Tripe Festival

A historic festival in the heart of Tuscia

The Tripe Festival of Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia is one of the longest-running gastronomic events in the Viterbo summer: as early as 2015, the village celebrated its 22nd edition, a sign of a tradition rooted in the 1990s. Born from the initiative of the Pro Loco together with the municipal administration, the event is now organized by the APS PRATIchiAMO VILLA association under the patronage of the Municipality of Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia, a village of about 1,300 inhabitants in the province of Viterbo, Lazio. For two days in mid-July, the historic center transforms into a large open-air dining room, with tasting stalls and dinner with table service.

Tripe, the queen of folk cuisine

The absolute star is tripe, one of the iconic dishes of Italian peasant cooking: a food with an ancient history, which the Greeks cooked over embers and the Romans used to prepare sausages. Cut into strips and slow-cooked according to the local recipe, passed down over time by the village families, the tripe is served steaming hot at the festival stalls, in a version that gathers the legacy of great Italian regional traditions, from Roman to Tuscan.

The menu: not just tripe

Those who don't love offal won't go hungry: alongside the traditional dish, the festival offers an alternative menu rich in variations, with typical Tuscia specialties, local meats, and, in more recent editions, vegetarian and vegan options. Ending on a sweet note is the fried doughnut, the festival's typical dessert, prepared on the spot and beloved by adults and children alike.

Music, flag-wavers, and evenings in the square

As in any self-respecting village festival, the food is accompanied by a packed entertainment program. The evenings are enlivened by live musical performances and dance nights: over the years, ballroom and pop bands have taken turns, while the 2026 edition brings the 70s, 80s, and 90s music of the Sabato Grasso Revival Live Band to the square, the performance of the Flag-wavers and Musicians of Santa Rosa of Viterbo, and the final concert by Laga Brigante at Piazzale Monsignor Medichini. A mix of folklore and popular celebration that involves the whole village.

The village and its Etruscan surroundings

The festival is also an opportunity to discover Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia and its territory, among the most evocative in the Lazio Region. A few steps from the village are the Etruscan necropolises of Ponton Graziolo and Grottone, with chamber tombs carved into the tuff, while within a few kilometers you can reach Blera, Barbarano Romano with the Marturanum park, and the city of Viterbo with its medieval San Pellegrino district. A weekend at the festival can thus turn into a short holiday in the most authentic Tuscia, among peasant flavors, woods, and Etruscan memories.