Lucca Gustosa / Lucca Olive Oil You
Three days dedicated to taste, extra virgin olive oil, and food culture in the heart of Lucca
About Lucca Gustosa
Lucca Gustosa: where taste becomes a story
Every year in early March, the historic center of Lucca, in the heart of Tuscany, fills with aromas and flavors during Lucca Gustosa. This food and wine festival, organized by the Municipality of Lucca, brings together markets, tastings, performances, and cultural encounters. For three days, the prestigious Real Collegio and the city's most beautiful squares—Piazza Napoleone, Piazza San Frediano, Piazza San Martino, and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro—become the stage for a grand collective narrative centered around the table.
The olive oil festival: Lucca Olive Oil You
The beating heart of the event is Lucca Olive Oil You, a festival dedicated to extra virgin olive oil curated by the Accademia Maestrod'Olio. Hosted on the Nobile floor of the Real Collegio, it brings together over 30 Italian artisanal producers and more than 60 extra virgin olive oil labels, offering guided tastings, masterclasses on sensory profiles, and pairings with traditional dishes. Olive oil thus becomes the protagonist, not just as a product, but as a pillar of a healthy food culture deeply rooted in the territory.
Markets, festivals, and local products
Lucca's squares come alive with the event's markets: the Coldiretti and Confartigianato farmers' market in Piazza Napoleone, the Festival of Italian Traditions showcasing regional excellence in Piazza San Frediano, the street food of Il Gusto dell'Italia in piazza in Piazza San Martino, and Lucca in Vino in Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, featuring 300 labels from across Italy for tasting. Under the Loggiato of Palazzo Pretorio, La Loggia del Gusto promotes local DE.C.O. products and traditional village festivals, from Aquilea soup to Sant'Angelo tordelli.
Food culture and special guests
Under the artistic direction of Peppone Calabrese, a familiar face from the Rai Uno show Linea Verde, Lucca Gustosa offers a packed program of talks, conferences, and masterclasses with anthropologists, journalists, and key figures in Italian gastronomy, alongside theatrical performances, show cooking, and family workshops. The event explores how food is memory, identity, and heritage, in full alignment with the candidacy of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Lucca, a city of taste in Tuscany
As the capital of its namesake province, Lucca is one of Tuscany's most beloved art cities, enclosed within its famous Renaissance walls. Lucca Gustosa combines the discovery of the city's heritage with the pleasures of the table, offering residents and visitors a unique opportunity to savor the food and wine soul of the Lucca area.
Lucca Gustosa — edition 2026
The 2026 edition of Lucca Gustosa brought Lucca to life from March 6th to 8th with a rich program spanning the Real Collegio, the city's squares, and the Ostello San Frediano. The common thread was food as a narrative of the territory, a theme developed by artistic director Peppone Calabrese and numerous talks with journalists and scholars. Great emphasis was placed on extra virgin olive oil with Lucca Olive Oil You, markets showcasing Italian excellence, and Lucca in Vino, featuring 300 labels for tasting in Piazza dell'Anfiteatro.
Programme Lucca Gustosa 2026
Friday, March 6
- 17:30 — Real Collegio, Sala del Capitolo: Inauguration and institutional greetings for Lucca Gustosa and Lucca Olive Oil You (free entry)
- 18:00 — "When food tells the story of a territory", storytelling by Peppone Calabrese
- 19:15 / 20:15 — "A tavola", theatrical performance by EAT Enogastronomia a teatro
- 20:30 — Ostello San Frediano: "I feel food", tasting and DJ set with Luca Maffei and Inpasti San Frediano (35 euros, by reservation)
Saturday, March 7
- 10:00 / 19:00 — Markets in the squares: Campagna Amica (Piazza Napoleone), Festival of Italian Traditions (Piazza San Frediano), Il Gusto dell'Italia in piazza (Piazza San Martino), Lucca in Vino with 300 labels (Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, from 15:00)
- 10:00 / 19:00 — Real Collegio, Nobile floor: Lucca Olive Oil You, extra virgin olive oil festival curated by Accademia Maestrod'Olio (free entry)
- 11:00 / 12:00 — "Visual Food: comics, artificial intelligence, and imagination", masterclass by Giulio and Silvio Giordano
- 12:00 / 13:30 — Show cooking with Chef Hiro (Hirohiko Shoda), ambassador of Japanese cuisine (30 euros)
- 16:00 / 17:00 — "Food, media, and local stories", conference with Angelo Mellone (Rai) and other guests
- 18:00 / 19:00 — Show cooking with Valentina Alunno, peasant cook from Unomattina (20 euros)
- 20:30 — Ostello San Frediano: "Dinner with the Fornelle" by the Club del Fornello (35 euros)
Sunday, March 8
- 10:00 / 19:00 — Markets in the squares and Lucca Olive Oil You at the Real Collegio
- 10:30 / 11:30 — "What is Italian cuisine", lectio magistralis by anthropologist Marino Niola
- 12:00 / 13:30 — Extra virgin olive oil tasting guided by Maestrod'Olio Fausto Borella
- 15:00 / 16:00 — "The great vintages of Fèlsina: Tuscan Sangiovese", wine tasting
- 16:00 / 16:45 — "Italian cuisine: why is it a World Heritage?", masterclass by Davide Rampello
- 16:30 / 17:30 — "Olive oil risotto" show cooking with Ristorante Miglio (free)
- 18:00 / 19:00 — "Olive oil desserts" show cooking with Fabbrica del Buccellato Taddeucci (free)
- 18:15 / 19:15 — "...and he broke the bread. The Last Supper", monologue by Federico Quaranta
- 20:30 — IMT Alti Studi: "14-hand dinner" with the osterias from the 2026 Slow Food Guide (45 euros)
Highlights Lucca Gustosa 2026
Most anticipated moments: the opening storytelling by Peppone Calabrese, show cooking with Chef Hiro and Valentina Alunno, extra virgin olive oil tasting with Maestrod'Olio Fausto Borella, the lectio magistralis by Marino Niola and Davide Rampello on Italian cuisine, and the monologue by Federico Quaranta. In Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, Lucca in Vino featured 300 labels from all over Italy.
Prices Lucca Gustosa 2026
Practical information — Lucca Gustosa
Getting there
The Real Collegio is located in Piazza del Collegio, in the historic center of Lucca, just a short walk from the train station (Florence-Viareggio and Lucca-Aulla lines). By car, take the Lucca exit on the A11 Firenze-Mare motorway; parking just outside the city walls is recommended, from where the center is easily reachable on foot.
Admission and bookings
Markets, tastings in the squares, and entry to Lucca Olive Oil You are free. Many show cooking sessions, masterclasses, and dinners require a fee (from 8 to 45 euros) and advance booking, with limited seating. For information: tel. +39 0583 442213 — [email protected].
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Where does it take place — Lucca Gustosa
Real Collegio e piazze del centro storico
Piazza del Collegio 13, 55100 Lucca