Lu Paniri te e Site

The pomegranate festival of Palmariggi

Lu Paniri te e Site is the historic festival dedicated to the pomegranate that brings Palmariggi to life every October, a small town in the province of Lecce, in the heart of Salento, Puglia. Reaching its 49th edition in 2025, the event is organized by the Associazione Lu Paniri te e Site with the patronage of the Municipality of Palmariggi, the Province of Lecce, the Puglia Region, the Lecce Chamber of Commerce, and the Pro Loco Montevergine.

The legend of Site

The name of the festival, in Salento dialect, means "the basket of pomegranates": the sita is in fact the pomegranate, the symbolic fruit of Palmariggi. The event refers to the legend of Site, a mythological maiden from whom the pomegranate is said to have been born, which has always been an emblem of fertility and abundance. As the queen of autumn, the pomegranate becomes the absolute protagonist here, from the table to local craftsmanship.

The flavors of rural tradition

On the evenings of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the town center transforms into a grand rustic and pork-themed celebration. The food stalls offer dishes from Salento's culinary memory:

• the paniri te le site, a stuffed bread basket that gives the festival its name;
• the essential fried pittule, chicory with pork, and horse meat stew;
• pork cooked in various ways, wheat bread with ricotta forte and anchovies, roasted chestnuts, and traditional wine;
• a stand entirely dedicated to the pomegranate, with desserts, ice creams, mousses, spumoni, fresh juices, and pomegranate spritz.

Music, pizzica, and craftsmanship

Alongside the gastronomy, the evenings offer performances of folk music and Salento pizzica in Piazza Garibaldi, turning the village into a crossroads of tradition and conviviality. On Sunday morning, the market fair brings the secular and ancient soul of the event back to life, accompanied by a market of handmade Salento crafts. The program is completed by visits to the Pro Loco Montevergine shell museum and art and sculpture exhibitions set up in municipal spaces.

Palmariggi, a village in Salento

Nestled among the olive groves of the Salento hinterland, just a few kilometers from Otranto and the Adriatic coast, Palmariggi preserves the authentic atmosphere of Puglia's small towns. "Lu Paniri te e Site" is the ideal opportunity to discover this corner of Salento off the mass tourism circuits, during a season—autumn—when the countryside yields its most precious fruits.