Caprarola celebrated 70 years of its Hazelnut Festival: themed parades on 23 and 29 August, the Hazelnut Route, concerts and twelve days of festivities, 35 minutes from the villa. It returns every year between late August and early September.
Some festivals are organised by a village; others simply are the village. The Hazelnut Festival of Caprarola (Sagra della Nocciola) belongs to the second kind: in 2026 it turned seventy, and celebrated with its most anticipated edition yet — 21 August to 1 September, twelve days in a row of floats, festive lights and the scent of roasted hazelnuts in the village of Palazzo Farnese. It comes back every year between late August and early September. It is one of the best-loved festivals in Tuscia, about 35 minutes from Villa Vacanze Valentina through the hazelnut groves of the Cimini Hills.
The festival of the «classe»: seventy years of tradition
In Caprarola the festival is not run by just any committee: each year it is organised by the «classe» — the villagers born in the same year, who turn forty. For the seventieth edition the honour fell to the Class of 1986, who worked towards it for months. This passing of the baton, generation after generation, is what has kept the festival alive since the post-war years: everyone in Caprarola has «their» sagra.
«Willy Nocchia and the Nocciolato Factory»: the parades
The heart of the festival are the parades, held in 2026 on Sunday 23 and Saturday 29 August. The anniversary theme was «Willy Nocchia e la Fabbrica di Nocciolato», a hazelnut-flavoured retelling of one of the world's best-loved tales: not a series of independent floats but a single story that flowed through the village — sets, characters, music and choreography, with the hazelnut as the undisputed star. Next year, if you can only pick one evening, make it a parade night: watching the procession pass beneath the festive lights, with the whole village applauding, is worth the trip.
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.
Twelve days of festivities: the 2026 programme
Around the parades, twelve days in a row: the opening ceremony with a videomapping show, the Via della Nocciola — a tasting route dedicated to local specialities —, the regional Miss World selection, the Radio Globo party, the «Back to the '90s» show, concerts by the Scirockati and by the Nomadi, tombola under the stars, events for children, sport and crafts. Admission was free.
The hazelnut of the Cimini Hills
The festival celebrates what half these hillsides live on: the Nocciola Romana DOP, grown on the volcanic slopes of the Cimini between Caprarola, Vignanello and the neighbouring villages. At the festival you will find it in every form — roasted, in pastries, in nocciolato, in traditional dishes. And while you are here, treat yourself to the rest: Palazzo Farnese with its Royal Staircase and gardens deserves the afternoon, before the village lights up for the evening.
Useful information — verified August 2026
- Where: Caprarola (VT), Cimini Hills — about 35 minutes by car from Villa Vacanze Valentina.
- When: in 2026 it ran from 21 August to 1 September, twelve days in a row; it returns every year between late August and early September.
- Parades: in 2026, Sunday 23 and Saturday 29 August, in the evening.
- Admission: free in 2026; the next edition's programme is published on the festival's official website.
- More local festivals in our calendar of events and festivals in Tuscia.
Where to stay for the Hazelnut Festival
Villa Vacanze Valentina is in Bassano in Teverina, some 35 minutes from Caprarola and an hour from Rome: two apartments in the villa and a wooden cottage for couples, a pool in the silence of the countryside and slow mornings. Spend the evening at the festival, wake up among the greenery: discover the house or write to us.
Foto: Albarubescens, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
