Strigno Mandorlato Festival

The sweetest festival in Valsugana

Some events mark a community's year better than any calendar. In Strigno, a village and administrative center of the Castel Ivano municipality in the autonomous province of Trento, that event is the Mandorlato Festival: every December 8th, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the town wakes up at dawn to fill with stalls, the scent of sugar, and toasted almonds. It is the fair that officially opens the Christmas season throughout the Lower Valsugana valley.

A millenary tradition

The Strigno fair is no ordinary event: it is called millenary because its origins are lost in time. Some trace its roots back to the fall of the Western Roman Empire, while a more detailed hypothesis places the birth of the December 8th market around 1422, perhaps granted on the occasion of the parish transfer and celebrated on the day of the patron saint, Saint Zenon. Since time immemorial, the fair has been linked to the unique presence of mandorlato, the almond nougat that has become its symbol and namesake.

What to expect

On the day of the Immaculate Conception, the main square of Strigno and the area in front of the church turn into a paradise for every sweet tooth. Around sixty stalls offer everything:

• Mandorlato and nougat in every variety, the true star of the day;
• sweets, treats, and specialties to buy for the upcoming Christmas holidays;
• clothing and footwear;
• records, books, and toys;
• plants, agricultural tools, and household products.

It is the perfect occasion for a stroll among the stands, to do some early Christmas shopping, and to soak up the atmosphere of an authentic village fair, nestled between the green slopes of Valsugana and at the foot of the Lagorai mountain range.

Strigno and Castel Ivano

Strigno is the administrative center of the Municipality of Castel Ivano, created from the merger of several localities in the Lower Valsugana. The village enjoys a particularly mild climate, ideal for fruit growing, and preserves a compact historic center that comes alive on the day of the festival like few other times during the year. The event, with free admission, attracts visitors from all over the valley and neighboring areas, confirming its status as one of the most cherished popular events in eastern Trentino-Alto Adige.