Ju Salavaticu Festival

A festival born around a fritter

The Ju Salavaticu Festival is the most iconic summer event in Roviano, a hilltop village in the Aniene Valley, located within the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region. For one evening, Piazza della Repubblica transforms into a bustling open-air kitchen: around steaming pans, cooks fry the wild mint-scented fritters that give the festival its name, while wine flows and folk music fills the air until late at night.

Ju salavaticu, the humble bread of harvesters

Ju salavaticu is a circular fritter of extraordinary simplicity: two handfuls of flour mixed with water and salt, leaves of wild Roman mint gathered in the fields, and a quick fry in boiling oil—a couple of minutes per side until crisp and fragrant. It was the snack that the women of Roviano prepared for their husbands working in the fields: they carried them in canistrelle, woven baskets balanced on their heads, along with wild herbs and wine diluted with water. This peasant food, now preserved primarily by the village elders, is listed in the Slow Food Foundation's Ark of Taste, which recognizes its value as a testament to the rural civilization of the upper Aniene Valley. An essential recipe, almost impossible to find on restaurant menus, it has survived thanks to home cooking and this festival, which brings it back to the square every year.

The celebration in Piazza della Repubblica

The festival follows the genuine format of traditional village fairs: the fritters are prepared and fried to order in large pans and served piping hot, accompanied by grilled sausages and local wine. Around the tasting stalls, live music, dancing, and traditional games create a convivial atmosphere that brings together locals and visitors from the valley and Rome alike. In the 2025 edition, the folk music group I Trillanti performed their show Tradizione 2.0, enlivening the square until late at night.

Roots in rural civilization

Historically, the festival took place on the last Sunday of August and re-enacted agricultural life in the square: barley threshing using traditional methods, broom-making with sorghum stalks tied with twine and reeds, and women in traditional costumes with baskets on their heads. Recent editions have moved to July, but the festival retains this spirit of re-enactment and transmission: tasting ju salavaticu means connecting directly with the community's memory.

Roviano and the Museum of Rural Civilization

The bond between the festival and rural memory is no coincidence: the Municipality of Roviano houses the Museum of Rural Civilization of the Aniene Valley within the Brancaccio Castle. Founded in 1980 and moved to the castle in 2001, it is the oldest ethnographic museum in Lazio. A visit to the museum is the perfect complement to the festival, as is a stroll through the narrow streets of the village overlooking the Via Tiburtina Valeria, halfway between Tivoli and Subiaco.

A tradition guarded by the Pro Loco

The festival is organized by the Pro Loco of Roviano, which in recent years has included the event in the village's summer calendar. The 2026 edition is scheduled for Saturday, July 18, starting at 5:00 PM in Piazza della Repubblica: a perfect opportunity to discover one of the most authentic and hidden flavors in the province of Rome.