Pizzola Festival

A festival turning forty

The Pizzola Festival is the most anticipated summer event in Morro Reatino, a small town in the Montepiano Reatino area overlooking Lake Piediluco, in the province of Rieti, Lazio. Created in the mid-1980s by the local Pro Loco and volunteers, the event has spanned four decades without losing its genuine character: a festival made by the locals for their village, which reaches the milestone of its fortieth edition in 2026.

Along with the Living Nativity in December, which is also forty years old and one of the oldest in the region, the festival represents one of the two pillars of the local community, as noted by the municipal administration in interviews with the Rieti press at the beginning of 2026.

The pizzola, the absolute star

The pizzola is a fried bread dough from the traditional farming culture of the Rieti area: a simple dough of flour, water, and yeast, rolled thin and plunged into boiling oil until it puffs up and turns golden. It is eaten piping hot, lightly dusted with salt or sugar, or split open and filled. During the festival evenings, the stalls typically offer:

• savory pizzole, plain or with coarse salt;
• sweet pizzole, sugared or with hazelnut cream;
• pizzole filled with mortadella and prosciutto;
• beans with pork rinds, a traditional winter dish served here in a summer version;
• wine and drinks from local producers.

Everything is prepared on the spot by volunteers who fry in plain sight under gazebos set up in the historic center: it is part of the show, and explains why the queue in front of the pans is a social moment in itself.

Music and village atmosphere

The festival is not just about gastronomy. After dinner, the square turns into a dance floor with orchestras and bands playing pop and ballroom music: in recent years, the band Nice and Easy has performed several times, much to the delight of the local audience. Admission to the festival area is free, and you only pay for what you consume, with typical village festival prices.

The setting helps: Morro Reatino has just over three hundred inhabitants, and its historic center, recently illuminated with new lighting, overlooks a panorama that stretches from Lake Piediluco to the Holy Valley of Rieti. On August evenings, the temperature is mild even when the plains are still scorching, making the evening particularly pleasant.

An August of traditions in Morro Reatino

The Pizzola Festival is part of a broader summer calendar that revolves around the patronal feast of Saint Lawrence (August 10) and the celebrations of Our Lady of the Rosary, organized by local associations and in particular by the ODV Morro Reatino. Those arriving for the festival often find an entire weekend of religious and civil events.

What to see in the surroundings

The territory of Morro Reatino is crossed by the paths of the Way of Saint Francis and houses the Hermitage of Saint Michael, a destination for short scenic hikes. A few kilometers away, you can reach Lake Piediluco, the Marmore Falls, and the Sanctuary of Greccio, where the first nativity scene in history was set up in 1223: a combination that allows you to turn the festival evening into a complete weekend between Lazio and Umbria.

Why it is worth the trip

In a landscape of increasingly commercial festivals, the pizzola festival remains a community celebration: simple, well-made dishes, volunteers taking turns at the stove, affordable prices, and no pretense of spectacle. It is the most direct way to get to know the popular cuisine of the province of Rieti and the hospitality of the villages of the Montepiano Reatino.