Cicatelli Festival in Celle di San Vito

August in the Monti Dauni is a succession of flavours that tell the identity of a people inseparably bound to the land. 

The Cicatelli Festival in Celle di San Vito, traditionally held on 18 August, is the high point of this food calendar. On this date the village becomes a theatre of conviviality where the ancient art of handmade pasta takes centre stage. The stalls set up in the historic centre give visitors the chance to taste dishes prepared according to the strictest food traditions of Celle di San Vito, in an atmosphere enlivened by live music and traditional dances well into the night.

The festival is not just an occasion to sit down at the table but a highlight among the August events in Celle di San Vito, drawing travellers who want an authentic experience away from the most predictable tourist routes.

A village that keeps the taste of time

Celle di San Vito, perched at the top of the Alta Valle del Celone, offers visitors glimpses of medieval architecture and stone lanes that seem made for the joyful hubbub of festive evenings. Among the traditional dishes of the Alta Valle del Celone, cicatelli take first place: this fresh pasta, made from a simple dough of water and flour, is the symbol of a peasant civilisation that knew how to turn humble ingredients into masterpieces of taste.

The event is part of the calendar of summer festivals of typical dishes in the Monti Dauni, a circuit that rewards the search for genuine flavours. Here the care taken in making cicatelli by hand shows the deep bond with the land, giving visitors a real sensory journey through the culinary specialities of the province of Foggia.

History and identity: the gesture that creates memory

The festival draws its life from the farming feasts and folklore of the Alta Valle del Celone, where every dish reflects a long history. Cicatelli are the perfect example of how traditional fresh pasta recipes in Puglia have been handed down from generation to generation, keeping intact an ancient gesture: pressing the fingers on the pastry board to shape the pasta.

If you are looking for food and wine destinations among Italy’s authentic villages, where food is not just nourishment but the story of a unique cultural identity, the Cicatelli Festival is a food stop along the Apulian Francigena. 

Discover the Alta Valle del Celone

The Cicatelli Festival is just an invitation to explore a territory that still has much to tell through its stones and its flavours.

Discover more places in Celle di San Vito and the Alta Valle del Celone.