Sagra dei Bigoli Sirmione

The Sagra dei Bigoli at Sirmione celebrates the traditional Garda pasta dish bigoli con le sarde — thick handmade pasta (bigoli, a Veneto wholemeal spaghetti) served with lake sardines in a sauce of oil, onion, and anchovies. This ancient dish of the Garda fishing tradition, once daily food for the fishermen of the eastern and southern lake, is today regarded as a delicacy and key expression of Garda's lake culinary heritage. The sagra takes place in September, after the summer peak, when the famous peninsula is at its most relaxed and the thermal baths are open for the autumn season. The event offers a genuine taste of Garda food culture in one of the lake's most iconic settings — the thermal peninsula with the Scaligeri castle, the olive groves, and the crystalline water of the southern lake.