The Traditional and Ancient Vegetable Festival takes place in the Madonie Park, precisely in the municipality of Isnello, in the metropolitan city of Palermo. It is a unique gastronomic and cultural event of its kind, based on the production, harvesting and use of vegetables and wild herbs of the area, almost entirely included within the protected natural area that embraces the mountain ridge of the northern part of Sicily.
Spontaneous plants are part of Isnello’s cultural heritage; for about twenty years an ethnobotanical course on edible wild vegetables that grow in the Madonie has been undertaken, also with the scientific support of Idimed and the University of Palermo.
Among the typical local dishes we find, for example, the so-called “Frittedda”, made with new broad beans, peas, artichokes and wild fennel.
The festival program enhances local culinary traditions and includes tastings, excursions in the countryside to recognize wild vegetables, entertainment and guided tours.
To reach Isnello (in the cover image), if you are coming from areas outside the island of Sicily, you can take one of the available ferries for Palermo and, once you have disembarked in the regional capital, continue along the approximately 77 kilometers that separate the two places by car or by the AST bus, which takes two hours.
In Isnello the Festival of Traditional Vegetables
The “Festival of ancient and traditional vegetables” represents both an opportunity to get together and a tasting event, and at the same time allows you to get to know and rediscover the ancient traditions of the Madonie peasant world.
The kermesse is characterized by recipes that are handed down from generation to generation, entertainment, round tables and tours to discover the artistic heritage and the urban geological path, the UNESCO Geopark site which leads from the town to the mountain and to the “Gorge” where, in addition to suggestive natural views, you can admire particular fault planes (fractures in the rocks) and the natural course of the local stream.
2023 program (16th edition)
11-14 April: harvesting vegetables in the field by Pro Loco members and volunteers.
Saturday 15 April, in the Auditorium of the Social Center:
- 09:30 stories and culinary traditions on wild vegetables; the pupils of the local schools meet the members of the Pro Loco. Following tasting of the vegetables, organized by the IPSSEOA “Mandralisca” of Cefalù.
- 10:30 – 13:30 excursion in the countryside. Recognition of wild vegetables in the field with Prof. Rosario Schicchi.
- 17:00 round table. Institutional greetings Avv. Marcello Catanzaro, Mayor. Prof. Mario Fiorino, President Proloco. Rosario Schicchi, Full Professor – Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences – “Spontaneous vegetables for nutrition and health”. Silvio Buscemi, Full Professor – UNIPA – “Nutrition and longevity”. Francesco Cacciabaudo, Adjunct Professor – UNIPA – “Nutraceutical aspects of the Mediterranean diet”. Dr. Andrea Arini, Gastroenterologist – “Nutrition and intestinal microbiota”. Dr. Aldo Messina, Audiologist – “Nutrition and hearing”.
Prof. Biagio Agostara and Dr. Francesca Cerami – IDIMED, Prof. Vincenzo Guarnieri, Dir. Scol. I.I.S. “Mandralisca” Cefalù. Moderator is Dr. Maria Laura Crescimanno – Journalist.
Sunday 16 April, in the historical center of Isnello:
- 12:00 – 18:00 presentation and tasting of traditional Madonie vegetable-based dishes, organized by the Pro Loco and the IPSSEA “Mandralisca”. Animation by the Folk Group “I BURGISI” and by the Dixie Kings band. Guided tours of the Churches by the Volunteers of the Universal Civil Service and the Urban Geological Trail.
The Municipality of Isnello and the Pro Loco, promoters and organizers of the 16th festival of traditional Madonie vegetables, support Castelbuono’s candidacy for UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. Saturday 22 April, at the “Francesco Minà Palumbo” Naturalistic Museum in Castelbuono:
- presentation and tasting of dishes based on traditional Madonie vegetables, organized by the Pro Loco and the IPSSEA “Mandralisca”.
- 16:00 round table. Institutional greetings. Rosario Schicchi, Full Professor – Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences – “Spontaneous vegetables ambassadors of flavors and knowledge”. Silvio Buscemi, Full Professor – UNIPA – “Nutrition and longevity”. Claudio Costantino, Prof.Associato – UNIPA – “Seasonality in the Mediterranean diet”. Andrea Arini, Gastroenterologist – “Vegetables and intestinal microbiota”. Pietro Pupillo, Professor of I.P.S.S.E.O.A. “P.Piazza” – “Vegetable preparation technologies”. Biagio Agostara, Pres. IDIMED, former Head of Oncology – “Nutrition and cancer”. Moderator is Dr. Maria Laura Crescimanno – Journalist.
The program may undergo changes due to organizational needs.
