There is never a lack of things to do here in August with various festivals, musical events, and sagre.

A sagra, for those who don’t know, is a food-based event celebrating a typical dish or product of the area. For example, here in town we have the Sagra della Ventricina on the 10th and the Sagra dello spezzatino d’agnello on the 13th. Ventricina is a local pork salami that is made specifically in this part of Abruzzo and in the neighboring part of the Molise - the area basically known as the Vastese. Spezzatino d’agnello is a local dish of lamb slow-cooked in sauce so that the lamb becomes very tender. Both products/dishes are characterized by a specific procedure that is used in making them. Ventricina can be bought commercially and there are a few small local companies that sell it. If you’re going to buy it, it’s best to buy it from the small companies. On the other hand, many people make their own and each person’s is slightly different. It must be done during the winter and aged properly. But, I don’t want to go too far down that path. I’ll talk more about ventricina when it comes time to make it.

Back to the sagre……This isn’t a local thing, there are sagras all over Italy. For tourists and visitors, it’s a great opportunity to try some local food. For those that live in the town it’s an opportunity to celebrate their traditions with family and friends. (And, for those who were wondering, no, they’re not free, but they’re usually not all that costly either).

Coming up in the next few days, in some of the local towns, we have two other Sagre della Ventricina - one at Guilmi and one at Carunchio. There’s the Sagra di “sagne e fasciule” (basically pasta and beans or, if you prefer, pasta e fagiole) in Vasto the 9th & 10th and the Sagra dell’arrosticino in Fossacesia the 9th, 10th, and 11th. Arrosticini are sort of like shish kebabs, but they contain only small pieces of mutton and are grilled.

Nearby Tufillo offers cavatelli and sausage at their sagra on August 11th.

In Pennapiedimonte there’s the Sagra del Cinghiale. Cinghiale is wild boar which are found all over this area and sometimes cause much dismay to those trying to grow a garden. And last, but certainly not least, is the Sagra del Tartufo at Torrebruna which runs from August 8 through the 11th. This is one I’m particularly looking forward to as I really like truffles. We’re not talking about the chocolate or ice cream kind either.

That’s not all though. There are lots more that I haven’t mentioned here since basically every town has a Sagra at some point during the summer. The hardest part is choosing which ones to go to.

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