World Chili Pepper Fair - Rieti Cuore Piccante

The world capital of spice

Since 2011, the Municipality of Rieti, the capital of the province of the same name in the heart of Lazio, has hosted one of Italy's most original food and wine events at the end of August: the World Chili Pepper Fair, known to all as Rieti Cuore Piccante. Originally a short festival, it has grown into a ten-day event that transforms the squares, alleys, and porticoes of the historic center into a grand international market of taste.

The organization is managed by the Rieti Cuore Piccante association in collaboration with the Italian Chili Pepper Academy, with the support of the Municipality of Rieti and the Lazio Region institutions. Over the years, the fair has exceeded 160,000 visitors per edition, making it one of the most popular events in the entire Rieti province.

Hundreds of varieties from five continents

The core of the exhibition is the large pomological display dedicated to chili peppers: there are approximately 600-700 varieties from all over the world, ranging from the most delicate to the extreme cultivars that enthusiasts travel far to find. The Cloister of Sant'Agostino traditionally hosts the exhibition of plants and fruits, complete with botanical fact sheets, heat scales, and the opportunity to engage with producers.

A place of honor is reserved for the Sabino, the hybrid created from a cross between an Italian and a Brazilian chili pepper at the Carlo Jucci Appennine Center in Terminillo: its thin skin, thick flesh, intense aroma, and good cold resistance have made it the botanical symbol of the event and a point of agronomic pride for the Sabina region.

Stalls, cooking shows, and world cuisines

• Over 180 food and commercial stalls distributed throughout the historic center
• Cooking shows with chefs, spicy cooking competitions, and guided tastings
• Typical products from the Rieti area: Sabina PDO extra virgin olive oil, cured meats, cheeses, and mountain legumes
• Areas dedicated to international cuisines brought by foreign delegations
• Spaces for children and teenagers, workshops, and entertainment

A diplomatic fair

The feature that distinguishes Rieti from any other chili pepper festival is the official presence of foreign embassies. Every year, various countries participate with delegations that bring products, music, and crafts, but above all, they sit at discussion tables and international conferences on agriculture, sustainability, trade, and exports. In recent years, countries such as Mexico, Hungary, Angola, Vietnam, Morocco, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Honduras, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic have taken part.

Music and shows in the square

The evenings move to the stage in Piazza Mazzini, where free concerts by Italian pop artists, theatrical performances, DJ sets, and radio formats produced with national broadcasters take place. This is the moment when the fair stops being just a gastronomic event and becomes the city's great late-summer celebration.

Rieti, the Umbilicus Italiae

It is worth arriving a few hours early: Rieti features Visconti walls, the Bishop's Palace, medieval undergrounds, and the square that houses the Umbilicus Italiae stone, the geographical center of the peninsula. Around it lie the Rieti Holy Valley with the Franciscan sanctuaries of Greccio, Fonte Colombo, La Foresta, and Poggio Bustone, as well as the Terminillo massif. A spicy fair is the perfect excuse to discover a corner of Lazio still largely untouched by mass tourism.