RomanticA – International Floral Art Festival

A village dressed in flowers

In the heart of the Peligna Valley, in the province of L'Aquila, the small town of Bugnara hosts one of the most evocative events in Abruzzo every summer: RomanticA, the International Floral Art Festival. Established in 2005, the event transforms the historic center of the village—a member of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy club—into a vast, widespread garden where every alley, square, and fountain becomes a living canvas composed of petals, leaves, and botanical arrangements.

Master florists and international delegations

The heart of RomanticA lies in the master florists who arrive in Bugnara from across Europe and beyond in the days leading up to the event. Each foreign delegation "adopts" an alley of the village, creating a widespread decoration project and Urban Land Art that temporarily regenerates the spaces of the historic center. In recent years, delegations have participated from Sweden, Germany, Ukraine, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Estonia, and, for the first time in 2025, China.

The festival night

The highlight is the floral night: the village fills with music in every corner, concerts, food and wine stalls, and entertainment that continues until the first light of dawn. A must-see is the evening fashion show, where participants parade wearing dresses made entirely of flowers. It is a romantic and suspended atmosphere that attracts over ten thousand people every year, including tourists, curious onlookers, and floral art enthusiasts.

A territorial development project

For the municipal administration of Bugnara, RomanticA is not just a festival but a true engine for regional promotion. In view of the twentieth anniversary, the Municipality is working on opening a Higher Education School for Master Florists, active year-round, to make the Peligna village a national and international reference point for floral art.