Hazelnut Festival

The Raccuja Hazelnut Festival

In the heart of the Nebrodi Mountains, the village of Raccuja (Messina province, Sicily) dedicates an entire day to its agricultural excellence: the hazelnut. The Hazelnut Festival is a local fair organized by the Unione Giovani Raccujesi (U.G.R.), a group of local youths who have been enlivening the town for years with initiatives aimed at promoting local products and showcasing the beauty of the historic center.

The gastronomic trail

The heart of the event is the gastronomic trail that winds along Via Butera: a sequence of stalls where the Nebrodi hazelnut is presented in a thousand ways, from savory recipes to desserts. Specialties that visitors can sample include macaroni rolls with hazelnut crumble, hazelnut pasta with mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, cannoli and crepes with hazelnut cream, gelato, pastries, cookies, and even artisanal spirits and liqueurs made from the local fruit. Alongside the food stalls, you will find the craft market and stalls featuring typical local products.

Music and entertainment

The day is enriched with live music, with performances animating the village streets until evening. Past editions have featured local bands that accompanied the festival with popular and entertainment repertoires, transforming the historic center into an open-air stage.

Urban trekking through history and art

A distinctive feature of the Raccuja festival is the urban trekking, a guided walk to discover the town's heritage: the Castello Branciforti, the Silk Museum, the open-air art gallery, the Mother Church, and the ancient alleys of the village. A proposal that combines the gastronomic dimension of the festival with cultural discovery, inviting visitors to experience Raccuja in all its facets.

A Nebrodi highlight

Included in the calendar of festivals in the Nebrodi Mountains, the Raccuja Hazelnut Festival is an opportunity to discover a municipality in inland Sicily far from mass tourism routes, where hazelnut cultivation is an integral part of the landscape and identity. The event helps promote the entire local supply chain and support the economy of the small town in the Messina area.