Chestnut Festival in Bore

An autumn festival in the heart of the Parma Apennines

When autumn paints the woods of the upper Val Ceno in copper, the village of Bore, in the Province of Parma, comes alive for one of its most cherished events: the Chestnut Festival. For about forty years, every second Sunday in October, the village streets fill with scents, colors, and the typical warmth of village festivals in Emilia-Romagna. It's an event that combines gastronomy, tradition, and conviviality, attracting over five thousand visitors from all over the region.

The Bionda di Vezzolacca, queen of the festival

The absolute protagonist is the Bionda di Vezzolacca chestnut, a native variety from this corner of the Apennines on the border between the provinces of Parma and Piacenza. Appreciated for its sweet, floury flesh and its light skin that gives it its name, it is included in the official list of Italy's traditional agro-food products. Along the stalls, you'll find it sold fresh, but it's especially in the form of steaming roasted chestnuts, prepared outdoors, that it wins over young and old as you stroll among the stands.

Among stalls, flavors, and crafts

The day is spent entirely outdoors, along Via Roma and in the village center. The stalls offer typical local products and crafts, while the food stands offer Apennine cuisine specialties accompanied, of course, by chestnuts in all their forms. It's the perfect opportunity to discover the products of the undergrowth and the authentic flavors of this rural territory, far from the major tourist routes.

• Sale of fresh chestnuts and undergrowth products
• Roasted chestnuts prepared along the village streets
• Food stands with Apennine specialties
• Stalls of typical and artisan products

An opportunity to walk too

The festival is often linked to initiatives for the valorization of the territory, such as guided excursions organized on the paths that cross the historic chestnut groves around Bore, between Monte Costaccia and the woods of the upper Val Ceno. A way to experience the day by combining the pleasure of food with that of trekking, discovering the places where the Bionda di Vezzolacca has grown for centuries.