Bread Festival

The Zagarolo Bread Festival

Every summer, at the end of July, the Municipality of Zagarolo, located in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital and the Lazio Region, dedicates an entire evening to its simplest and most universal product: bread. The Bread Festival, reaching its seventeenth edition in 2026, has become one of the most anticipated and well-attended events in the local calendar. Organized by the Pro Loco Zagarolo in collaboration with local associations and citizens, and supported by the Municipality, the event brings the historic center to life along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, offering an evening gastronomic tour that attracts visitors from across the area east of the Capital.

Bread as the common thread

The festival's formula is as simple as it is delicious: bread is the common thread of the entire evening, showcased through tastings, meetings, and recipes rooted in local culinary memory. The stalls set up along the route—there were about twenty in the 2025 edition—offer traditional dishes where bread is the star, ranging from humble peasant recipes to creative reinterpretations by local bakeries, associations, and volunteers. There is something for everyone: in past editions, a stall with gluten-free options was also available.

The evening's format

Participation is simple: purchase a 5-euro ticket, which entitles you to four tastings of your choice along the route. It is a convivial way to stroll through the alleys of the historic center while sampling specialties from the stalls. The evening begins at sunset and is accompanied, as in previous years, by music and entertainment. In 2025, for instance, the festival concluded in Piazza Indipendenza with the Miss Sorriso Lazio event, a regional stage of the Miss Italia pageant, with free admission.

Taste and solidarity

The Bread Festival is more than just gastronomy: the entire proceeds from the event are donated to charity and solidarity initiatives. This distinctive feature makes it a true community event, successfully blending the promotion of local flavors with a commitment to those in need.

Zagarolo, a village of taste between Rome and the Colli Prenestini

Nestled on a tuff spur between Rome and Palestrina, Zagarolo is a village with a strong food and wine identity. It produces a DOC white wine bearing the town's name and specialties like the 'tordo matto', and in autumn, it hosts one of the oldest grape festivals in Italy. The Bread Festival fits perfectly into this rich summer calendar, alongside theatrical and musical performances hosted in the spectacular Palazzo Rospigliosi. For those visiting Lazio in summer, the festival is the perfect opportunity to discover the historic center of Zagarolo in its most authentic and convivial atmosphere.

The 2026 Edition

The seventeenth edition of the Bread Festival is scheduled for Saturday, July 25, 2026, starting at 8:00 PM, in the historic center of Zagarolo. The usual formula is confirmed: a gastronomic tour among the stalls, a 5-euro ticket for four tastings of your choice, and proceeds dedicated to charity.