Two real village festivals 20 minutes from the villa: gnocchi co' i ferro in the square from 23 to 26 July, and the Steak Festival at Santarello from 25 July to 2 August. Dates, programme and where to stay.
Soriano nel Cimino does not wait for October and its chestnuts to throw a party. In the last week of July, the village below the Orsini castle lights up its stands twice: first in the square, for gnocchi co' i ferro, then just outside the centre, at Santarello, for the Steak Festival. Two real events, run by the villagers themselves, only twenty minutes from Villa Vacanze Valentina — and still almost unknown outside the Tuscia.
Gnocchi co' i ferro: 23 to 26 July
Do not expect potato gnocchi: gnocchi co' i ferro are something else entirely, and a piece of Soriano's identity. They are made with nothing but water, flour and salt, then each little piece of dough is rolled around a knitting needle to form a small ridged tube, perfect for holding the sauce — a gesture passed down through Soriano families for generations. The festival, now in its fourth edition, takes over Piazza Guglielmo Marconi for four evenings, with the stands opening at 7 pm (on Sunday 26 also for lunch).
The Steak Festival: 25 July to 2 August, at Santarello
A few minutes from the centre, on the Strada Ortana, the Santarello district has been running one of the area's best-loved festivals for over twenty years: in 2026 it reaches its 23rd edition, organised by the Associazione Volontari Santarello. Six evenings — 25, 26, 30, 31 July and 1, 2 August — with the stands open from 8 pm: grilled steak as the star of the table, other local dishes alongside it, and for a sweet finish, fried gnocchi with Nutella. Live music under the stars every night.
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.
One weekend, two festivals
The best part is that the dates overlap: on the weekend of 25-26 July you can do both — gnocchi in the square on Friday, steak at Santarello on Saturday, just ten minutes apart by car. If you are staying with us in the last week of July, you will not have to choose: two evenings of genuine village festival without leaving the same town.
At a glance — the late-July 2026 festivals
- Gnocchi co' i ferro: 23-26 July, Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, Soriano nel Cimino — stands from 7 pm.
- Steak Festival: 25, 26, 30, 31 July and 1-2 August, Santarello district (Strada Ortana) — stands from 8 pm.
- Distance: about 20 minutes by car from Villa Vacanze Valentina.
- Good to know: exact times and menus are confirmed on the official channels of the Pro Loco and the Associazione Santarello close to the event. The dates above are verified as of July 2026, but village festivals can always shift a little — a last-minute check never hurts.
The rest of Soriano nel Cimino, if you arrive early
If you get there before the evening festival starts, it is worth climbing up to the Orsini castle that overlooks the village, and wandering the stone lanes around Piazza Umberto I. And if this corner of the Cimini Hills wins you over, know that in October Soriano puts on an even bigger show, with medieval parades and roasted chestnuts: read about it in our guide to the Chestnut Festival.
A weekend out of Rome, without the drive home in the dark
Many Rome residents have no idea that just an hour's drive away — barely past the Orte exit on the A1 — there is a corner of the Tuscia that lights up with genuine village festivals like this one all summer long. No need to plan ahead: leave on a Friday evening, put the city traffic behind you, and arrive in time for gnocchi in the square or steak at Santarello. Then, instead of driving back late at night, sleep in the quiet of the Tuscia countryside — and the next day, by the pool, find the one thing Rome never has enough of: space and time.
Where to stay for the Soriano festivals
Villa Vacanze Valentina is in Bassano in Teverina, about 20 minutes from Soriano nel Cimino and an hour from Rome, fifteen minutes from the Orte exit on the A1: you head to the festival in the evening and come back to sleep in the quiet of the countryside, with the pool ready for the next day. Discover the holiday home with pool, see why we are a holiday home with pool an hour from Rome, or write to us on WhatsApp. For the other feasts that fill the villages around here, season by season, there is our calendar of Tuscia festivals and events.
Photo: Albarubescens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
