Panorami – Book Festival

A literary festival overlooking Lake Bolsena

Panorami – Book Festival is the summer literary event held in Montefiascone, in the province of Viterbo, in the heart of the Tuscia region of Lazio. Established in 2023, the event has quickly become one of the most anticipated cultural highlights of the summer in northern Lazio, thanks to a simple yet successful formula: bringing books and their authors to the town's main square, in a landscape setting that is hard to match.

The name of the event is no coincidence. Montefiascone stretches across a volcanic hill overlooking Lake Bolsena, and from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, the view sweeps across the water and the surrounding hills. It is precisely this panorama that gives the festival its name and constitutes its most recognizable element: the meetings take place outdoors on summer evenings, when the temperature becomes milder and the square transforms into a large open-air salon.

The formula: meetings, presentations, and debate

Panorami is not a book fair with stands and sales counters, but a series of meetings with authors. Each evening offers a succession of presentations and conversations, conducted as public interviews, ranging from fiction to non-fiction, and from investigative journalism to current political and social issues. The artistic direction is entrusted to Giacomo Barelli, while the organization is managed by the Compagnia del Teatro – Caffeina Eventi association of Viterbo, the same team behind the Caffeina Festival, in collaboration with the Municipality of Montefiascone.

The program alternates nationally renowned names—established writers, prominent journalists, essayists, and intellectuals—with a space reserved for local authors from Tuscia, who can present their work to a local audience. Over the years, the festival has hosted singers, directors, television presenters, and psychiatrists, reflecting a deliberately cross-disciplinary program that weaves together books, entertainment, and civil reflection.

Panorami OFF, the August extension

The main festival is accompanied by Panorami OFF, an independent section that takes place in the first ten days of August, also in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. The format of Panorami OFF is more markedly oriented towards non-fiction and current affairs: here, political, historical, and scientific editorial novelties take center stage, with a more intimate pace compared to the July evenings.

Montefiascone, between wine and heritage

Those who visit the festival will find much more than just a square. Montefiascone is famous throughout Italy for its white wine, the Est! Est!! Est!!! di Montefiascone, linked to the legend of Bishop Johannes Defuk and his servant, and for the Rocca dei Papi, a papal fortress offering one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Lazio. Also not to be missed is the Basilica of San Flaviano, an extraordinary Romanesque building with two superimposed churches located along the ancient Via Francigena, which crosses the municipal territory here.

The festival is part of a rich summer calendar, which also includes the historic Wine Fair, and represents a great starting point for exploring Lake Bolsena and the villages of Tuscia: Bolsena, Capodimonte, Marta, Bagnoregio, and Viterbo are all within easy reach.

Why it is worth visiting

• Free admission to all meetings, with no mandatory reservation.
• Prominent national guests in an intimate setting, with real opportunities for dialogue and book signings.
• A historic open-air square with a view of the lake, on the most beautiful evenings of the summer.
• Attention to local authors, which also makes the festival a narrative of contemporary Tuscia.
• The possibility of pairing the cultural evening with a tasting of local wines in the restaurants and cellars of the historic center.