Olive Oil and Olive Festival and Acquacotta Festival

A weekend dedicated to the green gold of Tuscia

Every December, Montefiascone, in the province of Viterbo, transforms into the capital of Lazio's extra virgin olive oil. The Olive Oil and Olive Festival was created to introduce the public to the new oil fresh from local mills: a product that here is not just an ingredient, but the fruit of a landscape of ancient olive groves overlooking Lake Bolsena. The event is held in the municipal Prato Giardino of Piazzale Roma, just a few steps from the historic center and the Rocca dei Papi.

Market exhibition, tastings, and show cooking

The heart of the festival is the market exhibition of local producers, where mills and farms of the Tuscia region offer tastings and sales of the year's extra virgin oil along with other typical products. A busy program of events develops around the market:

• Guided tasting sessions with expert tasters to learn how to recognize fruity, bitter, and spicy notes
• Show cooking with local chefs, demonstrating how to enhance oil raw and in cooking
• Slow Food workshops and meetings with the Gambero Rosso Extra Virgin Olive Oil Guide
• Conferences on the nutritional and health properties of oil and the Mediterranean diet
• Olive pruning demonstrations led by agronomists, designed for olive growers and the curious
• Educational workshops for children and guided tours of the historic center

The Acquacotta Festival

The Acquacotta Festival takes place on the same weekend, dedicated to the signature dish of the Tuscia region's peasant cuisine: a soup of wild greens, stale bread, and egg, made precious by a drizzle of raw extra virgin olive oil. The event is traditionally held at the Oleificio Le Mosse, along the Via Cassia, with a full menu including a rustic appetizer, acquacotta, buglione-style stew, dessert, digestif, and coffee, accompanied by Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone DOC wine. The organization is managed by the Santa Maria del Giglio Festival Committee.

Montefiascone and its territory

Overlooking Lake Bolsena, Montefiascone is one of the most evocative villages in northern Lazio: the Rocca dei Papi, the Basilica of San Flaviano, and the view over the lake provide a natural backdrop for the festival. The choice of December is not accidental: the event aims to promote the area and create tourist flow in the off-season, when the village also lights up with Christmas illuminations and events.

Organizers

The event is promoted by the Montefiascone in Vetrina Business Network, which brings together dozens of local businesses, with the patronage and collaboration of the Municipality of Montefiascone, the Agriculture Council, and the Pro Loco, with the support of the Lazio Region. A promotion model that unites farmers, restaurateurs, and merchants around an identity-defining product.

Why it is worth visiting

The Olive Oil and Olive Festival is a rare opportunity to taste freshly pressed extra virgin olive oil directly from the hands of those who produce it, and to understand the work behind a bottle. Between a tasting and a conference, the Acquacotta Festival completes the experience with a convivial lunch that is, in itself, a piece of the history of the Viterbo countryside.