Graffignanese Pizza Festival

A pizza that tells the story of a village

The Graffignanese Pizza Festival is one of the most authentic small gastronomic events in northern Lazio. It is held in Graffignano, a town of just over two thousand inhabitants in the province of Viterbo, in the heart of the Tuscia region. The event revolves around a single star: the Graffignanese pizza, a baked product that local families have been preparing since at least the early 20th century.

What is Graffignanese pizza?

It should not be confused with standard pizzeria pizza. The Graffignanese is a red oven-baked pizza with a thick, intentionally oily base, covered with a generous topping of fresh tomatoes, garlic, and above all mentuccia (wild mint), an aromatic herb that grows spontaneously in the surrounding countryside, giving it an unmistakable flavor profile. Only more recently has pecorino cheese been added, which many now consider an essential part of the recipe.

Family memory traces it back to the early 1900s: the elders of Graffignano remember eating it as children, when they would bring wood to the neighborhood oven and the pizza was baked before the bread, taking advantage of the intense heat. It was a humble, seasonal food, linked to summer and the ripening of tomatoes in the garden.

From home tradition to village festival

The event was born from the initiative of the Panificio Fratelli Oddo, a historic local business run by Placido, Andrea, Enrica, and Benedetta Oddo together with their mother, Isolina. The idea is simple and clear: to prevent a preparation handed down only within families from being lost, and to let visitors taste it too. The first edition took place in 2023; by 2025, the festival reached its third year, establishing itself as a staple of the Graffignano summer.

How it works

The festival is held in Piazza Marconi, in the town center, and maintains a deliberately simple, village-style structure:

• Tasting of Graffignanese pizza baked on-site, served by the slice and hot
• Tasting of other Tuscia baked goods, from bread to seasoned focaccias
• Tables in the square and evening service, typically starting after sunset
• Convivial village atmosphere with music and light entertainment

The format is typical of Lazio Region food festivals: no elaborate sets, just a specific product well-presented and served by those who make it every day.

Graffignano and the surrounding Tuscia

Graffignano is located on the left bank of the Tiber, between Viterbo and the Umbrian border, dominated by Castello Baglioni, an imposing 16th-century building that defines the village skyline. The hamlet of Sipicciano, also part of the municipality, hosts other summer food festivals, making it easy for those visiting the area between June and August to create a multi-stop itinerary. All around is the Viterbo Tuscia: the tuff villages, Bomarzo with its Park of the Monsters, Lake Bolsena, and Viterbo itself with its medieval San Pellegrino district.

Why visit

The Graffignanese Pizza Festival is not a major event, and it does not pretend to be. It is the kind of gathering that allows you to taste something you won't find elsewhere, in the village where the product was born, served by the very people who protect the recipe. For those traveling in the province of Viterbo in August, it is a brief but authentic stop.