Colla Grape Mostarda Festival

A celebration born from the harvest

The Colla Grape Mostarda Festival takes place in the village of Colla Maffone, a hamlet of Librizzi in the province of Messina, nestled in the heart of the Nebrodi mountains overlooking the Gulf of Patti. The event is passionately organized by the U Schiticchiu Cultural Association and celebrates grape mostarda, the dessert that marks the end of the harvest season and has filled village homes with its aroma for generations as autumn arrives.

Grape mostarda, the star of the festival

The absolute star is grape mostarda, a traditional peasant dessert made from cooked grape must, sweetened with wood ash, and thickened with flour to create a pudding-like cream with a sweet, yet never cloying, flavor. It is the perfect expression of the peasant philosophy of wasting nothing: what remains from the harvest is transformed into a precious dessert. During the festival, the mostarda is prepared and served fresh, often accompanied by homemade bread and local wine.

Street food, tradition, and music

The festival is more than just a tasting; it is a true village celebration that brings the squares of Colla to life with stalls offering local products—hazelnuts and almonds, olive oil, wine, orange blossom honey, fresh cheeses, and whole-wheat bread, all excellences of the Librizzi countryside—alongside Sicilian street food. Evenings are filled with folk music, dancing, traditional performances, and live entertainment in an authentic and welcoming atmosphere.

An autumn appointment in the Nebrodi

Having reached its third edition by 2023, the festival has firmly established itself as one of the most cherished autumn food and wine events in the Messina area. In recent years, the event has shifted from September to October to follow the rhythms of the harvest. Colla Maffone, reachable in just a few minutes from the Patti motorway exit, becomes a meeting point for curious visitors, food lovers, and tourists eager to discover a rare dessert and a genuine corner of Sicily's interior.