June “Sagre” in Tuscany

For those who never miss a chance to try inexpensive traditional food, drink good wine and dance in an Italian square with the locals, here is a list of the sagre in Tuscany in the month of June.

For those who like “tortelli“, large ravioli with ricotta and spinach, here are some sagre dedicated to this type of pasta:

• Sagra del tordello d’oro, Strettoia, Pietrasanta (Lucca), June 1, 2, 5 and 7. The specialty is the “tordello” with meat sauce.
• Sagra del tortello, Sieci (Florence), June 11-21.
• Sagra del tortello, Ronta (Florence), June 13-14 and 20-21.
• Sagra del tortello, Monterotondo (Grosseto), June 26-28.

For mushroom lovers, even if they are not summer products, here is a list of mushroom-related festivals:

• Sagra del fungo porcino, Palazzolo di Incisa Valdarno (Florence), June 5-7 and 12-14. Porcini mushrooms are the protagonists of this sagra.
• Sagra del fungo prugnolo, Firenzuola (Florence), June 6-7. Prugnolo mushrooms, music and good wine.
• Sagra del fungo porcino, Casia di Reggello (Florence), June 19-28.
• Sagra del tartufo, Cellai (Florence), June 6-7, 12-14, 19-21 and 26-28. Festival dedicated to truffle.

For soups and “minestre” lovers:

• Sagra della zuppa contadina (farmer’s soup festival), Piano del Quercione (Lucca), June 5-7, 12-14, 19-21 and 26-28.
• Sagra della minestra di pane (ribollita), Vitolini-Vinci (Florence), June 20-21.
• Zuppa di cavolo (cabbage soup) e coniglio fritto alla fabbrichese (fried rabbit), Fabbrica di Peccioli (Pisa), July 4-5 and 11-12.

More unusual tastes:

• Sagra del pinolo (pine nut festival), Chiesanuova Val di Pesa (Florence), June 5-14. Festival dedicated to a traditional dessert called “pinocchiata” or “croccante di pinoli”, pine-nut brittle.
• Festa del pesce (seafood festival), Caletta di Castiglioncello (Livorno), June 13-14. The festival is mostly famous for the “padellone”, a large 4 m wide frying pan containing 850 liters of oil used to fry fish.
• Sagra del pesce (seafood festival), Agliana (Pistoia), June 29.
• Sagra della schiacciata (focaccia), Buti (Pisa), June 1-2 and 6-7.
• Sagra della Pizza, Ponte a Egola (Pisa), June 13-21.
• Sagra del Ciaffagione (sort of a rustic pancake, typical of the village), San Casciano dei Bagni (Pisa), June 13-14 and 20-21.
• Sagra estiva della focaccetta, Quercia di Aulla (Massa), July 3-5.
• Sagra del bico (a type of bread), Cetona (Siena), June 26-28 and Junly 3-5.
• Sagra della lumaca (snail), Poggio Murella, Manciano (Grosseto), June 12-14 (suggested by Donna of MaremmaGuide.com – Thank you!).

Finally, two festivals that focus on a series of traditional dishes of the area in which they take place:

• Sagra della miseria (the festival of poverty), Colle Val d’Elsa (Siena), June 6-7, 13-14, 20-21 and 27-28. The festival is dedicated to the “cucina povera toscana”, the humblest dishes of the local tradition such as cured meats, ribollita, panzanella, tripe, beans, bruschette and home-made desserts.
• Festa della Fame e della Sete (the festival of hunger and thirst), Filattiera (Massa), June 25-28. Traditional food of the Lunigiana.