Wild Asparagus Festival

A festival born from a sprout

Wild asparagus is one of the most iconic flavors of the Sabina region: thin, dark green, and significantly more bitter than its cultivated cousin, it grows spontaneously among the hedges, olive groves, and woods surrounding Poggio Moiano, in the province of Rieti, Lazio. You won't find it on supermarket shelves; you have to search for it on foot during the right weeks of spring, with the patience that local foragers have passed down for generations. It is precisely this seasonal harvest that the Wild Asparagus Festival celebrates every year, transforming a traditional farming practice into a day of collective celebration.

Where and when

The heart of the event is Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, in the village's historic center, where food stalls and the music stage are set up. The festival takes place on a single day in May, when wild asparagus is at the peak of its season. In 2026, the event was held on Sunday, May 10th, marking its nineteenth edition.

The menu

The cooking is home-style, without any chef-driven reinventions: simple dishes where asparagus is the absolute star, not just a garnish.

• Asparagus fettuccine — hand-rolled fresh pasta, the festival's signature dish
• Cheese with asparagus — a classic pairing from the Sabina tradition
• Stew — the festival's main course, served hot at the stalls
• Wild asparagus prepared according to local recipes, served as a side dish or appetizer

The stalls open in the early afternoon and remain active until evening, with queues that, in the busiest years, stretch across the square.

More than just food

Over the years, the day has been enriched with events that involve the whole village from the morning. The charity run promoted by the Grow Up Day Care Center kicks off the day, linking the festival to a local project; this is followed by an amateur dog show, open to both purebreds and mixed breeds, with two sessions and an awards ceremony in the late afternoon. Live music accompanies lunch and the afternoon in the square: in 2026, it was the turn of the band Ukus in Fabula, while the previous edition featured the band Born to Run on stage.

Why it's worth the trip

The Wild Asparagus Festival is the kind of event that perfectly captures the essence of Italian "sagre": there is no manufactured tourist appeal, just a community of a few thousand inhabitants opening their square and cooking for visitors. For those coming from Rome, it's a trip of just over an hour, offering the chance to discover the Rieti Sabina, a land of PDO extra virgin olive oil, medieval villages, and rolling hills still largely untouched by mass tourism.

The setting: the Rieti Sabina

Poggio Moiano is located on the southern slopes of the province of Rieti, right near the border with the Metropolitan City of Rome. It is a mid-hill area dominated by olive groves that produce Sabina PDO Oil, with Mount Cervia and the Lucretili Mountains providing a stunning backdrop. Spring festivals like this one punctuate the local calendar alongside summer patron saint feasts, and they represent the most important event of the year for the local Pro Loco.