Sagra dell'Acciuga – Anchovy Festival in Monterosso

We’ll arrive in Cinque Terre in the afternoon of September 19, so I don’t know if we’ll make it to Monterosso for the Sagra dell’Acciuga. 

Anchovies, which we love, are a specialty of Monterosso, one of the five Cinque Terre villages, and each year the village pays respect to their anchovy fishermen and celebrates the ancient tradition of its village by providing a banquet of anchovies for everyone to sample and enjoy.

Weather and sea conditions permitting, the annual festival finishes with a tour by boat to admire the lampare, the spotlight boats used for anchovy fishing. Unfortunately, this method of fishing is fast becoming a lost art.

Traditionally anchovies were preserved in salt for practical reasons. Up till today, they are still preserved in the same way, seasoned in olive oil and kept in glass containers ready to be enjoyed with bruschette and a glass of local white wine.

At the end of month, Monterosso has another food event, the Tournament of the Nuts along the streets of the village.