Sagra della Spiga and Corteo di Demetra in Gangi

The Sagra della Spiga is Gangi’s great farming festival: nine days in early August telling the story of the wheat cycle, with the bread procession, dialect comedies, harvest dishes and, on the last Sunday, the Corteo di Demetra, a parade of hundreds of costumed performers through the old town. It’s organised by the Pro Loco of Gangi and has been going for more than sixty years. The 61st edition was held from 1 to 9 August 2026.

When is it held?

The festival takes up the first half of August and always ends on a Sunday with the Corteo di Demetra. In 2026 it ran from Saturday 1 to Sunday 9 August. The Pro Loco publishes the dates in July: be wary of dates on travel sites, which sometimes list only one or two days.

The programme, day by day

The 2026 programme (Madonie Press, Canicattìweb) is a good model of how the week unfolds.

Day	What
Saturday 1 August	“A Vanniata”, the roaming announcement of the festival, and lighting of the illuminations
Sunday 2 August	Festa dei Burgisi, procession of bread and offerings to the Blessed Sacrament
Monday 3 August	“U Pisatu”, dialect comedy at the Foro Boario
Tuesday 4 August	“Il Mistero della Spiga d’Oro”, a show by the Ragazzi in folk at the Foro Boario
Wednesday 5 August	“A Manciata di Novi Cose” on Viale delle Rimembranze, with the Engium folk group
Thursday 6 August	“A Zuccatina”, dialect comedy in Piazza del Popolo
Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August	“Memorie e Tradizioni”, a walk through the alleys, by booking
Saturday 8 August	Slow Food talk on extensive livestock farming, bee workshop for children, concert by Giampiero Amato and the Sicilian Family at 11 pm
Sunday 9 August	“Stravuli a Vista”, Corteo di Demetra and Tum Tum Tarantella concert

The Corteo di Demetra

This is the moment everyone waits for. The streets of the centre become an open-air theatre: hundreds of performers, sets and costumes inspired by the myth of Demeter, goddess of fertility, tell the story of the bond between people and the land. The parade crosses the old town on the closing Sunday, preceded by a tour of the Engium folk group.

Comedies of farming life

Two shows are performed in the Gangi dialect. “U Pisatu”, one of the festival’s long-standing events, produced and directed by Peppuccio Ballistreri, tells the story of a farming family whose tensions are resolved during the “pisatina”, when mules trampled the wheat after the harvest. “A Zuccatina”, by Daniele Paternò, recalls the old marriage-promise ritual, sealed by the “zuccuni”, a wooden log.

What to eat

The signature dish is “a manciata di novi cosi”, a mix of pulses and grains once eaten during the harvest to give strength to field workers. In 2026 the Slow Food Madonie children’s workshop in Piazzetta Bongiorno ended with a tasting of local honeys. For other local products there’s our guide to Madonie food.

Practical tips

• When to go. If you can only come for one day, choose the closing Sunday for the Corteo di Demetra. For the comedies, check the year’s programme for days and times.
• Book “Memorie e Tradizioni”, the walk through the alleys, which required booking in 2026.
• Road. Gangi sits at 1,011 metres. From Palermo it’s about 116 km and an hour and 40 minutes, via the Tremonzelli exit on the A19 and then the SS120; from Catania about 145 km (see getting to the Madonie by car). Sources don’t list dedicated car parks.
• Where to stay. Book early on where to stay in Gangi. For food there’s where to eat in Gangi, for the weather the Gangi forecast.

The festival is part of the Estate Gangitana, which in 2026 also included the Notte Bianca on 22 August. On the same days, in Pianello near Petralia Soprana, there’s the Sagra del Grano, with its threshing re-enactment. The rest of the town is on the Gangi page, other festivals in the Madonie food festival calendar.