Cherry and Rose Festival

A historic festival on the slopes of Mount Etna

The Cherry and Rose Festival is one of the most deeply rooted traditional events in the Etna area. It takes place in Macchia di Giarre, a hamlet of the municipality of Giarre, in the province of Catania, in the heart of eastern Sicily. The festival brings the characteristic Piazza San Vito to life, transforming it for a few days into a large open-air market dedicated to the fruits of the earth and Sicilian folk traditions.

The origins: from 1953 to today

The festival began in 1953, stemming from an ancient rural celebration linked to the cherry harvest—a fruit cultivated in these parts of Mount Etna since the first half of the 18th century. The area has always been renowned for cherries of extraordinary quality and size, so much so that the event was long considered the Ionian rival to the famous Almond Blossom Festival in Agrigento. Over the years, the festival has expanded from a single day to a packed calendar of events that attracts visitors from across the province.

What to see and taste

The heart of the festival is the cherry and rose exhibition, featuring the traditional awards ceremony for local excellence. Along the stalls, you will find fresh cherries and their derivatives: jams, preserves, marmalades, juices, ice creams, sweets, and liqueurs, alongside local food, wine, and artistic crafts.

• Food and wine stalls and a fair of typical Etna products
• Parades of Sicilian carts and a gathering of traditional costumes from Southern Italy
• Performances by folk groups and presentations of Sicilian folklore
• Puppet theater (Opera dei Pupi) shows and artistic craft exhibitions
• Exhibition of roses grown in the local area

A popular and free event

The event, organized by the Municipality of Giarre, is free and open to the public. It is an opportunity to discover an authentic Sicily, made of agricultural traditions, folk music, and genuine flavors, in a village overlooking the Ionian Sea and dominated by the mass of Mount Etna. For decades, the festival has been a landmark of the cultural summer in the province of Catania and all of Sicily.