Moricone Arrosticini Festival

A youthful festival in the heart of the Roman Sabina

The Moricone Arrosticini Festival is one of the most popular gastronomic events of the summer in the Roman Sabina area. Launched just a few years ago by the Associazione Giovani Moricone, with the support of the municipal administration, it has quickly become a fixed mid-June appointment for the residents of Moricone and visitors arriving from the surrounding towns in the province of Rome, Lazio.

The heart of the celebration is Piazza Sante Aureli, the village's main square, which transforms for two nights into a large open-air kitchen: glowing charcoal grills, communal tables, food stalls, and a stage for live music.

The arrosticino, the absolute star

The arrosticino is a skewer of sheep meat cut into small cubes, cooked over charcoal in special narrow, long grills known in Abruzzo as fornacella or canala. The tradition hails from the nearby Apennine area and has now become a staple in the Sabina region, a land of shepherding and ancient transhumance routes that for centuries connected Abruzzo to the Roman countryside.

In Moricone, the arrosticini are turned by hand and served piping hot, accompanied by:

• homemade bread drizzled with local extra virgin olive oil;
• sausages and grilled meats for those looking for heartier portions;
• cheeses and local products from the Sabina territory;
• draught beer and cocktails at the bar area, which is very popular in the later part of the evening.

Live music and nights under the stars

Both evenings are enlivened by live concerts and musical entertainment: bands performing tributes and Italian music repertoires, followed late at night by DJ sets that keep the square moving until the early hours. It is a simple, proven formula designed for an intergenerational audience: families and children in the early hours, and young people and groups of friends after dinner.

Over the years, the festival has also hosted related sporting initiatives, organized in collaboration with local associations, which animate the late afternoon before the stalls open.

Moricone, a village to discover

Moricone is located on the slopes of the Lucretili Mountains, just over forty kilometers from Rome, in a panoramic position overlooking the Tiber Valley. The historic center preserves its medieval layout, with narrow alleys, staircases, and the Baronial Palace dominating the town; nearby lies the Lucretili Mountains Regional Natural Park, a destination for hiking and walks.

Attending the festival is therefore also an opportunity to visit a village off the beaten track of mass tourism and to discover a mountain and pastoral cuisine that has deep roots in Lazio.

Atmosphere and spirit of the festival

What strikes first-time visitors most is the self-managed nature of the event: it is the local youth who cook, serve at the tables, and handle the logistics, with the support of families and local associations. The result is a genuine festival with affordable prices, where you can eat well without formality and where the square returns to being the true meeting place for the community.

For those planning a weekend in the Sabina, the Arrosticini Festival is the best way to end a day spent among villages, olive groves, and the trails of the Lucretili Mountains.