Cimini Festival
The travelling food and wine festival of the Cimini Mountains, featuring show cooking, tastings, and walks through the Tuscia region.
About Cimini Festival
A widespread festival in the heart of the Cimini Mountains
The Cimini Festival is a travelling food and wine celebration created to showcase the agricultural excellence, culinary heritage, and scenic beauty of the Cimini Mountains Mountain Community, in the province of Viterbo, Lazio region. The first edition took place from June 17th to 21st, 2026, spanning five days across the villages of Canepina, Vetralla, Vignanello, Vallerano, and Ronciglione, the trails of Monte Fogliano, and Lake Vico, before concluding in the Municipality of Soriano nel Cimino with a grand celebration at the Orsini Castle.
The agricultural excellence of Tuscia
The Cimini Mountains are one of the richest areas in Tuscia for food and agriculture: this is the home of the Cimini chestnut and hazelnut, the extra virgin olive oil from the hills of Vetralla, volcanic wines grown on lava-rich soils around Lake Vico, freshwater fish, and a confectionery tradition featuring fricciolose and tozzetti. The Cimini Festival connects these products and their producers, under the gastronomic direction of expert Carlo Zucchetti, involving chefs, university professors, and environmental guides.
Show cooking, tastings, and walks
The festival format alternates different events in each village. At the Museum of Popular Traditions in Canepina, traditional pasta takes center stage in signature show cooking sessions; in Vetralla, extra virgin olive oil is tasted under the guidance of sensory analysis experts from the University of Tuscia; at the DiVino Museum in Vignanello, the region's volcanic wines are showcased; and in Vallerano and Ronciglione, the focus shifts to traditional sweets and lake fish. Saturday is dedicated to nature, with tasting walks led by AIGAE guides through the Monte Fogliano beech forest and along Lake Vico.
The grand finale in Soriano nel Cimino
The final day brings life to Soriano nel Cimino, a village dominated by the Orsini Castle. From late morning until evening, the market exhibition brings together producers from the Cimini Mountains with stands for tasting and purchasing local specialties, while Slow Food Viterbo and Tuscia hosts workshops for children and families dedicated to discovering local produce. In the afternoon, a public conference, "Journey through Tuscia: beauty and territory protection as a resource," brings together administrators, scholars, and food tourism experts to discuss the sustainable development of the area.
A project for the territory
The event is promoted by the Cimini Mountains Mountain Community in collaboration with the Lake Vico Nature Reserve and supported by ARSIAL and the Lazio Region. More than just a local festival, the Cimini Festival is a territorial enhancement project aimed at using food and wine as a lever for slow, high-quality tourism throughout the Viterbo Tuscia region, in an area that combines medieval villages, UNESCO-recognized beech forests, and volcanic landscapes unique to Lazio.
Cimini Festival — edition 2026
The inaugural edition of the Cimini Festival brought the agricultural excellence of Tuscia to the forefront for five days, with a calendar spread across seven locations in the Cimini Mountains Mountain Community. Gastronomic direction was entrusted to Carlo Zucchetti, with the participation of chefs, professors from the University of Tuscia, and AIGAE environmental guides.
The final day at the Orsini Castle in Soriano nel Cimino brought local producers together in a market exhibition open from 11:30 AM to 8:00 PM, featuring workshops for children organized by Slow Food Viterbo and Tuscia and the conference "Journey through Tuscia: beauty and territory protection as a resource," attended by, among others, the commissioner of the Mountain Community Fabio Menicacci and the Soriano councillor for culture and tourism Rachele Chiani.
Programme Cimini Festival 2026
Program of the first edition
- Wednesday, June 17 — Canepina, Museum of Popular Traditions, 5:00 PM: "It's not just a matter of shape: pasta and its dialects," show cooking on traditional pasta with chefs Felice Arletti, Assunta Stacchiotti, and Lorenzo Iozzia.
- Thursday, June 18 — Vetralla, 6:00 PM: "Discover, explore, tell: a journey into the world of E.V.O.," guided tasting of extra virgin olive oil with Diana De Santis (University of Tuscia); Vignanello, DiVino Museum, 9:30 PM: "Lava roots: the region's volcanic wines," tasting led by Carlo Zucchetti.
- Friday, June 19 — Vallerano, Church of Sant'Andrea, 6:00 PM: "Different bites: fricciolose and tozzetti," show cooking on traditional sweets with the Kalipè Association; Ronciglione, Piazza degli Angeli, 6:00 PM: "Healthy as a fish," show cooking on freshwater fish with Gioia Ruggeri.
- Saturday, June 20 — Monte Fogliano, 10:00 AM: tasting walk in the Monteggiato beech forest; Lake Vico, 5:30 PM: walk with tasting of local products, with environmental guide Ilaria Maccarrone (AIGAE).
- Sunday, June 21 — Soriano nel Cimino, Orsini Castle: 11:30 AM - 8:00 PM market exhibition of Cimini Mountains local products; 5:30 PM conference "Journey through Tuscia: beauty and territory protection as a resource" with Professor Giovanni Perri and local administrators; 5:30 PM children's workshop curated by Slow Food Viterbo and Tuscia.
Highlights Cimini Festival 2026
- Market exhibition of local products at the Orsini Castle in Soriano nel Cimino
- Tasting of volcanic wines at the DiVino Museum in Vignanello
- Tasting walks in the Monte Fogliano beech forest and at Lake Vico
- Show cooking featuring pasta, traditional sweets, and lake fish
- Children's workshops with Slow Food Viterbo and Tuscia
Prices Cimini Festival 2026
Practical information — Cimini Festival
How to get there
The final day takes place in Soriano nel Cimino (VT), accessible by car from the A1 motorway (Orte exit, then SP Ortana) or from Viterbo in about 20 minutes. Other festival stops include Canepina, Vetralla, Vignanello, Vallerano, Ronciglione, Monte Fogliano, and Lake Vico.
Admission and bookings
All activities are free to attend, but booking is required for show cooking, tastings, and walks (tel. +39 375 8514962, email [email protected]). The market exhibition in Soriano nel Cimino is free of charge.
Tips
For the tasting walks at Monte Fogliano and Lake Vico, trekking shoes and water are recommended; places are limited, so booking in advance is advised.
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Where does it take place — Cimini Festival
Castello Orsini e borghi dei Monti Cimini
Via della Rocca, 01038 Soriano nel Cimino