The Festa dell’Uva: Harvest, Art, and Tradition in Riccia
Every September, as harvest season arrives in Molise, the streets of Riccia fill with grapes, music, traditional dress, and some rather extraordinary works of art. The Festa dell’Uva, or Grape Festival, is one of the town’s most cherished traditions—a celebration of the vendemmia (the annual grape harvest) that transforms the fruits of the vineyard into an expression of community, creativity, and rural life.
History & Origins
Riccia’s Festa dell’Uva dates to the early 1930s, when grape festivals were promoted in communities throughout Italy. The town’s first documented celebration took place in 1931, with young women dressed in traditional pacchiana clothing, wicker baskets overflowing with grapes, carts decorated with grapevines and leaves, music, dancing, and, naturally, plenty of wine. While similar festivals eventually disappeared elsewhere, Riccia held onto its celebration, allowing it to evolve into a tradition distinctly its own.
Carri dell’Uva
At the heart of today’s festival are its spectacular carri dell’uva—grape carts painstakingly created by groups from Riccia’s different contrade, or districts. Preparation can take days and nights of collective work as participants construct elaborate scenes and cover their creations with grapes, vines, leaves, and other natural materials. Individual grapes may even be placed one by one like tiny mosaic tiles to create intricate designs.
But the carts are more than decoration. Many recreate scenes of vineyards, kitchens, wine cellars, farmhouses, and agricultural work, incorporating tools and objects once commonplace in rural Molisan life. Filled with people in traditional dress and often with local foods ready to be shared along the way, the procession becomes a kind of moving museum, preserving memories of the agricultural world that shaped generations of Riccia’s families.
When the finished carts finally make their way through town, they are joined by folk musicians, flag throwers, street performers, music, food, and wine. What began as a celebration of the grape harvest becomes a celebration of everything surrounding it: the work required to cultivate the land, the food produced from it, and the people who gather around the table afterward.
A Community Tradition
Perhaps that is why the Festa dell’Uva has endured. The grape may be its symbol, but community is its real subject. Building a cart requires people to work side by side; preserving the festival requires one generation to teach the next; and celebrating the harvest makes little sense without someone with whom to share it.
For a few days each September, Riccia turns the vendemmia into something larger than the harvest itself—a reminder that traditions survive not simply because they are remembered, but because communities continue to make them together.
2026 Festival Schedule:
The 94th Festa dell’Uva will take place September 11–14, with four days of tradition, music, food, wine, and celebration throughout Riccia.
The heart of the Festa dell’Uva—the grand parade of the carri dell’uva—begins at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 13. Elaborately decorated grape carts make their way through town accompanied by participants in traditional dress, folk groups, musicians, and flag throwers, with opportunities to sample local food and wine along the route. After the procession, the carts remain on display so visitors can admire their intricate designs up close.
References
- Festa dell’Uva di Riccia. (n.d.). Festa dell’Uva, sapori e tradizioni di Riccia. https://festadelluvadiriccia.it/
• GuideSlow. (2021, August 2). La Festa dell’Uva di Riccia. https://molise.guideslow.it/la-festa-delluva-riccia/
• Pro Loco Riccia. (n.d.). Sagra dell’Uva di Riccia. http://www.prolocoriccia.it/it/turismo/sagra-dell-uva-di-riccia.html
• Sagr.it. (n.d.). Festa dell’Uva di Riccia. https://sagr.it/en/molise/lower-molise/events/festa-dell-uva-di-riccia
• Turismo in Molise. (n.d.). Festa dell’Uva di Riccia, quando il vino diventa tradizione. https://turismoinmolise.com/festa-dell-uva/