Mompeo Fried Pizza Festival

A village festival in the heart of Sabina

The Fried Pizza Festival is one of the most anticipated gastronomic events in the spring calendar of Mompeo, a small town in the province of Rieti, Lazio. For two days, the historic center centers around Piazza Regillo, where stands set up by the Pro Loco and local volunteers serve fried pizza, hand-kneaded and served hot according to a recipe passed down through generations.

Fried pizza, a traditional peasant dish

In Sabina cuisine, fried pizza is not a secondary version of oven-baked pizza, but a dish in its own right: a sheet of leavened dough, flash-fried in hot oil and served in its simplest form, just salted, or stuffed with cured meats, seasonal vegetables, and local cheeses. It originated from the domestic economy of peasant households, when ovens weren't lit daily and the frying pan was the quickest way to serve a hot meal. The festival restores the dignity this dish deserves, pairing it with other local specialties, starting with Sabina extra virgin olive oil, one of the area's recognized excellences.

Tastings, music, and juggling

The event follows the tried-and-tested village festival formula: food and wine tastings accompanied by live music in the evenings and juggling workshops designed primarily for children and families. The setting is outdoors, the tables are shared, and the pace is the slow, friendly rhythm of the Sabina villages, where the celebration is, above all, an opportunity for locals and visitors to meet.

• Food stands with freshly made fried pizza
• Typical Sabina products, extra virgin olive oil, and local wines
• Concerts and musical entertainment in the square
• Juggling workshops and entertainment for children
• Walks through the historic center and visits to the village

Mompeo, a village to discover

Perched on the hills separating the Tiber Valley from the Sabini Mountains, Mompeo has a few hundred inhabitants and retains a clearly visible medieval layout, dominated by Palazzo Orsini-Naro, the town's most iconic building. The festival is a perfect excuse to visit a village that remains off the mass tourism circuit, just over an hour from Rome and a short distance from other Sabina towns like Casaprota, Salisano, and Montenero Sabino, which host their own popular festivals during the same period.

A year-round calendar of festivals

The Mompeo Pro Loco keeps the village lively in every season: from the Feast of Saint Anthony the Abbot in January to Carnival, from the Spring Festival to the summer patronal festivities dedicated to Saint Egidius the Abbot, through to the Olive Oil Festival in autumn and the Polenta Festival in November. The Fried Pizza Festival marks the true beginning of the warm season, when evenings grow longer and the village squares fill up again.

Admission and hospitality

The event is traditionally free to enter: you only pay for what you consume at the stands, with the affordable prices typical of village festivals. The organization is managed by the Pro Loco and the local festival committee, with the patronage of the Municipality of Mompeo.