Tortello alla Lastra Festival

The festival that smells of the Apennines

Every year, around Ferragosto, the small village of Premilcuore, nestled in the green of the upper Rabbi valley in the province of Forlì-Cesena, transforms into the capital of one of the most distinctive specialties of the Tuscan-Romagnol Apennines: tortello alla lastra. The Sagra del Tortello alla Lastra is one of the most anticipated food and wine events of the Romagnol summer, two days dedicated to taste and tradition in the picturesque setting of a village that is part of the Touring Club's Orange Flag circuit.

Tortello alla lastra, a family ritual

The absolute star of the festival is the tortello alla lastra, prepared according to the ancient recipe: a thin pasta sheet, strictly handmade with water and flour, encloses a filling of potatoes, pancetta, Parmigiano cheese, and nutmeg. The secret lies in cooking it on the traditional lastra, a smooth, scorching hot stone on which the tortelli seal in flavor and crispness. It's a recipe that, as they say around here, changes not only from village to village but also from family to family, passed down from generation to generation by the azdore, the cooks who are custodians of Romagnol gastronomic knowledge.

A hundred volunteers and thousands of tortelli

Behind the festival is the work of over a hundred volunteers from the Pro Loco of Premilcuore, who in the preceding days knead and prepare thousands of tortelli: in recent editions, between 4,000 and 5,000 have been counted, cooked one by one during the festival days. Alongside the tortelli, the food stalls in the Area Feste offer a rich selection of Romagnol cuisine dishes, from polenta with ragù to mixed grilled meats, from beans 'all'uccelletto' to piadina. The event is held under the patronage of the Municipality of Premilcuore, and the proceeds support the local community associations.

A village to discover

The festival is also the perfect opportunity to discover Premilcuore, a jewel of the Forlì Apennines in Emilia-Romagna, on the edge of the Casentinesi Forests National Park. Among the streets of the historic center, the ancient bridges, and the trails winding through the woods, visitors find an authentic experience of the Romagnol mountains, where the pleasure of food is inextricably linked to the landscape and the community.