Frisa Festival

The festival celebrating the bread of Salento

Every year, in the first days of July, the historic center of Matino, a small town in the province of Lecce just a few kilometers from Gallipoli, comes alive with one of the most beloved gastronomic festivals in lower Salento: the Frisa Festival. At the heart of the celebration is the frisa (also called friseddha or frisella), the typical Salento twice-baked bread: a ring of bread baked in a wood-fired oven, cut halfway through cooking, and baked again to become crunchy and long-lasting.

What is a frisa

The frisa has its roots in the peasant and maritime traditions of the Mediterranean: for centuries, it was the bread of sailors and field workers, precisely because it keeps for a long time and only requires a little water to make it soft again. Before being eaten, it must be softened in water, then seasoned simply and generously with hand-crushed fresh tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil from Salento, salt, and oregano. In Matino, the variations are endless: arugula, tuna, onions, vegetables, and all sorts of local toppings transform a humble dish into a small feast of flavor.

Not just frisa: the flavors of Salento

During the festival, food stalls set up along the streets and squares of the town also offer many other specialties of Salento cuisine. Alongside the star of the show, you can taste:

• pucce, Salento sandwiches often enriched with olives;
• pittule, the classic leavened dough fritters;
• bombette and other grilled meat preparations;
• local wines, from Negroamaro to Primitivo, which accompany the tastings.

Music, folklore, and village atmosphere

The Frisa Festival is not just about food: the evenings are enlivened by live music and folk performances, with the pizzica and Salento popular traditions providing the soundtrack. It is a free-entry event designed for families, curious visitors, and travelers who want to experience the most authentic side of Salento, far from the major tourist flows of the coast.

A staple of the Salento summer

Now in its third decade, the Frisa Festival has firmly established itself in the calendar of summer festivals in Salento and represents a moment of great popular participation for Matino. Strolling through the stalls with a frisa in hand, in the shade of the historic center's buildings, is the best way to discover the food and wine culture of this corner of Puglia.