Ciammella a Cancellu Festival

A pastry that defines a neighborhood festival

The Ciammella a Cancellu Festival is one of the most cherished summer events in Mentana, a town in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, located just a few kilometers from the capital along the route to the Sabina region. This is no tourist-trap event; it originated as an offshoot of the Rione 5 Pini Festival, a popular neighborhood celebration organized by the local district association since the late nineties, which now draws families, groups of friends, and visitors from neighboring towns every evening.

What is the ciammella a cancellu?

Despite its name, the ciammella a cancellu is not the round shape one might expect: it is molded into a rosette, with strands of dough braided to resemble the decorations on the wrought-iron gates common in local homes. It is a humble, sugar-free pastry that local tradition dates back to the 18th century in Mentana. The dough combines flour, olive oil, eggs, white wine, anise seeds, and anise liqueur; the pastries are first boiled in water, left to rest, and finally baked until golden and crispy on the outside, yet soft within.

The preparation is still entrusted to the families of the district, who take turns working in the days leading up to the festival to fill the baskets displayed under the gazebos. It is this collective effort, more than the sheer quantity of pastries baked, that gives the event its authentic character.

How the event unfolds

The heart of the festival is Piazza Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, recently renovated and inaugurated, which transforms for several evenings into a large open-air space with a stage, stalls, and a children's area. The event typically opens around 6:00 PM, with the largest crowds arriving after dinner.

• Food stalls featuring Lazio cuisine, fried specialties, grilled dishes, and of course, the ciammelle, available for tasting throughout the evening;
• Stalls featuring local products and crafts from the Mentana and Sabina areas;
• Live music every night, with Italian and international cover bands, tribute acts, and entertainment shows;
• Children's entertainment: traditional games, circus performances, and puppet shows;
• A day dedicated to people with disabilities, now a tradition of the festival, organized in collaboration with local social cooperatives;
• Fireworks display to close out one of the main evenings.

Taste and territory

The ciammella pairs perfectly with local wines: in recent years, evening tastings have been paired with labels from wineries in the Monterotondo area, confirming a strong bond with the countryside north of Rome. The Sabina DOP extra virgin olive oil, produced nearby, remains one of the key ingredients of the recipe and one of the threads that connect the pastry to the landscape of olive groves surrounding Mentana.

Why visit

Visitors from Rome will find a genuine, free, family-friendly village festival here, where the cost of an evening is simply the price of a plate and a glass of wine. Mentana is also known for the 1867 Risorgimento battle between the Garibaldi volunteers and the Papal and French troops: the Garibaldi museum and the historic center are well worth a visit in the afternoon before heading to the Rione 5 Pini when the stalls open.

A growing tradition

Reaching its twentieth edition in 2026, held in parallel with the twenty-seventh Rione 5 Pini Festival, the event is now a staple of the Lazio summer calendar, regularly featured by local press alongside other gastronomic events in the Roman province.