just a drink but the sign that the agricultural year has ended well. Places are limited by the capacity of the hall: booking is effectively essential.

An event with limited seating

Participation is by reservation at the Pro Loco of Nepi, at via G. Matteotti 32. The dates are not fixed from year to year: the festival generally falls in the second half of November, near the weekend, and is announced a few weeks in advance on the association's channels and the local press of the Viterbo province.