Zucchini Festival

A festival born from the reclaimed fields

The Zucchini Festival brings life to Borgo Montenero, an agricultural hamlet in the municipality of San Felice Circeo, in the province of Latina. The village, founded in the 1930s during the reclamation of the Pontine Marshes, is now a key hub for Lazio's fruit and vegetable production. The festival was established here in 2024, alongside the local agricultural fair, to highlight the deep bond between the community and the land reclaimed from the swamp less than a century ago.

The dark zucchini of the Agro Pontino

The undisputed star of the festival is the dark zucchini of the Agro Pontino, grown by about twenty agricultural companies associated in the triangle between Sabaudia, Terracina, and San Felice Circeo. With yields reaching 1,200 quintals per hectare during the season from December to June, this vegetable is exported to Northern Italy, Germany, and the Baltic countries. In 2026, the product obtained the European Union trademark certificate, presented to the association's representatives by the Lazio Regional Councilor for Agriculture: a recognition that paves the way for the next goal, the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).

From the spring fair to the end-of-summer festival

The first two editions took place between late May and early June, in conjunction with the Borgo Montenero Agricultural Fair. The 2025 edition, covering an equipped area of over 20,000 square meters, attracted 80 exhibitors and more than 11,000 visitors over three days, featuring technical conferences, signature show cooking, and evening concerts. From 2026, the festival moves to the height of summer, on August 20th and 21st, in the central Piazza IV Ottobre, as part of "Circeo d'Amare," the summer event calendar promoted by the Municipality of San Felice Circeo with the Pro Loco and local associations.

What you will find in the square

• A market showcasing zucchini producers and the best of Pontine agri-food products
• Exhibition spaces for agricultural companies and suppliers of technical equipment
• A culinary competition with strictly zucchini-based dishes, featuring both professional chefs and home cooks
• Meetings for industry professionals and moments dedicated to the history of the Pontine reclamation
• Tastings and food stands featuring the flavors of the Agro Pontino

San Felice Circeo, between sea and promontory

The festival is also an excellent opportunity to discover San Felice Circeo, a pearl of the Ulysses Riviera in the Lazio Region: the Circeo promontory linked to the myth of the sorceress Circe, the medieval historic center, the beaches, and the Circeo National Park, one of the oldest protected areas in Italy. A few kilometers away are Sabaudia with its dunes, Terracina, and Lake Paola: a territory where agriculture, sea, and nature have always coexisted.