What to do over Ferragosto near Rome: Tuscia's village food festivals, lakes Bolsena and Vico and cool hilltop towns. A guide that holds every year, an hour from the capital.
Ferragosto — Italy's mid-August holiday — in the Tuscia is not a crowded beach: it is a village lit up at night, the scent of a food fair, fireworks mirrored on a lake. In the central week of August the towns around Viterbo are at their best, each with its own feast. Here is our guide to what to do at Ferragosto a few minutes from the villa — real feasts, the kind we go to ourselves.
Wine: the Vignanello Festival
The great food-and-wine date is the Vignanello Wine Festival, held in 2026 from 10 to 15 August and back every year in mid-August: six days with the village's historic cellars open, tastings, flag-throwers and concerts, up to the grand finale on the evening of the 15th. It is about 25 minutes from us and it is the best way to start the week.
Fireworks over the lake: San Rocco at Capodimonte
On the evening of 15 August, in Capodimonte, on Lake Bolsena, a great display of fireworks lights up the lake; the next day, the 16th, the town celebrates San Rocco with a procession winding through the lakeside village. It is one of the finest sights of the Viterbo summer — the town in festa, the boats, the sky bursting over the water.
Where to stay
Villa Vacanze Valentina is in Bassano in Teverina, in the green heart of Tuscia: two apartments in the villa and a cottage for two.
The village food fairs, around 15 August
Ferragosto in the Tuscia is above all the season of the sagre, the village food fairs. Every year, in the central week of August, the towns open their stands and serve traditional dishes late into the night. The closest to us:
- Snail Fair (Sagra della Lumaca) in Graffignano (~20 min) — the nearest, a historic feast that has run for decades.
- Strozzapreti Fair in Capranica — hand-rolled pasta dressed the traditional way.
- Acquacotta Fair in Farnese — the humble soup of the Alta Tuscia, served in the village during the feast.
- Lentil Fair (Sagra della Lenticchia) in Onano — the tiny pulse that is a Slow Food presidium of the Alta Tuscia.
The exact dates and times change from year to year: before you set off, check them on the official channels of each town council and Pro Loco. We do not invent dates — here you find the fixed points, the rest is confirmed close to the event.
Ferragosto in brief — the 2026 dates
- 10-15 August: Wine Festival, Vignanello (~25 min)
- 15-16 August: Capodimonte — fireworks over Lake Bolsena on the evening of the 15th, San Rocco procession on the 16th (~45 min)
- Around 14-16 August: village fairs at Graffignano (snail), Capranica (strozzapreti), Farnese (acquacotta), Onano (lentil)
Dates and times must be confirmed on the events' official channels: they change every year.
And if you just want to cool off
Ferragosto in the Tuscia also means fresh water: Lake Bolsena, with the beaches of Marta and Capodimonte, and nearby Lake Vico. No seaside queues, clean water and a food fair a step away in the evening. To recharge, instead, the Terme dei Papi thermal baths in Viterbo, warm even in summer.
Where to stay for Ferragosto in the Tuscia
Villa Vacanze Valentina is in Bassano in Teverina, at the heart of all these events: you go to the feast in the evening and return to the quiet of the countryside, with the pool instead of the traffic. Ferragosto should be booked well ahead — the Casetta degli Innamorati is the only one. Discover the holiday home with pool or write to us for August dates. And if you are setting out from the capital, here is why a holiday home with pool near Rome makes sense in August. For everything the rest of the year brings, there is our calendar of events and festivals in Tuscia.
