Maccaruni Tunni and Strozzapreti Festival

Two traditional pastas from Agosta

The Maccaruni Tunni and Strozzapreti Festival is the summer event where the town of Agosta, in the heart of the Aniene Valley, rediscovers and serves up two first courses from its rural heritage. Maccaruni tunni are spaghetti made from an egg-and-flour dough, cut using the chitarra—a wooden tool with parallel wire strings that gives the pasta its uniform shape; they were once a special-occasion dish, served during community celebrations.

Strozzapreti are made from the same dough but take a different form: cut like gnocchi and then rolled by hand with light pressure, they retain the perfect texture to hold the sauce. At the festival, both pastas are prepared according to techniques passed down through generations.

The «coju pistacchiu» sauce

The true secret of the dish is the dressing, the «coju pistacchiu» sauce: despite the local name, it contains no pistachios. Instead, the name refers to the fact that it is crushed (pestato) in a wooden mortar, once found in every kitchen. Celery, carrots, garlic, onions, basil, savory, and salt are combined in the mortar; the mixture is then sautéed in local olive oil before adding the tomatoes. The result is a thick, fragrant sauce that clings perfectly to the rough pasta, creating a balance of textures and flavors typical of the Lazio region.

A community celebration in Piazza San Nicola

Organized by the Pro Loco of Agosta, the event brings Piazza San Nicola to life on a summer evening. Food stalls open in the late afternoon, offering a full dinner at popular prices, designed to let everyone taste the village's specialties. In the evening, the square fills with live music, communal tables, lively conversation, and the genuine atmosphere of a Roman countryside village festival. Now in its 17th year as of 2024, the festival is a staple of Agosta's summer, drawing visitors from neighboring towns in the valley.

Agosta and the Aniene Valley

The Municipality of Agosta is a small town in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region, nestled on the slopes of the Aniene Valley, a short distance from Subiaco and its Benedictine monasteries. It is a land of water, forests, and deep-rooted culinary traditions, where the humble peasant cuisine of the past has become a source of local identity. The festival is the perfect opportunity to combine a trip to the valley with the discovery of authentic flavors that are hard to find elsewhere.