Wheat Festival

A festival that tells the story of wheat and rural life

The Wheat Festival is one of the most cherished summer events in Lower Salento. It takes place in the setting of the Antica Masseria di Celsorizzo, a historic 16th-century farmhouse in the Acquarica del Capo area, in the Municipality of Presicce-Acquarica, in the Province of Lecce, in the heart of Puglia. Organized by the Celsorizzo Cultural Association with the patronage of the Puglia Region, the Province of Lecce, and the Municipality, the event transforms the farmhouse courtyard for three nights into a grand narrative of rural life from the past.

Wheat, harvest, and symbols of folk culture

The common thread is wheat, an identity-defining element of Salento's peasant civilization. Sheaves, hay bales, ears of corn, and ancient work tools create scenery that reconstructs the gestures of reaping and threshing. The festival is a tribute to the land and its fruits, but also an opportunity to rediscover a heritage of knowledge, rituals, and crafts that risks being lost.

Workshops, exhibitions, and guided tours

The program complements musical moments with a rich cultural offering:

• creative workshops for children using wheat ears, straw, and small constructions;
• workshops for adults dedicated to processing local flours (Maiorca and Senatore Cappelli wheat) and handmade fresh pasta, such as sagne, orecchiette, and minchiareddhi;
• photographic exhibitions and video screenings on rural tradition;
• guided tours of the ancient farmhouse and the historic center, including museums of rural life, underground oil mills, the reed museum, and local churches.

Farm-to-table gastronomy and crafts

Ample space is dedicated to traditional gastronomy, with stands featuring local products, traditional dishes, local wines and oils, and options for celiacs. There is also a craft market, featuring reed work, embroidery, terracotta, and olive wood objects. The formula, with free admission, has made the festival an event capable of attracting tens of thousands of visitors from all over Salento.

Music and major concerts

Each evening concludes with live concerts that blend Salento tradition, from pizzica to the tambourine, with names from the national music scene. The Wheat Festival has thus become a bridge between rural memory and contemporary popular culture, in the name of the identity of the Presicce-Acquarica territory.