Historical parades, taverns in ancient caves, seven contrade and the Archers' Palio: your guide to the Ottava Medievale of Orte, back every year at the turn of August and September, 15 minutes from the villa.
For two weeks between late August and early September, Orte stops the clock and travels back six hundred years. The Ottava Medievale — the Ottava de Santo Egidio — is one of the most authentic historical re-enactments in Lazio: not a show staged for tourists, but a festival the village's seven contrade prepare all year long, with roots documented as far back as 1396, when Pope Boniface IX gave it solemn status.
The 2026 edition: August 31 to September 13
The 55th edition opened on August 31, 2026 and closed on Sunday September 13. The theme was "Septem. Un numero tra sacro e profano" ("Septem: a number between the sacred and the profane"), a journey into the symbolic power of the number seven in medieval culture — a number Orte knows well: seven are the contrade that compete for the festival. The Ottava returns every year from the last day of August to the second Sunday of September.
What happens at the Ottava
Each evening a different contrada opens its streets and its taverns, where you dine on traditional dishes among torches, musicians and costumed performers. The programme alternates historical parades, performances, early-music concerts, games for families and markets. The grand finale is the Palio degli Arcieri, the Archers' Palio: the seven contrade compete with medieval wooden bows to win the silver ring.
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.
Why it is worth the trip
Orte is a spectacle in its own right — a tufa crag rising above the Tiber, with an intact historic centre and an underworld of Etruscan caves and tunnels. During the Ottava the village is at its very best: no modern lights in the festival streets, only fire, stone and voices. It is the kind of evening children remember for years.
At a glance — the Ottava
- When: every year from the last day of August to the second Sunday of September; in 2026 from 31 August to Sunday 13 September (55th edition, theme "Septem").
- Where: the historic centre of Orte (VT) — the festival streets are lit by torches only.
- The taverns: each evening different contrade open their taverns with traditional cooking; historic processions in fourteenth-century dress at the weekends.
- Grand finale: the Archers' Palio between the seven contrade.
- Tip: park in the lower town or at the station and walk up; the village is small and made for walking.
While you are in Orte: the underground
Orte has a second town beneath its streets: underground Orte, with its hypogeal fountain, Etruscan-Roman tunnels, dovecotes and even a "snow well". Guided tours run at weekends (prices and times on the official website, full route an hour and a half): paired with an Ottava evening, it turns the trip into complete time travel — the 1300s above ground, the Etruscans below.
Where to stay for the Ottava of Orte
Villa Vacanze Valentina is in Bassano in Teverina, about 15 minutes by car from Orte: you can dine in a tavern and be back at the villa in a quarter of an hour. Pool and relaxation by day, the Middle Ages by night. See our holiday home with pool or write to us. For all the other celebrations nearby, season after season, see our calendar of Tuscia events and festivals.
Photo: BobTanGo, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
