Pollo Senza Frontiere

One dish, five ways to tell its story

Pollo Senza Frontiere is one of the most original events in the summer calendar of Forano, in the heart of the Sabina region, in the province of Rieti (Lazio). The idea behind it is as simple as it is effective: take a universal ingredient, chicken, and let the cuisines of the world tell its story, each with its own spices, cooking techniques, and unique approach to conviviality. The result is an evening where the town square becomes, for a few hours, a map of flavors spanning Europe, North Africa, and the Orient.

The stands and the featured countries

The heart of the event consists of five food stands, set up and decorated according to the cultural traditions of the participating countries. In the editions documented by the organizing committee, the stalls represent:

• China — quick cooking, sweet and sour sauces, and steaming woks;
• Morocco — Maghreb spices, slow-cooked and fragrant dishes;
• India — masala, curry, and marinades that color the meat;
• Iran — the Persian tradition of skewers and aromatic herbs;
• Italy — the home-cooked recipe, with the sensitivity of the local Lazio and Sabina cuisine.

Those behind the stalls don't just serve food: they happily share recipes and little family secrets, which is perhaps the most precious aspect of the evening. The public doesn't just consume a dish; they take home a story.

The Comitato La Billoca and the spirit of the festival

The event is promoted by the Comitato La Billoca of Forano, a local association that has been enlivening the town for years with self-funded, volunteer-based events. The committee's dialect name evokes local Forano memories, and the event's structure reflects this dual soul: rooted in the village on one hand, and open to the foreign communities living and working in the area on the other. Pollo Senza Frontiere is therefore not just a food festival: it is an opportunity for connection between those who have always lived in the town and those who have chosen it more recently.

Forano, the Sabina region, and its festivals

The Municipality of Forano has just over three thousand inhabitants and overlooks the Tiber Valley, in that Rieti Sabina region made of olive groves, hilltop villages, and still-vibrant peasant traditions. The town's calendar of recurring events is packed: patronal feasts, cultural appointments, and food festivals follow one another from spring to late summer, with the famous August pasta festival being one of the most anticipated. Pollo Senza Frontiere occupies the June slot and brings with it a very particular character, as it is the only event in the town explicitly dedicated to the cuisine of the five continents.

Experiencing the evening

The event takes place in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in the center of Forano, in the evening. You purchase a ticket, receive what you need for the tasting, and begin the tour of the stalls, sampling one preparation from each. The atmosphere is typical of village festivals: shared tables, lights over the square, and people stopping to chat between one taste and another. No special reservations are needed, but it is advisable to arrive early, as the square is intimate and attendance is high.

Why it's worth the trip

For those visiting Lazio off the beaten path, an evening like this is a rare opportunity: you eat well, spend little, and truly connect with the life of a village. The Sabina region, less than an hour from Rome, also offers some of the most beautiful rural landscapes in the region, with extra virgin olive oil as its flagship product and a network of small towns worth a stop before or after the festival.