Festivals of the typical products

For those who want to go into the tasty and varied world of the typical products of Comacchio, the best opportunity is to visit one of the many festivals held throughout the year.

Spring and autumn in Comacchio with the festivals!

For those looking for a good excuse to go somewhere near the Lidi of Comacchio when the summer season is about to begin or has just ended, two excellent festivals will help in this.
In late May, the Lidi of Comacchio already offer beautiful days where you can make beautiful walks along the harbour or the beach still deserted. For nature lovers, the Delta Park in this period is home to some of the most important species of birds migrated from Africa.
And especially at the end of May Porto Garibaldi hosts the last born of the local festivals, dedicated to Sepia and Mantis Shrimp.
In autumn, however, while the Delta has wonderful hues and the climate of the beaches is still very pleasant, Comacchio prepares to one of its most important festivals, the one dedicated to the queen of his gastronomic tradition: in the last weekend of September and the first two weekends of October there is the Eel Festival.
For those who want to live only in summer the Lidos of Comacchio, but without losing the opportunity to go to festivals, such as the Festival of Hospitality around mid-August.

Festivals of the typical products

For those who want to go into the tasty and varied world of the typical products of Comacchio, the best opportunity is to visit one of the many festivals held throughout the year.
Spring and autumn in Comacchio with the festivals!

For those looking for a good excuse to go somewhere near the Lidi of Comacchio when the summer season is about to begin or has just ended, two excellent festivals will help in this.

In late May, the Lidi of Comacchio already offer beautiful days where you can make beautiful walks along the harbour or the beach still deserted. For nature lovers, the Delta Park in this period is home to some of the most important species of birds migrated from Africa.

And especially at the end of May Porto Garibaldi hosts the last born of the local festivals, dedicated to Sepia and Mantis Shrimp.

In autumn, however, while the Delta has wonderful hues and the climate of the beaches is still very pleasant, Comacchio prepares to one of its most important festivals, the one dedicated to the queen of his gastronomic tradition: in the last weekend of September and the first two weekends of October there is the Eel Festival.

For those who want to live only in summer the Lidos of Comacchio, but without losing the opportunity to go to festivals, such as the Festival of Hospitality around mid-August.

Festivals of the typical products

For those who want to go into the tasty and varied world of the typical products of Comacchio, the best opportunity is to visit one of the many festivals held throughout the year. The eel, queen of the local cuisine, is celebrated in the first two weekends of October each year with a festival in his honour, full of exhibitions, music, conferences, shows, flea markets and local food.

The Feast of Hospitality, on August 14th in Porto Garibaldi is dedicated to bluefish.

Since 2011 there is a new festival among the ones in Comacchio: the Sepia and Mantis Shrimp Festival in Porto Garibaldi, which is at the end of May.

The Eel Festival

The eel has elected since always the moist and salty lagoons as his ideal shelter, and Comacchio always found in it one of its main sources of economic exploitation and livelihood.
You can participate in tours to visit channels where even today there are the famous "lavorieri", capture systems of long time ago and made of reeds and now improved with new materials.
From here the eels are taken to be selected and first kept alive in tanks or large immersed baskets (the bòlaghe) then cut, roasted and pickled in vinegar and salt to be packaged and marketed. It is also very interesting to visit the workshops where the eels are marinated and sold at retail. And then, of course, end your excursions in one of the many restaurants located throughout the Delta Park, where you can sample one of the 48 different eel dishes.
For the Lower Ferrarese and Comacchio in particular, the eel is not only a delicious ingredient in the kitchen, but it is especially an important economic and social factor, because in this landscape the eel finds his refuge for centuries. In this moist environment, once hostile to the people who lived there, the eel has become the main source of livelihood, able to create wealth and economic development and continues to be caught using ancient techniques that exploit the autumn tides and the natural appeal that they have on the mature eels.
From a hand-crafted work with long skewers to roast the eels put in front of enormous fireplaces, it has gone today to an industrial level with techniques best suited to the needs of the large market in which the fish is intended.
The eel is a typical specialty of Comacchio, to be enjoyed every year during the traditional Eel Festival the last weekend in September and the first two weekends in October: walking through the canals and historic bridges, you will also relive old traditions, tasting amazing and unique flavours. The Festival is enriched with food stalls, dance and marching bands, street theatre and entertainment for children, exhibitions, conferences, boat excursions through the historical centre and Comacchio Lagoons, craft markets, artefacts and collectibles.
The main aspect of the event is the tasting of delicious dishes made with eel and fish of the sea and the valley, prepared by the sailors of Comacchio at the active food stand located in the courtyard of Palazzo Bellini, adjacent to the Trepponti Bridge. The restaurants of the area create, instead, a gastronomic circuit that revisits eel dishes in a modern way (they are about 48!) and other local specialties.
Of great interest are the guided tours of the historic centre on board of the typical lagoon boats called "batana" and the excursions in natural environments of the Po Delta Park, by boat, on foot and by bike. The street market has broad space which, occupying the main streets of the city, welcomes artisans, hobbyists, antique dealers and collectors, without forgetting the local products.
The Eel Festival (part of the "Food and Wine Delta Circuit: ancient tastes between the earth and the sea") animates every year the historic city centre, while the canals, the Loggia dei Cappuccini and the Manifattura dei Marinati (The Pickling Factory) will be the backdrop to culinary experiences, stand and events.