Kalterer Marktfest / Caldaro Village Festival

A festival that serves as the beating heart of Caldaro

The Kalterer Marktfest is the most anticipated village festival in Caldaro sulla strada del vino (Kaltern an der Weinstraße), a picturesque wine-growing municipality in the province of Bolzano, in Trentino-Alto Adige. For over thirty years, at the end of July, the entire historic center transforms into a large open-air stage: the Market Square (Marktplatz) and the surrounding streets fill with stalls, music stages, and thousands of visitors who crowd the town until late at night.

The program and traditional opening

The event opens with a characteristic inaugural parade led by the Bürgerkapelle Kaltern, the local brass band, accompanied by delegations from the Caldaro sports association and the folk dance group. It is a powerful moment of identity that brings together the numerous local associations (the "Kalterer Vereine") that organize the event.

• Live music and concerts on stages set up in the square, lasting until the early hours of the morning;
• Bull riding, the fun and spectacular mechanical bull competition;
• Tombola (bingo) and prize games;
• Frühschoppen, the traditional morning musical aperitif on the second day, in the best South Tyrolean tradition.

South Tyrolean gastronomy

The real star of the Kalterer Marktfest is the food. The numerous stalls around the square offer regional specialties from South Tyrol and several dishes that have become festival classics:

• Apricot dumplings (Marillenknödel), a sweet symbol of the summer season;
• Porcini mushroom risotto;
• Grilled spareribs;
• Mixed fried fish;
• Wines from the famous Wine Road and local beers.

Tradition, community, and the Weinstraße

Caldaro is one of the most well-known villages on the South Tyrolean Wine Road, famous for its swimmable lake and the vineyards surrounding the town. The Marktfest, along with the Weinfest in mid-August, is one of the events that best captures the soul of this bilingual community, where German and Italian cultures intertwine. It is an authentically popular festival where entire families and different generations gather to enjoy the warm summer nights of Trentino-Alto Adige.