One of my favorite festivals, which I have written about before, is the Fiera dell’Aglio in Voghiera. This sagra of all things garlic showcases one of the most renowned varieties of garlic, a gastronomic treasure that even has the status PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin).
So what is a sagra anyway?
If you’ve driven around the Italian countryside, you’ve probably seen the signs. Sagra di <insert seasonal crop here>. The signs are always in Italian and often handwritten, but easy enough to figure out. A sagra simply means a local festival to celebrate the bounty of a harvest. Generally a menu fisso (fixed menu) ticket is sold and local chefs showcase their passion for cooking by preparing a plate full of dishes all including the sagra’s namesake ingredient.
If you’re expecting carnival rides and t-shirts with garlic plastered across the front, you won’t find them at the garlic festival. But you will find local shop keepers selling their wares like local salami (with garlic, of course!), cherry wine and beer, and even roast suckling pig (which was delicious, by the way!).
At the garlic festival, a menu fisso ticket costs €18 per person. That may seem expensive, but I totally think the meal is worth it! I eat a very light lunch in anticipation of literally stuffing myself at the garlic festival. The menu fisso includes ravioli in a garlic sauce, french fries seasoned with roasted garlic, garlic bruschetta, garlic sausage, garlic-breaded pork kebob, garlic seasoned steak, a slice of melon, a nectartine, and a nectarine torte for dessert.
My friend Nicole and I took our plates of food, the scents of garlic wafting in the air, to the communal tables and dug in. As I mentioned, a sagra is a local festival and when you’re not a local and you’re American, you tend to attract some attention. Always friendly, the people of Voghiera have welcomed me to their festival for three years running now and are always a bit curious as to how I learned about this little town fair.
And of course, no visit to the garlic festival is complete without trying some of the famous garlic gelato only found here in Voghiera. Garlic isn’t a gelato flavor I’d order everyday, but when at a garlic festival, do as the Voghierans do!
How To Find a Sagra
If you want to know what sagre (plural of sagra) are coming up, check out Prodotti Tipici which lists sagre by region.
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and we love traveling! We are just one ordinary couple who have found that travel brought us closer together, taught us patience, the art of compromise, and how to truly appreciate the diversity of this extraordinary world. So far, we've visited 37 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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Gina
August 15, 2012 at 1:47 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Your pics made me want to go to Italy and eat, eat, eat. I didn’t know what sagra meant before. Now that I do, I’m going to tuck that nugget of information away for future trips to Italy.
Gina recently posted..Tricky Food in Cambodia
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
August 15th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Thanks, Gina! We always get excited for sagra season! I think you find the best food in all of Italy at these local festivals.
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Ali
August 29, 2012 at 1:50 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I love garlic! The smell more than anything. Sounds like this was a lot of fun, though I have to agree that garlic gelato isn’t something I’d order often.
Ali recently posted..Izmir – the Unexpected Stop
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
August 30th, 2012 at 11:25 pm
Come on down to Italy for a visit! Bloggers can take over the Garlic Festival and have a reunion!
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Checking Off My Bucket List: 21 Countries in 2012 - Jdomb's Travels
September 29, 2012 at 6:34 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
[...] wait all year for one of my favorite festivals, the Garlic Festival, in Voghiera, Italy. The food is just amazing and I stock up on garlic that will last me for months [...]