Ciao Estate...Beer Under the Stars

A village festival in the heart of the Bolognese plain

Ciao Estate...Birra sotto le stelle is one of the most beloved summer festivals in Malalbergo, a municipality in the plain north of Bologna, in Emilia-Romagna. For almost thirty years, this event has marked the beginning of the town's summer: it takes place in Piazza Primo Carlini, along Via Nazionale, and transforms the center into a large open-air gathering place where people sit at tables, drink beer, and listen to live music until late at night.

The food stand

The heart of the festival is the food stand, open every evening from 7:00 PM. The kitchen offers the great classics of Emilian tradition and beyond:

• Crescentine, tigelle, and piadine stuffed with local cold cuts
• Grilled arrosticini, offered every evening
• French fries and combo plates with sausage
• Draft beer and soft drinks, to be enjoyed at the tables set up in the square

Reservations are not required: you can sit freely at the tables, in an informal and convivial atmosphere typical of village festivals.

Music and entertainment

Every evening the festival offers live shows and music, with concerts and entertainment that liven up the square until night. Sundays are also dedicated to families, with hobbyist stalls, face painting, and inflatables for the little ones.

When and where

The event traditionally takes place over two long weekends, straddling the end of June and the first few days of July. Admission is free. Malalbergo is easily reachable from Bologna along the Via Nazionale (SS64 Porrettana) or by train on the Bologna–Ferrara line. The event is organized with the patronage of the Municipality of Malalbergo, as part of the event calendar of the Union of Municipalities Terre di Pianura.