Cauliflower Fritter Festival

A mid-January festival in the heart of the Tuscia region

The Cauliflower Fritter Festival is one of the most cherished winter events in Tuscania, an Etruscan-origin village in the province of Viterbo, in northern Lazio. Now in its 54th edition in 2026, the festival takes place every year in mid-January to honor Saint Anthony Abbot, the protector of animals and patron saint of farmers and breeders. It is a celebration that blends faith, rural traditions, and local farm-to-table gastronomy, featuring cauliflower grown in the surrounding countryside.

The origins: butteri, countryside, and devotion

The festival was born from the initiative of the butteri—the mounted cattle herders of the Lazio Maremma—and specifically the horse breeders of Tuscania, who wanted to combine the religious feast of Saint Anthony Abbot with the distribution of cauliflower fritters, a seasonal specialty. For over half a century, the recipe has been passed down through generations: a simple batter, local cauliflower, and frying in a giant pan set up in the square, resulting in fritters that are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, served either savory or as a sweet treat with powdered sugar.

The butteri parade and the blessing of the animals

The most spectacular moment of the day is the parade of the butteri on horseback, which retraces the path of Saint Anthony through the town's streets—Via Canino, Via XXIV Maggio, Piazzale Trieste, and Viale Trieste—accompanied by the "Raffaele Eusepi" marching band and the folkloric Saint Anthony Abbot float. On Viale Trieste, the blessing of horses and working animals takes place, a rite dear to rural culture, along with the offering of local produce organized in collaboration with Coldiretti during the Holy Mass at the Church of Santa Maria del Riposo.

The giant pan in Piazza Italia

From late morning, Piazza Italia becomes the delicious heart of the festival: Pro Loco volunteers fry and distribute thousands of fritters, while food stalls and markets come to life along Viale Trieste. Admission is free and dishes are offered at affordable prices, in the popular spirit of the Tuscia festivals.

The St. Anthony bonfire

The day concludes at dusk with the lighting of the great St. Anthony bonfire, a tradition widespread throughout central Italy that symbolically marks the end of winter and brings good luck to the new agricultural year. Families, visitors, and the local community gather around the fire.

Why visit

• Taste authentic cauliflower fritters fried in a giant pan, sweet or savory
• See the butteri on horseback up close, heirs to the Maremma equestrian tradition
• Witness the blessing of the animals, a unique rite of rural civilization
• Experience the atmosphere of the St. Anthony bonfire in the medieval historic center
• Discover Tuscania, with its Romanesque basilicas of San Pietro and Santa Maria Maggiore and the Etruscan necropolis

Organized by the Pro Loco of Tuscania with the support of the Municipality of Tuscania, the festival is a perfect opportunity for a winter trip to the Lazio Region, amidst genuine flavors and the authentic folklore of the Viterbo Tuscia.